Secretary Of State Called On To Clarify Housing Benefit Cut for 'Under-Occupiers'

Hilary Benn MP, Shadow Leader of the House, has demanded that the Work and Pensions Secretary appear before the House of Commons to clarify the impact of Government’s plans to slash housing benefit for tenants deemed to be under-occupying. The Government has announced plans to reduce housing benefit for working-age tenants it considers are under-occupying social homes. Hilary Benn said: "Following Lord Freud’s comments this week that spare bedrooms for people in social housing are a luxury, can we have a statement from the Work and Pensions Secretary so that he can confirm that a widow who has lived in the same two-bedroom house all her life now faces having her housing benefit cut, and may therefore be forced to move? If that is the case, where will she be expected to move to? The NHF says that while 180,000 social tenants in England are “under-occupying” two-bedroom homes, only 68,000 one-bedroom social homes become available for letting each year." Read more on 24dash.