Archbishop criticises new benefit proposals

The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that plans for the unemployed could cause a ‘downward spiral of uncertainty, even despair’ and that housing benefit cuts might create ‘social zoning’ – essentially ghettos of the poor. 

Dr Rowan Williams is ‘very anxious’ that forcing the long-term unemployed to do unpaid manual work in order to keep their benefits might be counter-productive. He also worries that the Coalition’s cap on housing benefit will create middle-class areas that ‘get more solidly middle-class and other people are pushed out to the edge’. Commentators say Dr Williams’ criticisms are reminiscent of Robert Runcie’s disputes with the 1980s Thatcher government over social policy. The Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith says his proposals are about instilling the work ethic into people and restoring self-esteem.