DWP Bids to Overturn Ruling on Spare Rooms

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is bidding to overturn a Court of Appeal (CoA) decision which ruled that the size criteria in the housing benefit regulations discriminate against disabled people.  Last month the CoA said the regulations were discriminatory, because they do not allow for an additional room to be paid for where a disabled person has a carer, or where two children cannot share a room because of disability and the DWP is now under pressure to amend the regulations for families with disabled children. Under current plans around 670,000 social tenants - two-thirds containing a disabled family member - face losing an average of £13 per week because they are deemed to have one or more additional bedrooms.  Read more on 24dash.