Bedroom Tax: Savings Likely To Be '£160m Less Than Official Projections'

The government faced fresh calls to overhaul the unpopular bedroom tax after research into the first five months of the scheme suggested ministers may have significantly overestimated the savings it is likely to generate. The analysis – which ran real data collected by four housing associations since April through a model used in 2012 by the DWP to assess the likely impact of the policy – found that savings were likely to be £160m less than the official projections of £480m for the first year. But employment minister Esther McVey dismissed the findings, which she claimed reflected the housing associations' "vested interests". Read more on the Guardian website.