Mark Isherwood
Speaking in yesterday’s Plaid Cymru Debate on the Call of the Abolition of the “Bedroom Tax” (Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy), Shadow Housing Minister Mark Isherwood AM has said that the ‘Bedroom Tax’ was introduced because of UK and Welsh Labour Government failure to respond to warnings of a housing supply crisis.
He said:
“The removal of the spare room subsidy is a response to the scandalously small number of Social homes built by Labour and to the consequent increases in waiting lists, overcrowding and hidden homelessness.
“Under the last UK Labour Government, Local Authority waiting lists in England nearly doubled as the number of social homes for rent was cut by 421,000 in England.
“In Wales, the number of social homes for rent was cut by 29,000 during the first three terms of Labour led Welsh Government, as the supply of new social housing slashed was 71%.
“When the Labour UK Government introduced what they now call the ‘bedroom tax’ in April 2008 for Housing Benefit recipients in the private rented sector, they said: ‘The new system comprises a flat-rate benefit according to household size and location.’
“Labour’s Local Housing Allowance rules imposed a size criteria, restricting claimants to one bedroom per specified occupier – and the DWP specify that the criteria introduced for housing benefit in the social rented sector are “measured against the same size criteria already used in Local Housing Allowance”. Exemptions include older people, foster carers, overnight carers for the disabled, severely disabled children, armed forces personnel and bereaved families.
“The DWP increased the Discretionary Housing Payment – or DHP – Budget, which is ring-fenced and paid directly to local authorities, allowing local authorities to target those needing help most.
“DWP Guidance on administering Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) was issued from March 2011.
“This said “There are many reasons … why it may not be appropriate for someone with a disability to either move house or make up any shortfall in rent themselves. A good example of this may be an individual or family who rely heavily on a local support network. There will be claimants affected by this measure who live in significantly adapted accommodation due to someone in the household having a disability. In circumstances such as these it may be appropriate to use the DHP fund to make up the shortfall in their rent”.
“On top of £190 million set aside to help Local Authorities implement the Housing Benefit reforms, which already included an extra £130 million for DHPs, the UK Government announced an additional £35 million to the DHP Budget from 2013/14. This included a new £20 million DHP fund. However, only three Welsh Local Authorities applied for a share of this money to top up their DHP budget”.
“Welsh Government figures show that only nine out of 22 local authorities had spent even half of their discretionary housing payment allocations seven months into the 2013/14 financial year, despite unspent money having to go back to the Treasury at the end of the year. Three Councils, including Flintshire, had not provided figures.”
“The Welsh Government also delayed action, only announcing investment for a small number of one and two bedroom properties and looking to the private-rented sector to tackle homelessness months after the changes took effect.”
The UK Government has announced that DHPs will increase by £40 million in both 2014-15 and 2015-16.
