Angus MacNeil MP has warned an estimated
330 households in Na h-Eileanan an Iar
will be hit by the UK Government’s bedroom tax.
The under-occupancy penalty will cut Housing
Benefit of low income households by an average of £14 a week- or over
£700 a year for tenants who are deemed to be living in a home bigger
than their needs. The figures were released by the National
Housing Federation ahead of a debate on bedroom tax today in the House
of Commons, led by the SNP.
“The most vulnerable people in my constituency are
being hit by this tax, with the vast majority of households affected
being home to someone with a recognised disability.
“This policy is inherently unfair. People on the
lowest incomes are paying the price for structural problems affecting
the supply of affordable housing. The bedroom tax is also unworkable-
instead of addressing the underlying problems,
it undermines the ability of social landlords to invest in the kind of
affordable housing that is so badly needed.
“This policy will be imposed on Scotland, despite the fact over 80 per cent of Scottish MPs voted against.
“In Scotland we have an opportunity to change, so
that we make our own democratic decisions. With independence we have the
opportunity to do things differently."
