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PM claims disabled children exempt from bedroom tax ?
At PMQs today David Cameron claimed that ‘people with disabled child will be exempt’ from the bedroom tax or as he preferred to call it ‘the spare room subsidy’.
However the Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations 2012 make no provision to exempt disabled children and as far as I am aware the DWP are still seeking to overturn the Burnip decision at the Supreme Court.
Does anyone know what he is referring to?
I think he hasn’t got a clue himself
This was absolutely shocking misinformation, given that they are appealing Gorry et al and are fighting the children’s cases brought this week.
He also complained at PMQ’s that Labour’s campaign had “terrified” a pensioner constituent by misinforming her that she would be hit by the bedroom tax. Presumably he’s relaxed about younger people being terrified though…...
Cameron repeated the bits about exemptions several times before he finally said “the right hon. Gentleman is completely wrong, because anyone with severely disabled children is exempt from the spare room subsidy”. The phrase “anyone with severely disabled children” is the clincher. It shows either the depths of his ignorance on the subject or the breadth of his deceit.
‘Spare room subsidy’?????? Whatever next??? Boxroom Bonanza???? Study Supplement? Nursery Numismatic?
Headroom tax? For 6 footers.
This was the extraordinary response today from officials:
“As the Prime Minister confirmed, families of disabled children who would usually be expected to share a bedroom can be allowed housing benefit for an additional bedroom if they are unable to share because of their disability. Decisions rest with local authorities who administer Housing Benefit and consider applications on a case by case basis.
This arises from a Court of Appeal judgment last year which ruled that local authorities should award housing benefit for an additional bedroom under the size criteria rules for private sector tenants where it is unreasonable for a disabled child to share a bedroom as a result of their disability. This will apply to social sector tenants from April when the spare room subsidy is removed”.
This is indeed the Burnip case (no menton of the fact that it is going to the Supreme Court to consider or the advice to suspend such payments).
To say that many LA staff are fuming with this explanation after all the previous “guidance” issued…..
interesting guest post by CPAG on nearly legal website starts -
‘At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday [6 March 2013] David Cameron claimed that “anyone with severely disabled children is exempt from the spare room subsidy”, more commonly known as the “bedroom tax”. Leaving to one side the semantics around the changes to housing benefit due in April (the official title is the “social sector under-occupancy penalty”), this would be a welcome exception indeed. Unfortunately it doesn’t stand up to closer scrutiny. The Government is in fact fighting tooth and nail through the courts to ensure that no such exemption applies.’
here’s a link -
http://nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/2013/03/guest-post-by-cpag-disabled-children-and-bedroom-tax/
HBinfoPeter - has this response from officials been published somewhere?
Derek
According to IDS in Commons yesterday, new guidance to be published today on bedroom tax
and disabled children. D
Iain Duncan Smith said -
‘As the law stands, when a local authority agrees that a family needs an extra bedroom because their child’s disability means that they are unable to share, the family can be entitled to the spare room subsidy in respect of that extra bedroom. As with housing benefit claims, the determination of whether their disability requires them to have an extra bedroom is a matter for the local authority to decide with the help of DWP guidance and medical evidence. This week we will issue final guidance to local authorities on a number of areas, including this one, that will confirm the position that the judgment in Burnip, Trengove and Gorry applies to both the social rented sector and the private rented sector.’
It will be interesting to see what the guidance says- if DWP continues with appeal against Burnip etc, hard for it to maintain that families with disabled children are protected.
here’s link to hansard -