The Scottish Government's Welfare Reform Committee has published its Interim Report on the 'Bedroom Tax'. The report looks at whom the 'bedroom tax' is affecting and makes the case that it may cost more than it saves and possibly breaches tenants' human rights.
In its 1st Report, 2014 (Session 4): Interim Report on 'Bedroom Tax' the Committee finds:
- The bedroom tax is having a real and harmful impact on people’s lives, and often the most vulnerable in society, including those with disabilities and children in separated families.
- Many people are ‘trapped’ into paying the 'bedroom tax' in that there are not enough one bedroom properties available to down-size to.
- Although the 'bedroom tax' will reduce the housing benefit budget, it introduces a number of new costs to tenants, housing associations, local authorities, the Scottish Government and others - the tax may cost more than it saves.
- Evidence submitted suggests the bedroom tax breaches tenants human rights, particularly in relation to discrimination against disabled people and the lack of a proper impact assessment of the tax.
- The level of Discretionary Housing Payments originally allocated by the Department of Work and Pensions to deal with the transitional problems does not match the scale of the problem. It welcomes the additional £20 million Discretionary Housing Payments allocated by the Scottish Government for 2013-14 and 2014-15 but calls on the DWP to confirm its allocation of funds for the next two years. It also wants the DWP to increase this allocation for Scotland to match the evident need.
Overall the Welfare Reform Committee finds the 'under-occupancy charge' (yet another name for it), to be iniquitous and inhumane and believes that the only way to deal with the 'bedroom tax' effectively is to abolish it. The Committee therefore calls on the United Kingdom Government to abolish the ‘bedroom tax’ immediately. If not, the Scottish Parliament should be given the powers and resources to abolish it.
You can view the report at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/72586.aspx