Reforming low income housing subsidies: Barriers, risks and opportuntiies in an era of fiscal austerity

Reforming Low Income Housing Subsidies: Barriers, Risks and Opportuntiies in an Era of Fiscal Austerity

 Abstract for a paper for ISA 43 sessions in the ISA World Sociology Forum, Buenos Aries, Argentina, August 2012

 Professor Kenneth Gibb

School of Social and Poltical Sciences

University of Glasgow

29 Bute Gardens

Glasgow G12 8RS

United Kingdom

Contact: ken.gibb@glasgow.ac.uk

 The UK Government has launched a twin attack on the pivotal Hosuing Beneift system that helps pay the rents of low income tenants. On the one hand there have been fiscal deficit cutting reductions in the support to private tenants as well as separate proposals that afect social and privtae tenants. In the medium term, the Government also proposes to wrap up all means-tested benfits to working age households, including Housing Benefit, in a single Universal Credit that will be paid direct to low income households. While there are significant problems with the structure and design of HB, both kinds of reform proposals present considerable difficulties for tenants, for social security and for the delivery of housing policy. The reasons for these difficulties: poor design, difficult trade-offs, path dependency - are discussed, along with the major risks flowing form the proposals. However, the process of change does also offer opportunities for more progressive and sustainable reform of low incoem housing subsidies and these are also examined.