Opinion piece by Jane Young
Note: since this article was published, Iain Duncan-Smith has published (12 March 2013) a Written Ministerial Statement which gives exemptions for adult children on deployment with the armed forces and approved foster carers. Up to date information is available at http://wearespartacus.org.uk/bedroom-tax/
It is well documented that the under-occupancy penalty for housing benefit claimants in social housing deemed to have ‘spare’ bedrooms is one of the worst thought-out provisions of the Coalition’s Welfare Reform Act. Its practical implementation is certain to lead to widespread hardship and, because of the shortage of smaller properties to which tenants can move, it will not even fulfil its stated aim, to free up larger homes for families who are homeless or overcrowded.
This shambles of a policy is now accompanied by the shambles of the Prime Minister’s statements. At Prime Minister’s Questions on 6 March, David Cameron said: ‘…people with severely disabled children are exempt and people who need round-the-clock care are exempt…’. The regulations (see B13), however, provide for no such exemptions, so Cameron misled the House of Commons.
It is totally understandable that the PM would like to think severely disabled people are exempt, since the under-occupancy rules will have an especially serious impact on disabled people and their families. But since he is wrong in his statement, applications for judicial review have been issued on behalf of several disabled children and adults, pursuant to which a directions hearing was held at the High Court on 5 March.
There are strong legal arguments, on human rights and equality grounds, to exempt disabled people from these regulations. Under Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, it is arguable that the statutory criteria as to the permitted number of bedrooms are discriminatory in that they fail to take into account the particular needs of disabled people; they do not allow for the number of bedrooms required to meet the objective needs of disabled people who may need the extra room – for example, because a disabled partner or child cannot share a room or because a room is used for storing disability-related equipment.
In addition, the regulation fails to take account of the different consequences of the benefit reduction for disabled people as compared with non-disabled people – for example, the need to live close to those who provide vital informal support or the need to retain the adaptations made to their current home. There is no justification for these discriminatory impacts.
Furthermore, the Government has failed to discharge its duties under the Equality Act 2010 as it has paid no regard to the different impact of the regulations on disabled people and has failed to consider whether or how to mitigate the impacts of the regulations on disabled people – who are also generally less able to fund the shortfall or to downsize.
As Sue McCafferty has pointed out before, availability of discretionary housing payments (DHP’s) is not sufficient mitigation of the impacts on disabled people, especially as there is unlikely to be sufficient funding to meet the shortfall for all disabled claimants who need help. The extra resources the Government has committed to provide for DHP’s only reflect the need to help disabled people with extensive adaptations to their home and foster carers. Sue has explained this in greater detail in Loaves and Fishes, her response to last year’s consultation on the subject. There has been no consideration of the impact of the policy on disabled people who do not qualify for DHP’s.
So the ‘bedroom tax’ is a shambles of a policy, through which any half-decent human rights lawyer can – and will – drive a coach-and-horses; and, if that’s not bad enough, the Prime Minister is now misleading the House on the rules. With impacts on disabled people and the poorest likely to include an inability to pay for food, heat and essentials, this policy and the politics around it are starting to look like one of the worst omnishambles of this Government. Whether via the political or the legal process, the bedroom tax must be scrapped urgently before it does serious harm to those in our communities who need the most support.
It is also the responsibility of Local Authorities to fulfil their Disability Equality Duties under the DDA as amended. If a public body fails to give due regard to the DED then that too can be challenged by Judicial Review. In particular the DED requires public bodies to consider the impact of their policies and the way they deliver services on disabled people. Many LAs have not done this properly.
Excellent point, Ian. It strikes me that this could definitely be an issue in relation to the allocation of their DHP funding! Is there any other way in which LA’s could use this duty to try to give a bit more protection to disabled people? I’m very aware that their funding has been slashed as well, of course, so whilst they have the legal duty they may well not have the ability to act. This is a really interesting issue that I haven’t seen explored elsewhere. Thank you
I couldn’t agree more with all that you say Jane. My only comment is that all the disadvantaged groups need to present a united front. To paraphrase: “The protesters, united, will never be divided.” Add foster carers, families with serving soldiers overseas and various other groups are all shouting as well. Let’s turn up the combined volume!
just like all the other punitive welfare reforms they hit the disabled hardest of all. This Tory government have been out for the disabled since day one and they should be ashamed, but they’re not because they have no shame let alone compassion.
The government have also failed to define what a bedroom actually is, paving the way for yet more confusion and controversy and thus business for lawyers.
I totally agree. This witch hunt of the disabled must be stopped. The Coalition are heartless and completely out of touch with the needs of disabled and sick people. They are the most incompetent group of spoilt rich boys and girls ever to be charged with running this country. The Minister for the Disabled should be renamed The Minister Against the Disabled.
