Lords a Leaping...but not far enough

Capability Scotland today welcomed the House of Lords decision to limit plans to cut housing benefits for people judged to be 'under-occupied' accommodation in the social rented sector.

The provision would have meant that those found to be living in houses that were too big for them would be ordered to find smaller accommodation or have their housing benefit cut by £13 per week (£716 per year).

The peers voted 258 to 190 to limit the cuts to people who have 2 or more spare bedroom or that have one extra room but have been offered alternative accommodations and refused.

Richard Hamer, Capability Director of External Affairs commented:

"The Lords amendment is welcomed in that it provides a buffer of the number of spare rooms that tenants can have before they are penalised. It doesn't, however, address the core problem raised by Capability Scotland, the Scottish Parliament's Health and Sport Committee and the UK Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights.

This is that disabled people may be living in a house substantially larger than required due to the extra rooms being required for equipment or carers, or it being the only property available. The Bill's proposals, amended or not, will still leave a situation where either a disabled tenant or landlord must take a cut in income due to supposed under-occupation, or the landlord will be faced to adapt another property at huge cost."

He also added:

"We are piling on pressure on the UK Government, and DWP in particular, to come up with a significantly better proposal than the original Bill contains. We know the DWP is wavering on this issue but, despite assistance from organisations including Capability Scotland, has yet to reach a satisfactory conclusion."

The decision comes only days after the Lords had decided to reject an amendment to the Welfare Reform Bill which would have ended the UK Government's plans to half certain benefits for families with disabled children.

The Lords' failure to challenge the slashing of child benefits has caused disappointment and outrage amongst disability organisations and families with disabled children who were hoping for a more positive outcome.