Bedroom Tax

[Ship called Dignity]

Seems to be a topic of discussion just now. What's your views?

[four eyes]

The new poll tax?

[MPR]

many years ago there used to be a window tax

[WC1]

This is just another aspect of the Coalition's attack on the living standards of the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. Its purpose is purely and simply to cut housing benefits and damn the consequences. The rest of us are being drip fed the line that these people are scroungers and ne'er do wells, living high on the hog while the rest of us struggle in "the current economic climate". Each of us has to come to our own conclusions, but it might help if I give an example of a lady known to me here in Campbeltown. This lady lives in a rented house which is certainly "too big" for her. Her family have grown up and moved out, so she has spare rooms. As a result she will lose a big lump of her benefits unless she "downsizes". Two problems with that. One, there's a dearth of smaller properties available in the rental sector. Two, this has been her home for decades, the home into which she moved with her late husband when they were married and in which she brought up her family and to which her family return when they come to stay with her from time to time. So she has to decide what is more important to her: to "take the hit" and live on a reduced income in order to go on living in the home that is such an important and valuable part of her life, or to give that up for the sake of being able to avoid living from hand to mouth. A lot of us are taken in by the Coalition's propaganda about cutting benefits, about making the people living on benefits accept the same hardships as the rest of us. This used to be known as "divide and rule". But we need to remember the human stories behind the statistics. There's one of them being lived out down your street.

[petewick]

Its all just so wrong.......

[four eyes]

This is just another aspect of the Coalition's attack on the living standards of the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. Its purpose is purely and simply to cut housing benefits and damn the consequences. The rest of us are being drip fed the line that these people are scroungers and ne'er do wells, living high on the hog while the rest of us struggle in "the current economic climate". Each of us has to come to our own conclusions, but it might help if I give an example of a lady known to me here in Campbeltown. This lady lives in a rented house which is certainly "too big" for her. Her family have grown up and moved out, so she has spare rooms. As a result she will lose a big lump of her benefits unless she "downsizes". Two problems with that. One, there's a dearth of smaller properties available in the rental sector. Two, this has been her home for decades, the home into which she moved with her late husband when they were married and in which she brought up her family and to which her family return when they come to stay with her from time to time. So she has to decide what is more important to her: to "take the hit" and live on a reduced income in order to go on living in the home that is such an important and valuable part of her life, or to give that up for the sake of being able to avoid living from hand to mouth. A lot of us are taken in by the Coalition's propaganda about cutting benefits, about making the people living on benefits accept the same hardships as the rest of us. This used to be known as "divide and rule". But we need to remember the human stories behind the statistics. There's one of them being lived out down your street.

who will reimburse these people for any work done on the house?carpets etc. moving expenses and so on.

[WC1]

I wouldn't count on the government giving them anything . . .

[petewick]

I wouldn't count on the government giving them anything . . .

Most unlikely......

[Shona]

It's totally disingenuous for the Government to suggest that 600,000 people will be able to give up the homes and find somewhere smaller to live...because those homes don't exist!

Let's remember that, unlike the picture Cameron, Clegg, Osbo and Co paint, not all people receiving housing benefit are out of work. Most in low-paid part-time work (because that's all there is in some places), which qualifies them for some housing benefit - not the full whack, just a proportion. But the Bedroom Tax doesn't distinguish between those who work and get a little HB and those who don't work and get full HB.

Because of the Government's rules, there are families who don't have spare rooms who will be affected by the Bedroom Tax.

All the following are included in the Bedroom Tax's net:

- Disabled people, including those who live in adapted or modified properties.
- Families with disabled children.
- Separated parents who share the care of their children.
- Foster carers because foster children aren't counted.
- Parents whose children visit.
- Couples who use a spare room because one person has an illness that requires a separate room.
- People who have people (may be family or a freind) who stays to help out with caring from time to time.

So if a couple had been allocated a three-bedroom house in the past because one of their two children had specific medical needs will now be deemed to have a spare room as children, if the children are under 10 (regardless of the sex of the children), they must share a room. The rules make no distinction between the size of rooms either - a room is a bedroom or not. So if the couple above have two single rooms for their children, the two children will be expected to share a room.

Of course, all of us who pay our taxes, including those low-paid part-time workers, are subsidising people in large properties. When it comes to Council Tax, Band H properties are at least 8 times more valuable than Band A properties, yet if you have a Band H property, you only pay 3 times the amount those in Band A pay.

[four eyes]

this is the sort of policy the Labour Party should be standing against. Unfortunately the Labour Party is no longer connected to the people. I could go on, but this is a subject that is too large to cover here. Until our politicians start to remember exactly who they work for, this is unlikely to change.I despair.

[Shona]

I have seen quite a bit from Labour about the Bedroom Tax. However, the Government, helped by their chums in the right-wing media - have been successful at defining the debate in terms of 'strivers' and 'skivers'.

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen headlines reading along the lines of 'Single immigrant mum gets £25,000 in housing benefit!'. The truth is the people getting rich on Housing Benefit are landlords, particularly in places like London, where renting costs a small fortune.

It won't be long before someone suggests bringing back the workhouse for the so-called undeserving poor.

[four eyes]

perhaps it would be better if they wore a yellow star, that way they would be easily identifiable.

[Shona]

Don't give them ideas, Four Eyes!

[four eyes]

here's a link to an interesting report, all you Daily Mail readers, and hard-working strivers please read

http://www.turn2us.org.uk/pdf/Mythbusting.pdf

[Shona]

here's a link to an interesting report, all you Daily Mail readers, and hard-working strivers please read

http://www.turn2us.org.uk/pdf/Mythbusting.pdf

That's my sort of report - calming explaining the reality rather than hyping the hyperbole.