IDS: Bedroom Tax Has Saved Taxpayer £830m

Iain Duncan Smith has claimed the government has saved £830m as a result of the bedroom tax, and is on track to save £1bn over two years.  He said in the House of Commons the figures had been ‘ratified by the Office for Budget Responsibility’.  ‘To date, the policy has saved about £830m from the housing benefit bill, and the estimated savings remain the same: approximately £500m a year in 2013-14 and 2014-15.’ But Mr Duncan Smith did not give any figure when asked how much the benefit bill had risen as a result of tenants being forced into the private rented sector as a result of the changes. Read more on Inside Housing.