A Tory council has withdrawn its own official report linking welfare cuts to a range of social problems from food poverty to violent crime.
Now you see it now you don't. No sooner had Kent Online reported the details of an official Kent county council report linking welfare reform to rises in homelessness, food bank use and violent crime, than the report was suppressed.
Council leader Paul Carter, whose name was apparently on the report even though he hadn't read it, told Kent Messenger Group political editor Paul Francis that he had he decided to take it down from the council website because he did not agree with its conclusions.
So what was it about the report's findings that Carter found so disagreeable?
Carter doesn't say. The report is clear, however, that welfare changes - bedroom tax, benefit cap, disability benefit reform, council tax benefit cuts - have helped detonate a small explosion of social misery in the county. We may hazard a guess that this insight is the cause of acute political embarrassment to one of the most senior Tory figures in local government.
Take the following findings:
• Some crime types have increased "significantly" in poorer areas of the county. In two of the most deprived wars - Margate Central and Cliftonville West - violent crime and theft levels are "considerably above predicted level" based on historical patterns over the past five years, while there is also evidence of increased domestic violence. The report states:
The evidence offered suggests that the change is related to... welfare reform as no alternative explanatory factor is yet apparent.
• Homelessness has increased in Kent. Homelessness acceptances were up 25% between January and March 2013 compared to the same quarter in 2012. The number of homeless people placed in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation is a "concern": there were 183 Kent families in B&Bs at the end of March 2013, an year-on-year increase of 22% and more than double the number three years ago.
• The number of people using food banks in the county has "increased sharply". The total number of users of the four operational Trussell trust food banks in Kent in 2012-13 was 1,618. The total for the same four food banks, for the first six months of 2012-13 alone had almost doubled to 3,195. These figures are likely to understate the true extent of food poverty in the county, the report notes, as they do not take account of the myriad other sources of local food aid, such as soup kitchens.
• There's been an increase in the demand for so-called "front desks" information and advice services in Kent libraries and children's centres. Much of this increase (which will require extra investment in staff and training) "can be attributed to recent welfare reforms", says the report. Meanwhile, welfare reforms have triggered a rise in queries around debt management at Citizen's Advice Bureaux.
The link between welfare reform and growth in food bank use is, as we have seen, a particularly sensitive issue for the government, which has persistently denied there is any robust proof of a connection. The report, produced by the council's business intelligence, research and evaluation unit, is unequivocal however:
The most common reasons for people using food banks appear to be changes to the benefit system, including changes to crisis loan eligibility rules, delays in [benefit] payments, Jobs Seekers Allowance sanctions, and sickness benefit re-assessment. The demands are likely to be medium to long term.
It adds:
Perhaps the most compelling evidence of the impact of welfare reforms on individuals and families is the sharp increase in the number of people using food banks
The report is cautious overall: it says its conclusions are "fairly tentative" as we are still in the early stages of the welfare changes. But it is clear that the principle supposed benefit of welfare reform - more people moving into employment - is yet to be demonstrated in Kent - if indeed it can ever be.
According to Carter the report will eventually see the light of day, at least once he has had time to finesse its findings:
The report will reappear but I want to make sure that we have a fair and well balanced report. I read it quickly and decided that there were conclusions being drawn that could be linked with a whole range of other issues.
He denied that by suppressing the report he was "playing politics", although this quote from Carter suggests otherwise:
This one slipped through the net and I do have some concerns about the report.
• Thanks to Kent Online you can see the suppressed report in full here
Homelessness
Housing
Welfare
Food banks
Food poverty
Poverty
Local government
Patrick Butler
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