Botched Coalition announcement shows why Bedroom Tax must be axed
Diana Johnson MP
31/01/14, 00:00
Diana Johnson MP has called for the Bedroom Tax to be scrapped, after the Government announced further Discretionary Housing Payment funding to ease the problems the tax causes.
The Hull North MP believes that the Bedroom Tax is a cruel and unfair measure that hits over 400,000 disabled people and 60,000 households with carers across the country. 80,000 people have been hit with the Bedroom Tax in the Yorkshire and Humber region, including 50,400 disabled people.
For the vast majority of those affected, there is nowhere smaller to move to. Last October, Hull City Council had only 25 one or two bedroom homes available, but 4,700 Hull council tenants hit by the Bedroom Tax.
Last November, enough Lib Dem MPs voted with the Tories to block a Labour bid to axe the Bedroom Tax but, if elected in 2015, Labour has pledged to scrap the Bedroom Tax.
Diana Johnson MP said: "The Coalition Government has completely botched this. Only weeks ago they said that nobody was using this money. Now they're doubling it!
"The Bedroom Tax is pushing hundreds of Hull families into spiralling debt through no fault of their own, and there's a real risk that it will cost tax-payers more than it saves.
"Instead of costly stop-gap measures, the Coalition should abolish their Bedroom Tax. If they won't Labour will."