Caerphilly Council tenants have been forced to pay out an extra £2.1 million in rent since the ‘Bedroom Tax’ came in – almost £1,050 each.
The removal of the spare room subsidy, labelled the ‘Bedroom Tax’ by those opposed to it, came as part of the UK Government’s welfare reform in April 2013.
It means those receiving housing benefit who are seen to be ‘under-occupying’ have their housing benefit cut.
The figures, released after a Freedom of Information request by Plaid Cymru, show 2,061 tenants have shared the £2.1m benefit cut between April 2013 and October 2014.
Plaid Cymru’s parliamentary candidate for Caerphilly, Beci Newton, said the ‘Bedroom Tax’ should be “scrapped as soon as possible”.
She said: “These figures show the devastating impact on many council tenants, who are being asked to pay more rent, while struggling to meet their energy and food bills.”
Caerphilly MP, Labour’s Wayne David, has spoken out against the ‘Bedroom Tax’ in the House of Commons.
He said: “It’s the most iniquitous policy that’s come from the ConDem Government, it’s an unfair tax that’s bearing down on those tenants that are least able to pay.
“I’ve brought attention to an elderly couple who are both blind and had to pay the tax and have had constituents who have had medical equipment in a bedroom that’s been designated as a spare room.
“The sooner it’s scrapped the better and with the General Election approaching it will be one of the main issues of Labour’s campaign.”
The figures only show the impact upon council tenants and not those in other housing who have had their benefit reduced.
They come as the Auditor General for Wales warns changes made to housing benefit are “having a significant impact on Welsh councils, housing associations and tenants”, with tenants in arrears rising by 23% in the first six months of the ‘Bedroom Tax’.
The Auditor General, Huw Thomas’ report says councils and housing associations have done little to increase smaller housing, meaning tenants are having their benefit cut despite being unable to downsize.
Councillor Colin Mann, leader of the Plaid Cymru group on the council, said: “We said that the ‘Bedroom Tax’ would hit tenants very hard and we have been proved right.
“For many people there is not the suitable alternative accommodation for them, leaving people having to find additional money to pay their rent.”
The changes have meant Caerphilly County Borough Council have had to employ four extra support staff, costing them £109,000.
A council spokesperson said the local authority gives advice on the changes, additional benefits available, applications for Discretionary Housing payment and energy saving in a bid to help minimise the impact of the ‘Bedroom Tax’.
Its work has been recognised by the Citizens Advice Bureau with a recent award for the creation of its team to help deal with housing issues brought on by benefit cuts.
Councillor Gerald Jones, cabinet member in charge of housing, said: It’s an unfair tax that targets people who are already suffering hardship and the sooner it’s scrapped the better.
“If people want a smaller home, to not have to pay more rent they have to move from one community to another, when we are trying to establish communities not break them up.
“The council have to implement the legislation but the cabinet and all members are keen to see the council doing all they can to help mitigate the circumstances people find themselves in.”
Shelter Cymru has also warned of the cost of welfare reform on tenants, as social housing repossessions hit a seven year high last year.
Almost 1,000 tenants lost their homes, but private tenants are also at risk with nearly 2,200 repossessions in Wales across all tenures.
John Puzey, Director of Shelter Cymru, said: “Last year was particularly tough for social tenants, many of whom have suffered due to changes in welfare benefits and the rising costs of living.
“While some landlords are working hard to help tenants make the most of their income, others are failing to put support in place and are rushing to court far too quickly.
“We are hearing that some have started charging rent in advance from new tenants, forcing families into debt right from the outset of their tenancies.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “Ending the spare room subsidy was absolutely necessary to get the soaring housing benefit bill under control, return fairness to the system and make better use of social housing stock. Every day the policy saves taxpayers over £1m.
“We have given Caerphilly almost £740,000 extra funding to support vulnerable people that may need extra help and there has been a 9% fall in the number of people in Caerphilly affected by the policy, as some tenants take action.
“We have also provided Caerphilly Council with a further £163,000 to help with administrative costs of housing benefit reforms.”
More Labour hypocrisy…..it was Gordon Brown who in 2008 introduced the under occupancy surcharge, and it is not a tax it is simply the removal of a housing benefit subsidy. Why should the tax payer fund somebodies spare room in 3 bedroom house if tenants who are in receipt of housing benefit only need 2 bedrooms. People go out to work to earn money, the more money they earn the more choices in life they have, so those who work hard can choose what sort of house they wish to live in because they are the ones paying for it. Those in receipt of housing benefit are provided with a roof over their head and two choices – take it or leave it.
Where were Labour MPs back in 2013 on the bedroom tax? Readers might be interested to read this link http://ukgeneralelection2015.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/bedroom-tax-vote-where-were-all-labour.html
It might encourage some of the younger tenants to have more children. Extreme I admit, but I know from experience that an attraction for some young women to have children in the first place was to get a council place. If having more means they can retain their benefits then why wouldnt they?
