A landmark reform to the UK’s benefits system has led to an unintended rise in home repossessions, burglaries and vehicle crimes, costing society almost half a billion pounds, research suggests. The introduction of Universal Credit “has imposed large societal costs” through a rise in evictions and crime in England and Wales, according to findings from the University of Sussex Business School.
Researchers estimate the rolling out of the benefit led to a 4% rise in repossession orders from the social housing sector on average across local areas where Universal Credit was introduced – around 6,000 orders in total. And they say it has resulted in a 2.5% increase on average in economically-motivated crime.
They estimate this includes more than 35,000 burglaries and 25,000 vehicle crimes at a cost of more than £465 million – not including the costs associated with the additional possession orders. Researchers said the findings indicate that Government policies can have “unintended consequences” on crime when it comes to people who have the least.
