Workers, renting, pensioners and scams

More than 7 million Britons, including 2.6 million children, are living in poverty despite being part of working households, according to a report commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The study says that deprivation is increasingly connected to the high cost and insecurity of private rented accommodation. The Guardian reports that ‘disability is increasingly linked to the changing nature of poverty. If the costs of disability are taken into account, half of those in poverty are either disabled or living with a disabled person.’ Renting The Telegraph reports that the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) wants the Government to set up its own database of renters as an alternative to credit checks. Under the proposals by Rics, ‘the database would hold the details and history of 10 million households in social and private rented sectors, and said it should be included in the forthcoming white paper on housing that will be presented in the new year. The data would only be accessed with the tenant’s consent.