It’s for your benefit The government’s shake up of the benefit system will see thousands of Brent residents forced to make decisions about where and how they live from April as millions of pounds gets cut from the benefit budget. Brent’s advice to residents is – Act now – Get the facts. We are here to provide advice and support, but there is only so much the council can do – once you understand your options it’s up to you to take action.
Our officers have already helped hundreds of residents, here we look at three cases, explain how the cuts affect each family and help them to consider their options.
Case study 1: The Alenzey family
The benefits of working Finding work (for at least 16 hours a week if you are single or 24 hours a week if you are a couple), is one of the most effective ways you can stop the benefit cap from affecting you. If you are not already getting help to find work through a work programme, we recommend visiting your nearest Jobcentre Plus. Jobcentre Plus offers a range of training and support to help you find work including a benefit cap course which provides advice on the benefits of working, starting and keeping a job, writing personal statements, job applications, CV creation and preparing for interviews.
The Alenzey Family could be affected by the government’s limit on benefits for the unemployed to: • £500 pw for lone parents or couples (with or without children) • £350 pw for single people. They would then have a maximum of £500 pw to pay their rent and all living costs. Fahad Alenzey and his wife Nadia have six dependent children with another one on the way. They are concerned about their finances and the prospect of having to leave the borough as their daughter is currently studying for her GCSE’s.
Our advice The best thing is for Fahad to get some part time employment for 24 hours per week. The family wants to stay in borough, so to afford this they must start working and qualify for working tax credit. If working is not an option they can consider down-sizing or moving to a cheaper part of the country where their benefits can cover the cost of living. Mr Alenzey said: “I don’t want to move out of the borough all our friends, family and children’s schools are here.” Brent is now working with the family to help Mr Alenzey find suitable employment.
More information about the benefit cap is available on the government’s information line on 0845 605 7064 or speak to a Brent welfare officer on 020 8973 1800. For more information on employment support turn to the back page. You can also find advice on how many hours you need to work to be better off on the council’s benefit cuts web pages. Pensioners and some other groups will not be affected by any benefit cuts.