I am a full time carer for my OAP disabled mum-in-law, who lives nearby, she is so worried what will happen to her once my hubby and I are forced to move out of our 3 bed home, like me she is very stressed, depressed & having trouble sleeping, it is having a detrimental effect on all our health, my hubbys asthma has gotten worse, I have suffered more than average flare ups of my ulcerative colitis, she cannot move in with us as she cannot climb stairs, her ground floor 2 bed flat has been adapted for her needs, my hubby & I cannot move in with her, as her spare room is only big enough for a single bed, and nothing else. This govt do not care about the untold damage they are doing to the thousands of disabled, sick, unemployed and low earners people, not forgetting our soldiers who will come home to no bedroom, then there are the foster carers, who will not be able to foster, once they are forced to move into a 1 bed property. This govt. are happy to forget that we exist, while they swan around in their mansions with numerous spare bedrooms, then they have the added bonus of spare rooms in their 2nd homes.
As this govt keeps stating “”WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER””
Yeh do the govt really think us peasants believe their mantra, NO NO NO they are criminals and should be prosecuted
I am a carer for my wife and am also disabled. we will be hit with the bedroom tax. i have just written to the Queen asking her to intervene with her government due to the effect it will have on the poorest of her subjects. if enough of us write to her there is a possibility of her saying to Cameron: enough, stop this attack on the poorest. chances are she has little knowledge of what is happening. it needs all who are affected by this to write to her using the following address.
Her Majesty The Queen
Buckingham Palace
London SW1A 1AA
something has to give somewhere, we need to make it the coalition who give
Well written ,our situation is just such a problem ,I am registered disbled and have to sleep in the spare bedroom as i have sleep apnea and as my wife is my and my mother in laws full time carer she needs her sleep without being disturbed ,also my mother in law has severe dementia and receives pension credit but because she is not the claimant of the housing benefit she cant be calculated in the exemptions. Our MP Kirby Smith just doesnt get it he avoids direct questions just like all the rest . My housing assoc cant solve our delema and with expensive adaptations being fitted just 2 years ago the county council wont consider re installing them at another address .Thanks Cameron for protecting the poor and vunerable I dont think so!!!!!
Jane,
Disabled people claiming discretionary payments are being penalised as they are counting it as income and therefore being told thier income is not considered low enough, this happend to my son last year with Housing Benifit when he applied for help from discretionary payments towards paying top up on his rent he was turned down, he was told he has Dla and can use that to pay for it
maggie Bridgeman
Details of some of the bedroom tax protests coming up very soon:
http://no2bedroomtax.co.uk/category/demos/
For anyone who hasn’t seen it, a good article by Amelia Gentleman in the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/08/human-cost-of-bedroom-tax
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_Governments_violating_human_rights_laws/?cmwYRdb
Please sign up and share with everyone you know.
This bedroom tax is as unfair on ordinary people just as much as the disabled. I wonder how many of those making the rules have a spare room? most I woud imagine. It’s not just a bedroom, my spare room houses my computer, my sewing machines my knitting machine and all the peripherals. I am disabled and have had a fair amount of adaptations fitted, this would need to be repeated if I was moved. Move me to a smaller place and I would not have room to do anything but sit and watch the box all day. I do not think one spare room for any social housing tenant is unreasonable, we should have the same rights to have friends or family to visit occasionally, or to be able to offer help to family in an emergency. Once again, they’ve got it wrong, hardly surprising when none of them have had to struggle to get by.
A quick pint of order.
I see some people want to go after the L.A’s over the implementation of the forthcoming Bedroom Tax. Much as it grieves me to say, the L.A’s are pretty much untouchable on this, so far. The thing is, that they are obliged to follow ‘the law’, that is, Statutes as laid down by Parliament. Now if it was a ‘Policy’ which is something dreamt up and voted into being by the Council then it is something which the L.A’s can be held accountable for as it can be very easily changed or scrapped altogether. The only way the L.A’s would be accountable is if they over stepped the spirit or mandate of the Legislation or gave it too much of a wide interpretation which added to the hardship that the legislation will cause as it is by even just a strict interpretation, much as in the case of the Smoking Ban. The villains are the Government, although there will surely be a few L.A’s and H.A’s that will try to be generous in their interpretation of the Bedroom Tax in order to profit unnecessarily form it.
