Supreme Court Bedroom Tax Breakthrough

The country’s highest court, the Supreme Court, has ruled that the Government discriminated against a disabled woman and her husband and a severely disabled child who needs overnight care through the implementation of the ‘bedroom tax’. The Supreme Court judges dismissed the Government’s appeal in the case of CPAG’s clients Paul and Susan Rutherford who provide around-the-clock care for their disabled grandson and who have a third bedroom for overnight carers. CPAG acted for the Rutherfords who had successfully challenged the bedroom tax scheme in the Court of Appeal which held the policy unlawfully discriminates against children with disabilities who need overnight care. Read more on the CPAG website.

Disabled Bedroom Tax Victims to Take Their Fight to Supreme Court

Disabled victims of the hated Bedroom Tax are to fight it in the Supreme Court. They are testing a ruling that the 14% benefit cut for having a spare room is unlawful for families with children but not for adults. A campaign lawyer said: “This is very positive.” Charity Shelter said victims “are in real distress”. A judge decided the cuts were unlawful on families with disabled kids who were unable to share a bedroom with another child because of their disabilities, but said the cut to benefits of disabled adults was justified.  A group of disabled adults have now won permission to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider, arguing their case is the same as children’s. Read more on the Sunday Mirror website.

Benefit Changes Mean a Choice of 'Eat or Heat' For More Families

Soaring numbers of families with disabled children are being forced to go without food or heating because they can no longer afford the basics, according to research from Contact A Family. One third of families with disabled children are worse off as a result of benefit changes – nearly half by more than £1,500 a year. Changes to tax credits, a reduction in help with council tax and the "bedroom tax" were the commonest problems reported. Overall, 83 per cent of parents with disabled children say the family is now having to go without. Of these, almost a quarter say their child's health has worsened as a result, and more than two thirds suffered ill health themselves. Read more on the Independent website.

Housing Benefit Challenge Set For Appeal Court

The legality of housing benefit changes is to be challenged after lawyers for 10 adults and children with disabilities won the right to take their cases to the Court of Appeal. The appeal is against a High Court ruling in July that upheld the legality of the benefit changes. Read more on the BBC website.

Disabled Children Bedroom Tax Rules Delayed

Regulations protecting certain families with disabled children from the bedroom tax will not be passed until the autumn, despite a judge saying they were ‘imminent’.  Campaigners lost a high profile legal challenge to the policy recently, after High Court judges refused to overturn the policy on the grounds that it discriminates against disabled people.  However, the judgement did slam the government for failing to introduce regulations protecting families with disabled children who cannot share a room from the policy, as ordered in a previous case. However, a spokesperson for the DWP confirmed no regulations will be considered until the new parliamentary term in the autumn. They said: ‘Now that we have this judgement it is intended that the regulations for children will be laid in autumn.’ Read more on Inside Housing.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the rent of those parents of disabled children exempted from the under-occupancy penalty will be paid from the general housing benefit budget rather than through discretionary housing payments; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: If local authorities are satisfied that an extra bedroom is required for a disabled child or children then payments will be made from the general housing benefit budget.  Where an extra bedroom is not deemed essential, discretionary housing payments may be considered, based on the circumstances and facts of each individual case.

Bedroom Tax Breaches Right to Family Life

Liberty has announced it will seek Judicial Review of the Government’s controversial new “bedroom tax” policy based on the impact on separated families with shared custody of children. The announcement comes days before the High Court is due to rule whether a challenge based on the effect on disabled people should be allowed to proceed.  Earlier this month a separate challenge to the penalty was brought on behalf of 10 vulnerable and disabled children who will be affected by the policy. The High Court is expected to rule on whether this challenge can proceed within the next few days.  Read more on the Liberty website.

Families Still Face Bedroom Tax Misery Despite Late Concessions

The UK's biggest union has dismissed the government's decision to exempt foster carers and members of the armed forces from its bedroom tax policy as a "cynical ploy".  Unite says that the exemptions will not help the majority of the 660,000 people set to be hit by the policy, which comes into force on April 1.  The union claims that separated parents who share the care of their children and families with disabled children will continue to lose out by an average of £14 per week under the new under-occupancy rules, whilst two thirds of those affected will be people with disabilities.  Read more on the Unite website.

Further Bedroom Tax Humiliation as DWP Drops Supreme Court Appeal

The DWP has decided to drop a case against a father of two disabled daughters who argued that his children shouldn't have to share a bedroom.

Richard Gorry challenged the DWP when he was told he could only claim housing benefit for a three-bedroom house. Mr Gorry appealed on the grounds that his daughters' disabilities - one who has Down's Syndrome and one who has spina bifida - meant that they could not always share a bedroom. Mr Gorry also has a third daughter who isn't disabled. On May 15 last year, the Court of Appeal agreed that the Gorrys had been unlawfully discriminated against. But Iain Duncan Smith, the secretary for work and pensions, decided to appeal the decision with the Supreme Court.  Read more on 24dash.

Disabled Children to Be Protected From Bedroom Tax

Iain Duncan Smith has confirmed that disabled children will be protected from the bedroom tax. The works and pensions secretary said that it would be left for councils to determine whether or not a child’s disability means a household needs an extra bedroom. Mr Duncan Smith said he would be publishing guidance for local authorities on how best to use discretionary housing payments to protect people from the impacts of the coming benefit changes.  Read more on 24dash.