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The bedroom tax: a vicious policy

Posted by Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, at 11:22, Fri 1 March 2013:

Some changes are happening in my staff team this week. Rebecca, who works in my office in Westminster, is going on maternity leave. While she's away, Roxanne Mashari will be covering part time in London (she's also a local councillor in Brent, so she has lots on her plate!), and Alex will be increasing his hours in the constituency office to pick up more of the casework.

I would be absolutely lost without my fantastic staff. They're great problem solvers, they keep track of my totally hectic diary, they help dozens of constituents every week with a whole range of queries and concerns, they carry out research into a huge variety of subjects that I'm working on in parliament or that constituents contact me about, they get out the emails, letters and press releases that mean you know what I'm getting up to.

But, thanks to the government, I think we are all about to be even busier. More and more people are coming to my surgeries as cuts to council services bite, and more changes to benefits and tax credits take effect from the beginning of April.

One change that is really worrying people locally is the government's vicious bedroom tax. This means that from April, many tenants of local housing associations, like Trafford Housing Trust, Partington Housing Association, Irwell Valley and others, will face a cut in the housing benefit that helps with the rent because they've been told they've got too many bedrooms.

The government says they ought to move to a smaller property. But in many parts of Trafford, smaller houses aren't available. Perversely, if people have to move to the private sector, rents will be more expensive, and the housing benefit bill that the government says is too high will go up further, not reduce. In some cases, people will be forced to move from homes they've lived in for years, perhaps for decades, where they brought up their families, where they are part of the community - totally disrupting arrangements for caring for children or disabled or elderly relatives, travel to work, or volunteering.

So much for the Big Society. But if people decide they'll stay put, they risk falling behind with the rent and into debt. Which in turn means housing associations will have less money to invest in building desperately needed new homes. It's one of the stupidest as well as one of the nastiest policies that we've seen from this government.

There have been several debates in parliament about all this, including one this week. Very few Tories have had the gall to speak out in these debates in favour of the bedroom tax - in some of the debates, there have been no Tory MPs present at all, other than the government Minister. Even though homelessness is rising sharply, and the number of families in illegal bed and breakfast accommodation is up by a staggering 800%, the government is determined to press on with the policy. There are discretionary funds to help people who struggle, but the help is only temporary, and there isn't enough money for everyone who needs it.

You might think it's perfectly reasonable that we shouldn't be paying benefits to people who are "under occupying" their homes, and that when children move out of the family home, of course parents should downsize. And many of those trapped by this policy would agree with you: they'd love to move to a smaller, more manageable property if only one were available. Some families can arrange swaps, but this is quite rare and difficult to organise. So instead we'll have families facing even more pressure - while millionaires in their mansions get a tax cut come the beginning of April.

How can that be fair?

Kate Green

Member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston

Shadow Spokesperson for Equality

Tel: 0161 749 9120 (constituency); 020 7219 7162 (Westminster) www.kategreen.org @kategreensu