Welfare Reform Bill: MPs urged to accept 'bedroom tax' exemption

Published by Ross Macmillan for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government

More than 70 family, disability and housing organisations have written a joint letter to MPs urging them to back an amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill that would exempt families with only one 'spare bedroom' from housing benefit cuts in 2013.

Under plans in the Bill, 670,000 social tenant households - two-thirds containing a disabled family member – would lose an average of £13 per week because they are deemed to have one or more additional bedrooms.

The Government wants to encourage those tenants to downsize, thus freeing up homes for larger families. It also says the measure will bring the social rented sector in line with those claiming housing benefit in the private rented sector. However, critics argue there aren't enough smaller homes for those households to move into.

An amendment to the proposals - backed by peers in the House of Lords - would see those with one spare room exempt from the cuts if suitable accommodation isn't available to the tenant.

The National Housing Federation - who has launched a campaign opposing the cuts - wants MPs to back the Lords amendment as the Bill returns to the House of Commons today.

It warns that grandparents who share the care of their grandchildren; families in which two same-sex teenage children have their own bedroom for privacy and study; disabled tenants who need an adapted room to live a dignified, independent life – many, despite having nowhere else to move to, will see their incomes cut if the Bill passes unamended.

The Scottish Government esimtates that if unchanged the plans could remove more than £54 million a year from the Scottish economy "piling untold misery on the lowest income families".

National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr said: "That so many different organisations, from disabled charities to mortgage lenders, have come together shows just how urgent this amendment has become for Britain's most vulnerable families.

"For thousands of families this amendment could mean the difference between making ends meet and living in poverty. It's unfair and unjust to penalise people for under-occupying when there are no smaller homes for them to move to.

"Together, we’re calling on MPs to ensure Government listens to the clear message sent by peers by allowing this compromise to stand."

Welfare reform minister Lord Freud has pledged an additional £30 million a year to the discretionary housing payment budget from 2013-14, in support of the introduction of the size criteria into the social rented sector from April 2013.

He said the cash - which could assist around 40,000 cases - would be used to keep foster carers and disabled people who have adapted properties in their homes.