Welfare reform has had a high profile in the past couple of weeks courtesy of the NAO's negative assessment of the progress of Universal Credit and the public disagreement between a UN official and Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps over a report critical of reforms to housing benefit. Between the soundbites, one contribution to the debate which didn't receive the prominence it deserved was the 2013 State of the State report published by think-tank, Reform. One aspect of the report caught my eye. Public service leaders were questioning 'whether central government has assessed whether savings on welfare spending will be counterbalanced by increased demand on local services'. That chimed with concerns I have heard across the country from councillors and senior officers and the overwhelming feeling that central government has little idea what impact these changes are likely to have at local level.
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