A report published today which looks at the impact of welfare reforms in the region of Yorkshire and Humber shows that 95 per cent of voluntary organisations who responded have been affected by recent changes.

The report looks at the impact of the “bedroom tax” and changes from national to localised council tax support schemes, as well as the removal of community care grants and crisis loans, on the people and organisations in the region of Yorkshire and Humber. It reveals that such reforms have hit poorer people hard.
 
The figure of 95 per cent in October 2013, is a rise in the proportion of charities and community organisations who had observed impacts of reforms on the communities they serve, from 69 per cent in March 2013.

The report, called Action Trackers: Holes in the safety net, combines the conclusions of two separate surveys, the first taken in March 2013 and the second in February of the same year.

The initial survey, which was sent out to voluntary and community organisations in Yorkshire and Humber by Involve Yorkshire & Humber, gathered 264 responses. While the second survey, six months on, was answered by 25 of the original organisations.

It reveals that there had been a 40 per cent increase in enquiries to the region’s Citizens Advice Bureau, between April and December last year, relating to rent arrears for local authority housing when the bedroom tax came into force. Two thirds of households hit by the bedroom tax are now in rent arrears, and seven per cent have received eviction notices.

Both surveys look at the demand for services, with results of the March survey showing that a third of charities said they expected to see a significant increase in demand for their services, with many fearing they would struggle to meet demand. In October these fears were confirmed by organisations, with many charities stating a “great deal of uncertainty in the sector”, with unpredictable levels of need making short term planning and organisation difficult.

Some organisations also note raised levels of stress among staff as they struggled to cope with increased need.

National charity Epilepsy Action, based in Leeds, noted in March that it has experienced a significant surge in demand. It stated that the spare room subsidy was a concern for many of its service users, and that the Personal Independence Payment will most impact the communities it serves.

One of the conclusions of the report is that charities are struggling to meet the demand of the most vulnerable. The findings suggest that the strength of resources are not uniform across Yorkshire and Humber, meaning that some residents have greater access to help than others.

The Action Trackers report revealed that in March, 75 per cent of Yorkshire and Humber voluntary and community organisations surveyed reported that they had taken action to change their services so they could respond better.

This figure, however, decreased in October, when the respondents said that 68 per cent of organisations surveyed implemented specific actions in response to demands or issues that have arisen because of the reforms and a further five per cent have plans to do so.

Judy Robinson, chief executive of Involve Yorkshire & Humber, said: “Problems are being stored up for the future with the long term health of children being badly affected by poor diet and poverty. In addition, disabled people and those with mental illnesses are being badly hit.

“Both local authorities and the voluntary sector have the wellbeing of people at heart. We need to work together, creatively and collaboratively for the sake of both vulnerable people and cohesive communities.

Some of Yorkshire and Humber’s poorest residents have lost £1.16m in emergency support, as councils in the region have seen a seven per cent cut to their budgets for community care grants and crisis loans.