Department of Finance release advice to the Minister over the Bedroom Tax

There was a dispute between the Finance Minister and the Communities Minister over whether mitigation payments could be made to the 34,000 homes who would be impacted by the introduction of the Bedroom Tax in Northern Ireland. Although advice from officials within the department argue that provisions already exist to bring these mitigations in. David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

Bedroom Tax promises must be honoured

Of all the welfare changes introduced in Great Britain since 2010, it is the Bedroom Tax that has perhaps attracted the most attention. The patent unfairness and arbitrary nature of the policy, along with its arresting tabloid moniker (officially it is the ‘Social Sector Size Criteria’), has provoked much interest. Social tenants on housing benefit deemed to have one spare bedroom lose 14% of their entitlement, with two or more spare bedrooms triggering a 25% cut in payments. For low-income …

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Effects of the Stormont crash on bedroom tax mitigations…

One of the notable features of that interview with the ‘naughty ministers’ on Newsline a couple of nights ago was Paul Given’s reference to the effect of forestalling of a functional budget, which follows Sinn Fein’s hasty (and unplanned) withdrawal. Here’s Digital View on the bedroom tax: A screening report published by the Department for Communities found that around 34,000 households could be affected by the policy, with average losses reaching up to £20.42 per week. Ms McCauley added: “Housing …

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Dodds: “Time the inhumane and ineffective consequences of bedroom tax are revisited in the rest of the UK”

Okay, ignore the Grauniad’s misidentification of Nigel Dodds as the leader of the DUP, and focus on the subject of the Op Ed…. In contrast to most of the political mudslinging that passes for politics in Westminster these days, the tone is incredibly relaxed and polite. Before he gets to the main course, here’s the opener: It’s a pity if the two – current – main parties can’t make themselves attractive enough to most voters, but it explains where we …

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Bedroom Tax aimed at the poor in London and SE will cost more in Northern reland

So to be fair to Iain Duncan Smith, I don’t think the initial motive for the so-called bedroom tax (the social sector size criteria or under-occupation penalty) was to save money. Rather it was intended as a means of redistributing housing within the rented sector so that those with greatest got matching resources. This is a policy which was created for the overcrowded (and house starved) London and South East of England, where house prices are the driver for the …

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