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A Conservative MP has called for the introduction of 'Welfare Cash Cards' on which benefits would be paid, enabling claimants to make only priority purchases such as food, clothing, energy, travel and housing costs.

Alec Shelbrooke, Conservative MP for Elmet and Rothwell, said the cards - which would prevent the purchasing of luxury items like cigarettes, alcohol, sky television and gambling - would support the introduction of Universal Credit.  

England's top 15 eviction 'hotspots' are all in London, according to research published today by Shelter.

Figures released by the housing charity show that in the 12 months to September 2012, 198,470 households have been threatened with losing their home, leaving one in every 115 households at risk of becoming homeless. This equates to cities the size of Liverpool or Bristol being evicted or repossessed. 

Despite being left out of chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement, it appears the Government is still thinking about cutting the automatic right for under-25s to claim housing benefit.

Work and Pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith said in Parliament this week that there is still a discussion and debate going on in Government but that "more work is required". The Liberal Democrats have said they would oppose any such move. 

Protestors descended upon an Islington Starbucks coffee shop on Saturday to highlight the plight of those affected by the Government's housing benefit cuts.

Private tenants and others held a 'housewarming party' at the store on Upper Street as part of a nationwide day of protests called by action group UK Uncut. 

Labour looks set to oppose the welfare cuts announced in the autumn statement.

Chancellor George Osborne announced last week that increases in local housing allowance rates, used to calculate housing benefit for private renters, will rise at 1 per cent instead of in line with inflation for two years from April. Rises in other working age benefits, including jobseeker’s allowance and tax credits, will also be capped at 1 per cent. 

A Labour MP has questioned the fairness of the Government’s under occupation plans for the social sector, warning that many of his disabled constituents who have had adaptations to their homes face being “kicked out for having an extra bedroom”.

Under the Government’s size criteria rules for the social sector – which kick in next April – working age social tenants face having their housing benefit cut for having spare bedrooms. 

Government moves to impose a minimum cost per unit of alcohol have been backed by a homelessness charity that has campaigned against super-strength drinks - which it claims kill more homeless people than crack and heroin.

Thames Reach, which runs street outreach services and a variety of supported housing projects in London, has urged the Government to increase the price of strong alcoholic drinks and has also called for drink companies to self-regulate. 

The Government's Work Programme is failing homeless people with over half (58%) complaining that they have not been treated with dignity or respect, a new report has found.

The report, compiled by homelessness charities Crisis, Homeless Link and St Mungo's, reveals that 58% of those surveyed were not asked about the barriers they face getting into work, and 54% said they saw a Jobcentre Plus adviser less than once a month. 

Brighton and Hove's housing services are facing a crisis, with the council claiming that the city has been "singled-out" for austerity.

Councillor Phelim Mac Cafferty, Brighton and Hove City Council's deputy leader, has said that a "perfect storm" of housing and council tax benefit changes have meant "that many vulnerable people aren’t going to be able to get the help they need to keep a roof over their heads". 

Worried councils are reporting huge backlogs in their benefits departments due to problems with a new IT system vital to the government’s flagship benefit reforms.

Councils have seen backlogs of thousands of files, in some cases upwards of 10,000, build up under the automated transfers to local authority systems project, or ATLAS.