Today, the Chancellor has set out the
Government’s Budget for the financial year, with the following
commitments included:
-
The Job Retention
scheme will be extended until the end of
September.
-
The £20 a week top-up
of Universal Credit will be extended
for a further six
months.
-
A
tapered extension to
the stamp duty
holiday.
-
A
government
guarantee scheme aimed at making 95% mortgages more
accessible.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis,
said: “It is very disappointing to see the
housing support announced today is limited to home buyers.
Hundreds of thousands of renters in arrears are facing eviction
in a matter of weeks and must not be forgotten. We also
desperately need more social housing, while a lack of further
investment in housing benefit will push more people into
poverty and put them at risk of
homelessness.
“We
welcome the extensions to the Universal Credit top-up and the
Job Retention Scheme, but the UK government must go further. With
the UK facing up to the
economic impact of the pandemic and unemployment on the rise,
we need to see an ambitious approach to preventing and ending
homelessness. A safe and secure home provides dignity but also
a vital foundation to those seeking work, so preventing
homelessness is essential in supporting our national
recovery.
“Last year
the UK government’s bold emergency action showed homelessness
is not inevitable, but that progress is at
risk of being undone if further action is not taken
now.”
