OVER 1,000 families in Thurrock have been hit by the bedroom tax or spare room subsidy according to figures released.
In a report by the National Housing Federation, 1,149 Thurrock families have had an average of £806.44 reduced from their housing benefit.
The bedroom tax came into force on 1 April, 2013 and this is the first time the Government has released data showing the actual numbers hit. But even this does not show the full extent of families affected – it excludes those working families, previously in receipt of a small amount of housing benefit, whose entitlement has been completely wiped out by the bedroom tax.
Disabled people are particularly hard-hit by the policy, with about two thirds of affected families containing someone with a disability.4 Research by charity Papworth Trust found that nine in ten disabled people would cut back on food or bills to pay the bedroom tax if they were refused a Discretionary Housing Payment.5
The National Housing Federation’s East of England external affairs manager, Claire Astbury, said:
“These new Government figures show that the bedroom tax is affecting thousands of people in the East of England – for many, there isn’t even anywhere for them to downsize to. There simply aren’t enough smaller social homes available, and the cost of private rented housing is rising all the time.
“The East of England is particularly hard hit with people here facing one of the biggest cuts in housing benefit in the country. The Government says discretionary housing payments will help those who cannot downsize, but there isn’t anywhere near enough money to go round.
“The bedroom tax is trapping many people in homes they can no longer afford and where they are struggling to pay their rents. It is unfair, badly designed, and must be repealed.”
Fair enough repeal it. At the same time repeal the Labour party law that did exactly the same in the private rented sector. Or do people living in the private rented sector not count.
I hope JDP sees this.
The headline is alarmist. Actually, as a standalone figure, the 1000 families hit by ‘tax’ is pretty meaningless. Even to use the word families is probably wrong as I would think the figure also includes single people in receipt of housing benefit.
Of course people in Thurrock were going to be affected, that should come as no surprise. But the story makes no attempt to say how many of those people did manage to downsize nor how many were truly put into difficulty. I don’t receive any benefit and I work full time, I have had to cut back on expenditure by a considerable amount, I don’t like it much but that’s the way things have been lately. It’s fair to assume that not everybody that’s been hit has fallen into penury because of a reduction in housing benefit.
I wonder how many of those affected by the subsidy cut continue to spend hundreds of pounds a month on cigarettes? It’s another thing that has to be taken into account.
I’ll discount the alarmist headline of 1000+ in difficulty until such time as in depth analysis and proper figures are available.
There are ways the council, in fact all councils coul raise the cash to build more suitable properties. Left wing councils though won’t entertain the idea because it is against their socialist ethos of something for nothing for life. Iit doesn’t require the councils to sell properties. It won’t put people on the street. It doesn’t affect benefit entitlement. Because of political dogma the left block it and will have nothing to do with it. That’s how much they really care about families living in accommodation tha’s not suitable because they’ve got to wait for someone on benefits to die or leave a council house before one becomes free to house them.
Labour built 2,500 council homes in 13 years. That shows the commitment Labour have to those in real need. In reality they sit their and sling mud becasue it’s all they’re good at.
That and giving working people’s money away to people that haven’t contributed a penny to this country or borrowing hundreds of billions to create a false economy.