The Unite union this week accused the government of turning a blind eye to the suffering being caused by the ‘bedroom tax’, as new figures reveal up to 50,000 households have been charged in error.
The issue was brought to the fore as MPs voted in parliament on Ian Lavery MP’s Ten Minute Rule Bill on the bedroom tax. However, rather than face up to the devastation the ‘bedroom tax’ has caused, the Tory-led government chose to oppose the Labour MP’s motion.
New research from the National Housing Federation has also found that two-thirds of households in England affected by the bedroom tax have fallen into rent arrears. This has resulted in one in seven families receiving eviction risk letters.
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “This government has turned a blind eye to the suffering of tens of thousands of people today.
“The hated bedroom Tax is driving thousands of families into poverty and forcing people out of their homes, through no fault of their own.
“Today Ian Lavery MP’s Ten Minute Rule Bill gave the government the chance to face up to its grave mistake, yet it continues to press ahead callously.
“It is welcome that the Labour Party has pledged to scrap the bedroom tax if elected in 2015. However, for the people facing eviction that day can’t come quickly enough. If this government had even a shred of decency it would have taken Ian Lavery’s advice and scrapped the bedroom tax today.”
