The benefits of a civilised society

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jan/31/benefits-civilised-society

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Today the welfare reform bill is expected to return to the Commons (Report, 30 January). Under government plans, 670,000 households – two-thirds containing a disabled family member – would lose an average of £670 a year because they are deemed to have one or more additional bedrooms.

Separated parents or grandparents who use their extra bedroom to share the care of their children or grandchildren; families in which two same-sex teenage children have their own bedroom for privacy and study; foster parents with rooms occupied by foster children – many, despite having nowhere else to move to, will see their incomes cut if the bill passes unamended.

There is an alternative. In December members of the House of Lords backed a cross-party amendment to exempt those families with just one additional bedroom where there are no alternative properties for them to downsize to. For hundreds of thousands of families across the country this amendment could mean the difference between making ends meet and living in hardship. That's why we are calling on MPs to ensure the government listens to the clear message sent by peers by allowing this compromise to stand. David Orr Chief executive, National Housing Federation Stephen Remington Chief executive, Action for Blind People Michelle Mitchell Charity director, Age UK Mark Atkinson Director of campaigns, policy and research, Ambitious about Autism John Bibby Director of housing and community services, Association of Retained Council Housing Douglas Edwardson Chair, Association of Local Authority Chief Housing Officers Victoria Winkler Director, Bevan Foundation Keith Smith Chief executive, British Institute for Learning Disabilities Dana O'Dwyer Chief executive, Capability Scotland Chris Jones Managing director, Care and Repair Cymru Emily Holzhausen Director of policy and public affairs, Carers UK Dave Adamson Chief executive, Centre for Regeneration Excellence Wales Grainia Long Interim chief executive, Chartered Institute of Housing Keith Edwards Director, Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru Alan Ferguson Director, Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland Alison Garnham Chief executive, Child Poverty Action Group John Dickie Head, Child Poverty Action Group Scotland Anne Houston Chief executive, Children 1st Gillian Guy Chief executive, Citizens Advice Susan McPhee Acting chief executive, Citizens Advice Scotland Nick Bennett Chief executive, Community Housing Cymru Srabani Sen Chief executive, Contact a Family Paul Smee Director general, Council of Mortgage Lenders Kennedy Foster Policy consultant, Council of Mortgage Lenders Scotland Leslie Morphy Chief executive, Crisis Joy Kent Director, Cymorth Cymru Jeff Skipp Chief executive, Deafblind UK Neil Coyle Director of policy, Disability Alliance Rhian David Chief executive, Disability Wales Julie Jennings Board member, Every Disabled Child Matters Helen Dent Chief executive, Family Action Cathy Ashley Chief executive, Family Rights Group Fiona Weir Chief executive, Gingerbread Jim Harvey Director, Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations Denise Murphy Interim chief executive, Grandparents Plus Paul Gamble Chief executive, Habinteg Chris James Chief executive, The Haemophilia Society Matt Harrison Interim chief executive, Homeless Link Bill Scott Manager, Inclusion Scotland Terence Stokes Chief executive, Lasa Anthea Sully Director, Learning Disability Coalition Michael Smith Chief executive, Livability Ian Welsh Chief executive, Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland Mark Goldring Chief executive, Mencap Robert Meadowcroft Chief executive, Muscular Dystrophy Campaign Deborah Jack Chief executive, National AIDS Trust Mark Lever Chief executive, National Autistic Society Ailsa Bosworth Chief executive, National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society Christopher Williamson Chief executive, Northern Ireland Housing Associations Satwat Rehman Chief executive, One Parent Families Scotland Paul McCay Director of operations, Papworth Trust Rebecca Gill Director of policy, campaigns and communications, Platform 51 Paul Jenkins Chief executive, Rethink Mental Illness Rights Advice Scotland directors Rights Advice Scotland Joy Baggaley Acting chief executive, Riverside Lesley-Anne Alexander Chief executive, RNIB Richard Hawkes Chief executive, Scope Maggie Kelly Co-ordinator, Scottish Campaign on Welfare Reform Robert Aldridge Chief executive, Scottish Council for the Single Homeless Martin Sime Chief executive, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations Mary Taylor Chief executive, Scottish Federation of Housing Associations Cllr Matt Kerr Chair, Scottish Local Government Forum Against Poverty Sue Brown Head of public policy, Sense Campbell Robb Chief executive, Shelter Ceri Dunstan Public relations officer, Shelter Cymru Graeme Brown Director, Shelter Scotland Michael Gelling Chair, Tenants and Residents Organisations of England Michelle Reid Chief executive, Tenant Participation Advisory Service (TPAS) Graham Fisher Chief executive, Toynbee Hall John Drysdale Director, TPAS Cymru Lesley Baird Chief executive, TPAS Scotland Brendan Barber General secretary, Trades Union Congress Victor Adebowale Chief executive, Turning Point Martin Cawley Chief executive, Turning Point Scotland Keith Reed Chief executive, Twins and Multiple Births Association Paul Nicolson Chair, Zacchaeus 2000 Trust

• We urge the government to extend the time limit proposed for some ill and disabled people receiving employment and support allowance. We are extremely concerned that, if the welfare reform bill goes ahead in its current form, many thousands of people who are genuinely unable to work will be forced into unsuitable jobs or face poverty.

The new rules mean that after a year, many disabled people will have their support cut off if they have a partner who is working, even though they may have a very low wage. This will place further distress and financial burden on people who are already facing multiple difficulties. Worryingly, it also creates an incentive for partners to reduce their hours or drop out of the workplace entirely.

In any civilised society, it's crucial the welfare system supports people who, because of illness or disability, are unable to work. This arbitrary time limit has no clear evidence base. It punishes some of society's most vulnerable people in our society and penalises people for having a partner in employment. We urge MPs to support the Lords amendment to extend the time limit to at least two years and put an end to a short-sighted policy, which will cost us all in the long term. Paul Jenkins CEO, Rethink Mental Illness Dr Mark Baker Head of social research and policy, Action on Hearing Loss Gillian Guy CEO, Citizens Advice Bureau Paul Farmer CEO, Mind Simon Gillespie CEO, Multiple Sclerosis Society Mark Lever CEO, National Autistic Society Lesley-Anne Alexander CEO, RNIB

• I would like to thank Felicity Lawrence for her excellent article revealing the true impact of the government's attacks on the unemployed and the low-paid (Hunger is being used to spur the idle to work, 31 January). I have been heavily involved in campaigning against Iain Duncan Smith's wholly immoral welfare "reforms", and this article was a sobering reminder not to get lost in rhetoric and focus on the true impact of the policies.

If the benefit cap does progress unchecked then the reality of hunger being used as a weapon against the poor will become even more widespread, and there is no guarantee that all areas will have food banks for the desperate. There is an absolute moral responsibility for everyone with a conscience and a sense of social justice to do all we can to campaign against policies that attack the poor while making the rich even wealthier. Tim Matthews Luton, Bedfordshire

• Thanks to Felicity Lawrence for showing the re-emergence of hunger in Britain. During 50 years in welfare work, I have never seen the like. Our project in Easterhouse, Glasgow, gave out 650 Christmas parcels, which mainly consist of food. We have started planning the summer camps, which are needed more than ever. Yet some parents will have to cut down expenditure on essentials if they are to pay the already subsidised camp fees. I recall being with Iain Duncan Smith when he criticised New Labour for not reducing the gap between rich and poor. This year his children will enjoy an affluent lifestyle and more than enough food, in contrast to the needy children at the other end of the social scale. Bob Holman Glasgow