IN NOVEMBER George Osborne announced the decision had been taken to cap housing benefit which, if applied to vulnerable people like the elderly, homeless veterans and victims of domestic violence, would have a devastating effect on their housing.
According to the National Housing Federation, this change would hit vulnerable people by an average of £68 a week and at least 82,000 homes for these groups would be forced to close.
The Society of St James currently provides accommodation for just over 330 people, and almost all of this would be forced to close if the cap is implemented. This would result in the closure of hostels in Southampton, Portsmouth and Gosport.
We urge government to clarify that this is not the case and that these schemes can be saved.
Trevor Pickup Chief executive, Society of St James
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