Government to Slash Housing Benefit for Disabled in Social Housing

The Government is to slash housing benefit for hundreds of thousands of disabled people who live in social housing, the National Housing Federation has warned. Under the Welfare Reform Bill, which had its third reading in the House of Commons on 15 June, the Government is proposing to cut benefit for the 670,000 social housing tenants who have a ‘spare bedroom’. Two thirds of these people, 450,000, are disabled. Up to 200,000 of those who will be affected receive Disability Living Allowance and around 100,000 live in homes specially adapted for their needs. Under the proposals, some 670,000 social housing tenants across Great Britain will lose an average of £676 per year because under new rules their homes will be deemed too large for their needs. As a result of the proposed cuts to housing benefit many tenants will end up going into debt and others will be compelled to move. By including disabled people in the measure, the Government is going back on earlier commitments to protect their homes and financial security, Read more on the NHF website.