is living within an extended family a right?

[carlajean]

On the news today it was announced that Camden would not be able to house some people within the area, and were making arrangements for them to live in housing elsewhere. Then a spokesman came on and said that this was terrible, that children would have to move, and extended familes broken up. As most people I know, including myself, have had to move more than once, with school age children, and have had to live without an extended family network, why is this some kind of right that has to be fought for?

I'm not sure it's a 'right' - but moving people away from their familial support networks means that they need more support from agencies and charities as well as paid-for services like childcare which they may not be able to afford.

A government and local authorities that are encouraging people to rely less on local and national government should be wary of removing people from other sources of support.

Yanbu. No it is not a right. No-one has a 'right' to live in an area that they can't afford to pay for (be it by way of rent or mortgage).

Because families that live nearby will usually help out with older relatives, meaning the council/NHS etc don't have to. Which they can't do if they live too far away.

I couldn't afford to buy a family home in the (very expensive) area I was brought up in. Shrug, I have to put up with it. Not sure why it should be different for people in subsidised housing.

It's not a right, but removal of it will come at a high social cost, just as it has already for the many people who have been forced to move away for work or other reasons.

When communities are in a constant state of flux and the extended family/community no longer exists, informal support networks disappear. So gone is the provision of free childcare and free care for the elderly, just as two examples. These then have to be paid for at a time when living costs have never been so high. In addition, communities with a high turn over suffer greater crime.

Ultiamtely, I think the cap will force rents down to a more realistic level, which is a good thing, but it will come at a high cost to many and will undoubtedly have a social effect too.

More comments on here regarding this.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/1684256-to-think-the-south-east-has-started-to-expel-the-poor

sorry - I didn't realise

No worries - there's loads of threads about this today!

Bearing in mind that these families may be more vulnerable you would think they would try to move them together if they have to.

I think it's an awful shame when people can't afford to live near extended family. We should be looking at the bigger picture instead of just saying 'well I couldn't have that so no one else should'.

Personally I am more upset by the amount of properties in London that are owned by wealthy foreigners and stand empty for most of the year. While a lot of us can't afford to live in our own capital city.

Anyway, am not convinced by this particular story - the cap is £500 a week? You can get plenty of places in London/SE for less than that.

As someone affected by this, I have an EDD of 20th March and the cap takes effect on 15th April. So do I move away from my support network? Mum will be unable to be birth partner, father of DCs will have to travel much further to see DCs, no-one around to look after DCs when in labour, DCs moving to new house, nursery/schools and meeting new sibling at same time. Yes I've known for a while the effect the welfare cap will have, but moving house as a single parent whilst pregnant and no LLs wanting to know HB tenants, what choice am I left?
Perhaps bringing back the workhouse?
Which DC do I drown first?
One thing stopping the despair is knowing no-one else would be competant looking after DCs if I did go over the edge, so I'll beg for discretionary housing payments until its more stable to move and be socially cleansed from the city I was born and bred in.

Ellie the £500 cap includes child benefit, tax credits, income support PLUS housing benefit. Factor in most people on income support will be expected to pay council tax for the first time. People that work are entitled to tax credits that take their incomes high above £500 a week (when the government scapegoat benefit claimants they keep that small matter quiet) I only point it out to say benefit claimants are not as better off as implied

VeremyJyle I'm sorry that is happening to you, it's not fair. I hope you can find somewhere near your family.

"We should be looking at the bigger picture instead of just saying 'well I couldn't have that so no one else should'."

This ^

I think those that say: "I had to move, I did okay" are being naive at best, bloody rude at worst. There are many people who, if moved will in fact be claiming more benefits. They will not be able to afford transport to work, (don't forget not everybody on benefits is out of work), they may not be able to afford childcare because relatives currently do the job, so may have to become unemployed. Why uproot people unnecessarily.
Perhaps the councils would be better off, offering it as an option to all their tenants, there may be a reasonable enough take up to make it worth while.