I am sick on ESA and housing benefit, I had an accident to add to my problems and was unable to return to the property I privately rented as a result of the accident. I also have two teenage boys who are subject of a court contact order which states they are with me every other weekend and 50% of all holiday are to be spent with me their mother. The local authority refused to help with finding me other accommodation and despite Shelter tell me I qualified as effectively homeless the authority dismissed this out of hand. I had to find somewhere else myself to rent even though I was completely immobile and have no family other than my children. I was told that whatever property was found had to be within the new housing benefits payment amounts as I would not be granted any discretionary payments and I was not entitled to any pare rooms as the court contact order did not count for anything and gave me no extra rights to be able to have a room for the boys to stay in, as teenage boys it is deemed unsuitable for them to share with their mother and the younger one is Autistic and requires his own space. As the place I was in was privately rented it could not be adapted and I would face the bedroom tax, I have now been forced to move into a privately rented one bed ground floor flat (which someone I know spotted and I was not even able to see the property before I moved in) it is nowhere near my sons and I am not able to travel and there is no direct transport for my son’s to get to me so in the last 9 months I have hardly seen my children let alone had the ordered contact with them and did not even see them for mother’s day. I am still in privately rented so am still very limited as to what adaptations can be made and am very very alone and spend most days trap in the property because what no one tells you is that if you are in privately rented you do not seem to be deemed as much in need as if you are in council or housing association as you are seen as being able to manage. I have been in since January the place has not been cleaned since as I cannot mange and I am still sleeping on the same sheet that were put on the bed when I moved in and because I have no family I have no one to shout or seek care on my behalf, I fill like I have been moved and forgotten about.
Chris, this is awful – you should call the council and ask for a social care needs assessment. They should assess you if you’re a disabled person and are not managing. They may not be able to help but if they’re not they should suggest other sources of support. I’m so, so sorry things are so bad.
Excellent article by Joe Halewood, everyone affected by the bedroom tax needs to read this,
If every tenant appeals the bedroom tax will go – Direct action is needed
http://speye.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/if-ever-tenant-appeals-the-bedroom-tax-will-go-direct-action-is-needed/
http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/care/foster-carers-to-be-exempt-from-bedroom-tax/6526115.article
Sample letter for us all to use to appeal against housing benefit reduction re bedroom tax
http://speye.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/an-example-of-a-standard-letter-to-challenge-the-bedroom-tax-hb-decision/
Dear Sirs,
I received your decision letter dated INSERT DATE and referenced above that imposed an under occupation charge, or bedroom tax of 14% / 25% (delete as appropriate) on my existing award of Housing Benefit.
I consider this unwarranted yet in order to challenge this in the correct way and potentially by way of formal appeal I require further information to be sent to me within 7 days of this letter and the urgency of that is to ensure I have enough time to formulate any such appeal and in full knowledge of the facts of my case within the time allowed; OR in the alternative I request the deadline for any such formal appeal be moved to 21 days after I receive the request information below:
1. A written copy of the Council’s policy and decision-making procedures in relation to referring a socially housed claimant decision to the Rent Officer Service.
2. A full explanation of how the council decided that (INSERT ADDRESS) was determined to be a 3 bed property for the under occupation charge and this to include what involvement if any of my landlord, (INSERT LANDLORD NAME) in this process.
Please state by way of covering letter with the requested information any changed deadline date from above with regard to a formal appeal.
Yours etc
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
PS, all letters to the council have to be hand written
2 councils has declared that none of its social tenants will be evicted if they cannot afford to pay the government’s forthcoming bedroom tax.
Brighton & Hove City Council has become the first local authority in the country to take such a stance.
http://www.24dash.com/news/housing/2013-03-15-Council-no-tenant-to-be-evicted-over-bedroom-tax
Dundee council pledge not to evict tenants hit by the bedroom tax
http://newssy.net/en/c_Regional(United+Kingdom)/s_Scotland/w_Dundee/n_5374726.html
http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/legal/bedroom-tax-faces-second-legal-challenge/6526264.article
Human rights group Liberty is launching legal action against the government’s penalty for under-occupation of social housing.
The organisation said it will seek a judicial review as it believes the penalty, widely known as the ‘bedroom tax’, breaches the European Convention on Human Rights. Liberty said it will argue that the policy is discriminatory and would infringe on family life.
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Our Housing Association are a real nasty bunch of ratbags. They told us today that they are seeking a repossession order NEXT WEEK! Too nasty to even be civilised and give us advance warning, bet we won’t even be told of the court date so they can sneak it through. Probably worried the judge will take one look at me in my wheelchair and my carer with her stick and refuse it!
I’m confused as to why Pat says, letters to the council, have to be hand written???
Mine are all done on my computer so I can keep a copy.
DHP’s are a sticking plaster over an open wound. I don’t think many people will get them. Not even the Disabled.
And the reason… councils, up and down the country are using DLA as income. And saying you have enough money to pay both, the bedroom tax AND council tax. Don’t forget about the CT., which many, many people are now having to pay as well.
DLA is awarded for care and mobility. NOT for paying rent and CT!!
What’s more, is that they are getting away with doing this.