'Is it time to introduce a ‘minimum income’ in Britain to help people meet historically high housing costs? Probably - and here’s why' 📨 This is the latest edition of Home Front, Vicky's weekly newsletter for theipaper subscribers
reported that between 2021 and 2022 asking rents had jumped by 22.2% in Berkshire, 20.5% in Manchester, 19.6% in Cardiff, 18% in Edinburgh and 17.6% in Birmingham.in the same period. Thanks to double digit inflation real pay still fell, so these on paper pay rises didn’t hit people’s pockets in a meaningful way.
The “problem of rent” has long-plagued policy makers. Founding father of the welfare state William Beveridge noted that it was an issue in the 1930s and 40s as he wrote the blueprint for the social security we have today because rents vary across the country. To this date, the issue has never been resolved.
What, you might be wondering, is a minimum income? Well, like the minimum wage which was introduced back in 1998 to introduce a lower limit for pay, a minimum income would make sure that benefits were enough for people to live on by increasing them to cover essentials such as housing costs. “The climb of rent is pushing some people below the poverty line and eating into disposable incomes,” Shorthouse explained. “This has wider social effects. If people are being priced out of certain areas then I worry about social integration and what chance there is for people to live in areas where their skills would match the requirements of employers in those areas. If young people in particular are not able to live in certain cities, then the talent pool is being reduced.
In a letter released by Housing Secretary Michael Gove last week, Gove said his department was “taking more immediate action to ensure landlords understand the risks of damp and mould and act swiftly when necessary.”
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 16, 2023)This week: A surrealist horror puzzle game, a 1-bit dungeon crawler with a cat, and a modern take on Sid Meier's Pirates!
Read more »
The Samsung Galaxy S22 FE might still launch – but it probably shouldn’tThe Galaxy S22 FE might still be on its way to market... for some reason
Read more »
Has the peloton found an aero loophole to the UCI's minimum bar width rule?Handlebars are required to be wider than 350mm, but they didn't say anything about hood angles...
Read more »
Blizzard is blaming NetEase for its games going offline in China next weekBlizzard had asked for an extension to the existing deal while it tried to find a new partner, but no dice.
Read more »
Britain re-starts talks with EU amid hopes of NI protocol breakthroughBRITAIN re-starts talks with the EU tomorrow amid hopes of a Northern Ireland protocol breakthrough. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is holding fresh discussions with European Commission vice-pres…
Read more »