Fears Grow Over Impact of Universal Credit Rollout
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ENFIELD DISPATCH No. 2 THE BOROUGH’S FREE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER NOV 2018 FEATURE Secret wartime history of Trent Park to be revealed in new museum P . 5 INTERVIEW Artist Patrick Samuel talks about how his love of painting helped turned his life around P . 7 COMMENT Why Enfield Council should remove fossil fuel companies from its pension fund P . 8 ARTS & CULTURE London Pantomimers could be about to bring the final curtain down at Intimate Theatre Little Green Dragon in Winchmore Hill has been named 'best pub in London' by CAMRA - full story on Page 6 P . 13 A M E E Fears grow over impact of Become a Mmember of Enfield M Dispatch and get the O paper delivered to B your door E Universal Credit rollout C each month – find out more R E on Page 16 More than 5,000 families in Enfield are now claiming the controversial all-in-one benefits payment B BY STEPHEN COX The first claimants from Enfield divorced from the realities of many “Housing is expensive. I understand were transferred to UC last year and tenants’ lives. Many landlords now the argument that helping claim- he introduction of Universal since then 5,168 households, as of view letting to tenants in receipt of ants to budget is a good thing, but Credit (UC) in Enfield may October 2018, have been moved to housing benefits as high risk, because many landlords are already reluc- enfielddispatch.co.uk make it more difficult for the new system – around one-in- they simply do not have the confidence tant to rent to people on benefits. claimants to find private seven of the total number eligible. that rent will be paid to them on time.” “Fears they might not be paid Trented accommodation, landlords and Chris Norris, director of policy and UC is increasingly controversial, with might lead to some landlords @EnfieldDispatch voluntary organisations have warned. practice at the National Landlords the Secretary of State for Work and refusing claimants as tenants. After UC replaces housing benefit, working Association (NLA), said: “The private- Pensions, Esther McVey, last month all, if your kids are hungry, you /EnfieldDispatch tax credit, and a variety of other ben- rented sector plays a key role in pro- admitting that families could be made would be tempted to put them first.” efits, with a single monthly payment. viding much needed affordable accom- up to £2,400 worse off each year. UC already applies to most new claim- Because UC is being paid directly to modation to tenants on low incomes, Local voluntary groups in Enfield ants and is being gradually rolled out [email protected] claimants, it means landlords are including those in receipt of housing have echoed these concerns, with to existing claimants. The benefit is not guaranteed prompt payment support. Currently, only 19 percent of Enfield Citizens Advice Bureau paid monthly in arrears, and there is a of rent, and the system's growing landlords in outer London let to those (CAB) reporting that 740 local fam- five-week gap between the end of the reputation for causing delays to receiving any form of housing benefit. ilies have sought help from them. old benefit and the start of the new. benefit payments is increasing existing “While the NLA supports the concept Jill Harrison, chief executive wariness about renting to claimants. behind Universal Credit, it is clearly of Enfield CAB, told the Dispatch: CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 2 NEWS No.2 NOVEMBER 2018 ENFIELD DISPATCH Four ticket offices under threat Help for ED. Cuts planned at London Overground stations es in passenger numbers. He said: renters “Tens of thousands of new homes are nfield Council is launching o planned for Tottenham and Enfield, two new housing initiatives N .2 with passenger numbers more than to help residents renting doubling and no signs of abatement. Eboth socially and privately. NOVEMBER 2018 “We run the risk of closing ticket For existing council tenants, offices that fail TfL’s arbitrary busy- an 'MOT' repairs service is being Enfield Dispatch is the ness targets that, in a few years, may introduced for people who have borough's free community meet the standard they fail today. repeated maintenance problems. newspaper. We publish “There could be a distinction made The new service would improve monthly and distribute 10,000 between peak and off-peak. Many of the standard of social housing in free copies of each issue our ticket offices may fail to satisfy Enfield, with tenants offered a to cafés, pubs, community the TfL requirement on average, yet free audit to diagnose and solve centres, libraries, GP surgeries, hit that target in the morning peak. persistent faults. schools, hair salons, and outside railway stations. Why not be sophisticated and have Contractors currently carry those offices as peak hours only, out 42,000 repairs across the Publisher so we retain the infrastructure?” council's 10,500 properties each