Tenants Face Financial Misery as Commons Overturns Lords’ Bedroom Tax Amendment

Thousands of Scottish families who live in social housing face being pushed deeper into poverty, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) said today (Wednesday 22nd February) after the House of Commons last night rejected moves to protect vulnerable people from the bedroom tax.

Yesterday the House of Commons voted by a margin of 316 to 263 - a majority of 53 - to reject the Lords' compromise amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill.

Mary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said:

"This decision is a devastating blow to thousands of families in social housing across Scotland, many of whom are already struggling to make ends meet.

"We are extremely disappointed to see that the shared concerns of nearly 80 organisations, from across the United Kingdom, and as diverse as disability charities and mortgage lenders, has been ignored.

"At a time of acute shortage in the supply of affordable rented housing, we don't have a problem with incentivising tenants to downsize, or encouraging housing providers to make best use of their stock, these are measures which housing associations and co-operatives are already taking.

"What we are worried about is the Government penalising some of Scotland's poorest families for "under-occupying" their homes, when they have nowhere else to move to. There is a shortage of smaller, alternative affordable accommodation in Scotland. This bedroom tax is an extra burden on some of the poorest households in Scotland.

"Perversely, if people are forced to move from social housing into more expensive private housing, this could actually increase, not decrease, the benefit bill for the Government."

The Government plans to use the Welfare Reform Bill to cut the housing benefit of any working-age social tenant deemed to be "under-occupying" their social home - a bedroom tax that would see tenants lose up to £22 a week.

In December the Lords voted for a compromise amendment to protect families with just one additional bedroom if no suitable alternative is available. But earlier this month, the Government claimed financial privilege and rejected the proposals.
Last week the Welfare Reform Bill again returned to the Lords. Peers voted for another compromise amendment which would at least have exempted disabled people, war widows and foster carers with nowhere else to move to.

But yesterday in the Commons the Government again rejected the Lords' proposals.
Mary Taylor continued:

"The Government says that Discretionary Housing Payments have been increased to mitigate any negative impacts, but the funds set aside are insufficient and won't even be ring-fenced to protect those they are supposed to help.

"SFHA will be working hard with housing associations, the Scottish Government and COSLA to minimise the impact of these unfair proposals on the lives of housing association tenants in Scotland."

ends

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NOTES:

1) The National Housing Federation (SFHA's sister federation in England) has calculated that 70,000 council and housing association households in Scotland will be hit by the ‘Bedroom Tax' http://www.sfha.co.uk/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,37/gid,1819/task,doc_download/

2) Read the SFHA's research on the impacts of the proposed changes to Housing Benefit here:
http://www.sfha.co.uk/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,82/gid,1288/task,doc_download/

3) The SFHA was established in 1975 and has around 170 members providing affordable housing and wider community services in Scotland, as well as a further 200 commercial members. The SFHA is owned by its membership and exists to support the work of housing associations and co-operatives in Scotland by providing services, advice and good practice guidance.

4) The SFHA is the voice of the principal builders and managers of new affordable housing for rent in Scotland. Housing associations own and manage around 40% of the country's affordable rented housing stock, over a quarter of a million homes across Scotland.

5) Housing associations and co-operatives are not-for-profit bodies regulated by the Scottish Housing Regulator.