The Department of Work and Pensions have just published their impact assessment of the housing benefit cuts. It is an assessment by civil servants of the possible consequences of introducing these policies. Here’s their summary:

“The impact assessment recognises that there are a number or risks as follows:

• increases in the number of households with rent arrears, eviction and households presenting themselves as homeless;
• disruption to children’s education and reduced attainment;
• disruption to support services for people with disabilities and other households with care and support needs;
• an increase in the number of households living in overcrowded conditions; and
• a decrease in the number of and quality of private rented sector properties available to Housing Benefit tenants.” Continue reading →

Green MP Caroline Lucas has published a report outlining her vision for a more efficient, cost-effective and user-friendly Parliament.

The report, entitled The Case For Parliamentary Reform, will shine a light on some of the most archaic procedures and processes of the House of Commons – and outline the urgent need for reform through changes to the way Westminster works.

Since being elected to parliament six months ago, I have been deeply shocked by the inefficiency of the outdated systems at Westminster.

As the Government’s programme of severe spending cuts to reduce the deficit comes into force, the financial cost to the tax payer of time-wasting in Westminster takes on a new and more urgent significance.

For example, an electronic voting system would make far better use of MPs’ time; just queuing up to vote accounts for around £30,000 a week in MPs’ salary costs. In the last Parliament there were over 1200 votes. Since it takes about 15 minutes per vote, that means an MP with an 85 per cent voting record would have spent over 250 hours queuing to vote – a huge waste of time and money.

Among the report’s proposals are:

• The introduction of electronic voting, which it is estimated could save 1.5 hours or more (1) of MPs’ time a week, and thus for time wasted save around £30,000 salary costs per week
• A systematic overhaul of Parliamentary language to make it self-explanatory, thus demystifying parliamentary processes, and increasing transparency and accountability.
• Measures to prevent the “talking out” of Private Members’ Bills
• Increase transparency so MPs (and constituents) know in advance if they have been selected to speak in a debate. Greater use by the Speaker on limits on backbench speaking time.
• An end to late night sittings to make MPs hours and those of parliamentary staff more family friendly.

Caroline Lucas adds:

The reforms outlined in my report would be straight-forward and cost-effective to achieve. Some build on previous proposals from the Wright Committee and from the Select Committee on Modernisation of the House of Commons.

Some have been agreed in the past, but not implemented. Others were rejected by previous parliaments at a different time. Some are new proposals, drawn in particular from experience in other legislatures. A new parliament, in new circumstances, should examine them again.

From a press release

Shops owned by Sir Philip Green, the retail billionaire and ‘efficiency adviser’ to the government, will become the target of the ‘Day of Action’ against Tax Avoidance on Saturday 4th December.

Organisers behind UKuncut told the Guardian today that shops including Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge would be targets, alongside the traditional enemy Vodafone.

The Guardian points out:

The businessman banked the biggest pay cheque in corporate history in 2005 when his Arcadia fashion business, which owns Topshop, paid a £1.2bn dividend. The record-breaking payment went to his wife, Tina, who lives in Monaco and is the direct owner of Arcadia. Because of this arrangement no UK income tax was due on the gain.

Richard Murphy, director of Tax Research UK, estimated Green saved £285m by paying the dividend to his wife.

UKuncut say they have set up the ‘Big Society Revenue Service’ (BSRC) to tackle Tax Avoidance in the UK.

Hundreds of activists across the country are expected to mobilise this Saturday for the action.

More details will be announced in the run-up to the big day, on here as well as the UKuncut website and Twitter account.

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Yesterday, students from the UCL occupation also staged a protest at Topshop in Oxford Street, London. Here is a video report from that event.

“It would be easy to declare our opposition to the cuts the coalition is proposing,’ Sir Steve told us at the council’s AGM way back in June.

It’s even easier, it seems, to put up no opposition at all. Locals have gone mad at Bullock’s proposals to cut libraries, refuse services and staff (especially in a borough that depends on council for employment).

As early as June, Lewisham council had bullocked ahead and forecast a budget gap of up to £60m for 2011 to 2014 (although was still in the dark about government plans for key grants). People expect (for reasons that will forever escape me) a little more from Labour. 

It has been clear for a while that Sir Steve should keep an eye on the tide. Yesterday evening, he tried to ignore it. Several hundred people turned up to protest at the early-evening council meeting. All went well, until people heard that the public gallery would be restricted to 40. Then, someone said 28. Then, people decided they’d head in regardless. Why didn’t Bullock hold this meeting in a large hall somewhere and have it out?

Here are a few videos I shot during the rush.