David Floyd TfL states that ARL’s proposals will year. While £500,000 has been “not compromise safety” and include earmarked for spending on the Editor James Cracknell “making staff more visible, providing scheme, council leader Nesil assistance where it is most needed, and Caliskan said it would be “cost Designer modernising the process for selling neutral” because money will be Jonathan Duncan tickets”. Only offices that sell less than saved on repairs in the long-term. twelve tickets per hour are affected. Cllr Caliskan told the Dispatch: Project Manager Turkey Street is one of four stations in Enfield that could lose its ticket office Anna Merryfield Arthur Leathley, chair of London “People deserve to live in a decent local transport group has Park, Silver Street, Southbury, and TravelWatch, said: “We want to property. They are waiting too Contributors raised concerns over plans Turkey Street. The plans are backed ensure passengers can still pur- long for repairs. It is an acute Stephen Cox, David Scarff, to close four London Over- by Transport for London (TfL), which chase the tickets that they need problem and we need to do some- Indira Das Gupta, Jean groundA ticket offices in Enfield. runs London Overground services. after these proposed changes.” thing, so this new team will carry Passley , Kay Heather, Helen Arriva Rail London (ARL) wants to Phil Ridley, from Enfield Trans- Views given in a public consultation out repairs and I have asked them Fry, Martynne Layton, Claire Fisher, Georgina Bavetta, close 51 ticket offices across London port User Group, argues the decision last month will be considered before to target homes with tenants that Edward Smith, Ros Lucas, in total, including those at Bush Hill does not account for future increas- a final decision is taken. are constantly contacting us.” Dana Burstow, Jo Johnson, As part of efforts to reduce the Kate Durcan, Chrichton number of people declaring them- Limbert, Keegan Kessewnath, selves homeless in Enfield, the CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Hannah Dyson, Stephen council is also looking to launch Lloyd-Jones New claimants can apply for an advance, but this its own 'social lettings agency'. is a loan which must be repaid within the year. Enfield has the second highest Jill said: “Many clients are in irregular, minimum number of families in temporary CONTACT wage, zero hours contract work. They’re not likely to accommodation in the country, Call 020 8521 7956 have savings to tide them over. Any loan is a bad idea.” with 3,350 as of March. Last year Email EnfieldDispatch@ She thinks it is inevitable that there will be many alone, 784 households were socialspider.com struggling to cope in the transition. “Making everything accepted as homeless and placed Post Salisbury House, Bury online sounds good. But people may not have good in temporary accommodation. Street West, Enfield N9 9LA English. A lot of our clients just need help understand- By far the biggest cause of home- ing how to answer the questions or prove identity.” lessness in Enfield is the loss of ADVERTISING A recent report in The Observer said that almost two- private rented accommodation Contact Ben Cawthra: in-five households in receipt of benefits lose an average – the borough has the highest Call 020 3892 0061 of £52 a week switching to UC. The Trussell Trust, a eviction rate in London. In a Email ben.cawthra@ national foodbank charity, claims foodbank usage has bid to to address this, the social hackneycitizen.co.uk risen by half in boroughs where UC has been rolled lettings agency will create a out. North Enfield Foodbank was asked for figures method of private renting for for this article but stated that it doesn't record which people without them having to clients seeking emergency help do so because of UC. pay high letting fees and deposits. A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Cllr Caliskan said: “High street Pensions said: “UC replaces an out-of-date, complex estate agents are ripping people benefits system with cliff edges that disincentivised off – it would be great to have a We are grateful to Love Your Doorstep work and often trapped people in unemployment. social lettings agency and create for their ongoing support “Under UC, evidence shows people are moving into a trusted brand to help people work faster and staying in work longer. We have made get into private accommodation.” Enfield Dispatch is a member of IMPRESS: The Independent Monitor improvements, including increasing advances to 100 The agency would be run on of The Press. For more information percent, removing the seven-day waiting period, and a commercial basis, compet- on the Dispatch’s complaints policy Government posters promoting the rollout of and how to make a complaint visit: paying people’s housing benefit for two weeks while ing directly with high street enfielddispatch.co.uk/complaints Universal Credit have been popping up around Enfield they wait for the first UC payment.” in recent weeks estate agents.