Panorama – The Universal Credit Crisis

Panorama – The Universal Credit Crisis

20:26 PM, 12th November 2018, About 5 years ago 4

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BBC 1 Panorma – The Universal Credit Crisis on iPlayer if you missed it tonight 7:30 Monday 12th November.

“As the government’s controversial new benefits system, universal credit, is rolled out, Panorama is with families as they struggle with their claims. The programme follows one council as it deals with mounting rent arrears and tenants in crisis. The government has responded to criticism of the new system by announcing more funding, but is it too little too late?”

Click Here to watch the 30 minute programme.

This was very hard to watch and upsetting.

A complicated system leaving the vulnerable behind and landlords of all types social and private in arrears contemplating the last resort – eviction.

Everything our own Property118 landlords have been saying for months.


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Comments

Robert M

21:17 PM, 12th November 2018, About 5 years ago

I watched this programme tonight and found much of it to be (quite surprisingly) a fairly accurate reflection of what is happening. However, it was heavily focussed on tenants of "social landlords", i.e. councils and registered housing associations, and apart from the extra 2 weeks Housing Benefit for some tenants transitioning from HB to UC, the "solutions" that Alok Sharma was talking about only related to helping the social landlords. This means that most of the "extra government funding" that the Minister is going on about, will be directed to helping council tenants to reduce their rent arrears, it does nothing to help private landlords, and it does nothing to resolve the underlying delays and processing problems with the UC system (see the various posts by landlord Mick Roberts).

Mick Roberts

7:27 AM, 13th November 2018, About 5 years ago

Yes us Landlords know the answer to a lot of it regarding rent.
Pay the Landlord direct. So SO EASY. My dog worked it out. But MPs & Esther McVey & Neil Couling can't figure it out.

And that 2 week HB run on isn't working so far, so more complaints with ICE.

Yes, makes a change for Panorama to be not biased against Landlords.

That Alok Sharma not got a clue, Oh it's working fine 'cause we've spoke to the Job centre. Is he thick? They not the ones being impacted.

Get me on Twitter people, apparently that's our platform to reach the tenants being impacted.

Martin Thomas

11:35 AM, 13th November 2018, About 5 years ago

Very good programme. I vote Conservative but what ministers say really sounds like propaganda - "as a minister, I've said it so it must be true, UC is working fine". Get real. Interesting that local councils are pleading for the rent to be paid directly to them.
I seem to recall it was Labour that had the bright idea to give HB to the tenants "to give them financial responsibility". Many just can't cope with that sort of responsibility and then find themselves being evicted.

T G

17:11 PM, 13th November 2018, About 5 years ago

There’s a bit of an ostrich situation that develops – you put your head in the sand and it will go away. It won’t go away, the rent has to be paid. However, it also needs to be recognised that landlords cannot run their businesses at a loss.

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