Thankfully, this charge will be abolished after the General Election in May when the chinless cretins who current hold the,transient, authority of government in England are consigned to history.
The phase ` Spare room Susidy` was only introduced after the the Tory Lib Dem government decided to heap further financial hardship on the hard working people of the Country who happen to be living in Council homes and in so doing reducing the level of rent value attached to each council property
The payment of Housing benefit is not a `subsidy`, as is mentioned by another contributor, it is a `right` if you pass the means test to qualify for it you get it, as do thousands of hard working families, particularly in Wales where employers fail to pay a living wage, or employ people on zero hours conrtacts.
`Paul` appears to suggest that someone living in a Council house should first of all be very grateful, secondly, they should consider themselves and thier families some sort of second class citizens having been given a home, and be grateful, `The lot of You`, probably doffing thier hats and tugging thier forelocks at every opportunity, outragous.
I live in a 3 bedroom house but there are only two of us. Can I expect the tax payer to subsidise my mortgage please. And I don’t really want to pus that much council tax too. I fancy a fat bigger car even though it’s just me. Any chance you could subside that too. I dread to think what will happen if Labouf get in. Anyone who works and owns a house will be bankrupt.
I have little sympathy for them. We should all live within our means. If this means some of us moving to a different place or paying for a house we rent then so be it.
Child benefit needs to be cut now and limited to two children.
The real problem is that Wales has become a country with too few jobs and those that are available being low wage. The so called bedroom tax is not a tax at all but a piece of social engineering that seeks to distribute the rental housing to those who have chosen to have larger families at the expense of those who have smaller families. Both categories may well be working but paid low wages. This is why it is a stupid policy, fairly typical of ill thought out governement policy over many years and several changes of government.
What Wales is historically very good at is manufacturing, mining and quarrying. We need to return to this basic principle that our country has to pay its way, an aspiration that is impossible for as long as we are members of the EU. I am confident that soon Britain will no longer be in this undemocratic, costly, club that has impoverished the people for the last forty years. Let us look forward to a future where we trade with all the world, and profit from this trade, and do not subsidise an out dated politcal ideal that was born in the 1950’s and has no relevance to the 21st century.
It is interesting you mention mining. When the new, open top mine was announced last year it was met with enormous backlash and protests. It turns out some of the protestors for this new mine were the same protesters who campaigned against closing the mines in the 70’s. They don’t want the mines shut, yet they don’t want them open.
Most of the people in the valleys suffering the most from low pay do not seem to have any aspirations or ambition.
A fair point regarding propsed new mines and the opposition but there is, environmentally, a world of difference between a proper mine shaft or an adit and the proposal of an opencast. Also we need to factor in government hostility to using coal as a fuel or feedstock for the chemical industry. Thatcher destroyed a viable industry from malice and her work continues under the guise of ‘climate change.’
Regarding aspirations and ambition I don’t think that the Welsh lack either but suffer from poor education and a lack of jobs that offer training and a career structure. I don’t think Londoners, for instance, are any more motivated than Welsh people but can find worthwhile jobs far more easily.
The Bedroom Tax was always going to cause even greater hardship for the most vulnerable people in society. It comes as no surprise to me that the recent Wales Audit Report into Welfare Reform http://www.wao.gov.uk/news/welfare-reform-changes-are-having-significant-impact-social-housing-providers-and-tenants has laid out the costs both for the individuals who have been subjected to the policy and society as a whole. Many disabled tenants are having to find an extra £780 per annum and Council’s are having to direct additional financial resources to cope with the cost of the UK Tory Governments spiteful reforms. This means that all tax payers are paying the price. I would encourage everybody to read the Wales Audit Report.
The data needs updating.
DWP release quarterly official HB statistics the last one being November 2014 which details the position at the end of August 2014.
In Carephilly there are 2554 households each with an average bedroom tax cut of £13.88 per week or £1.85m per year.
Extrapolate that to the figures above over 19 months to October 2014 and the cut is £2.93 million for all social tenants of which the £2.1m is just for council tenants and £0.83m for housing association tenants.
Paul (Spare rooms and cost?) In New Tredegar you can rent a 4 bed private property for £380pcm and that is today and available. A household of 1 adult and 1 child renting privately would receive up to £408pcm in LHA the private sector version of housing benefit. In simple terms they would have 2 spare bedrooms yet still have all of their rent paid unlike a social housing tenant.
In my home city of Liverpool a single person renting privately will receive up to £395 pcm in LHA and websites such as rightmove currently advertise over 60 3 bed and larger properties for a monthly rental of £400 or less. That also happens right across the country outside of the SE of England and so the privately renting tenant is not penalised with a reduction that the social tenant has imposed upon them.
Secondly under occupation was introduced first in 1989 not in 2008 so by the Thatcher government and not the Brown administration