Brighton and Hove Council stalls on bedroom tax pledge (From The Argus)

The bedroom tax is so flawed and seems to be rushed in without looking at the wider picture.

My old neighbour was a council tenant in a 2-bed house and wanted to downsize to a 1-bed flat but the few that were available would have cost him more and he couldn't afford it. Now, he's going to be charged the bedroom tax for a home he can't afford to leave.

An old friend was moved by the housing association into a 2-bed bungalow to suit her mobility issues and will now be charged bedroom tax, even though the housing association deliberately bought the larger property just for her.

I am not affected by this tax but feel for those who are and who don't have the option to move into smaller properties if they want to do so.

Instead of selling off homes cheaply, the council needs to invest in one-bed flats to free up larger houses and make home mobility easier.

Tom V wrote:
The bedroom tax is so flawed and seems to be rushed in without looking at the wider picture.

My old neighbour was a council tenant in a 2-bed house and wanted to downsize to a 1-bed flat but the few that were available would have cost him more and he couldn't afford it. Now, he's going to be charged the bedroom tax for a home he can't afford to leave.

An old friend was moved by the housing association into a 2-bed bungalow to suit her mobility issues and will now be charged bedroom tax, even though the housing association deliberately bought the larger property just for her.

I am not affected by this tax but feel for those who are and who don't have the option to move into smaller properties if they want to do so.

Instead of selling off homes cheaply, the council needs to invest in one-bed flats to free up larger houses and make home mobility easier.

Not sure how "old" you mean by old - but if pensioners then shouldn't be affected by these changes

Another harmful and disasterousTory initiative. Where are the smaller properties to move into? They do not exist.

Will it save the tax payer money? I doubt it will save a penny and will lead to great disruption at best. I should think many loan sharks are rubbing their hands!

Will this help people escape poverty? No, it will take money that would otherwise be spent on food and heating. It also will lead to children's education suffering due to moving schools as is already happening in London. It will eventually lead to ghettos of the poor.

I am glad that the Green councillors have made a move to protect the most vulnerable and it is sad but unsuprising to see the modern Labour Party apparently not supporting those most in need. No doubt there are complications with protecting against this simplitic social engineering, but Gill Mitchell and Co. should be supporting the principal of keeping people in their homes and financial disaster where reasonable alternatives do not exist.

HJarrs wrote:
Another harmful and disasterousTory initiative. Where are the smaller properties to move into? They do not exist.

Will it save the tax payer money? I doubt it will save a penny and will lead to great disruption at best. I should think many loan sharks are rubbing their hands!

Will this help people escape poverty? No, it will take money that would otherwise be spent on food and heating. It also will lead to children's education suffering due to moving schools as is already happening in London. It will eventually lead to ghettos of the poor.

I am glad that the Green councillors have made a move to protect the most vulnerable and it is sad but unsuprising to see the modern Labour Party apparently not supporting those most in need. No doubt there are complications with protecting against this simplitic social engineering, but Gill Mitchell and Co. should be supporting the principal of keeping people in their homes and financial disaster where reasonable alternatives do not exist.

There are regularly reports of families squashed in council houses that are too small for them. It seems immoral to have this while at the same time having others with council accommodation with spare rooms

We have limited number of rooms available. These need to be used efficiently

I therefore agree with the principle. However the bedroom tax is rather a blunt weapon. There needs to be more funding for the special cases. Also where there aren't any smaller properties available and this can be proved then the benefit reductions shouldn't apply - think this would help focus the debate on optimising the rooms available to the need of all. Not just to those lucky enough to have at the moment

Those who can't find smaller accommodation should be forced to rent out a room to people in need or pay the increased charge. It is not fair on the thousands of people languishing in hostels and dreadful accommodation that social housing stock is left unused in this way especially when most people in the city who work can often not afford a spare room.

Obviously people with a proven need for an extra room e.g. disabled and need night time carers staying are a totally different case but I understood these people were being helped.

As for ghettos being created in London - London is already a financial ghetto for anyone on an average income - hence the huge commuter belt around it. This has been the case for many years so wake up to the real world.

As for the protest on Saturday it was the smallest protest I've seen. There were only about 20 people on it so perhaps that indicates what most people think about this policy.

This country is on the skids in so many ways.

Kate234 wrote:
Those who can't find smaller accommodation should be forced to rent out a room to people in need or pay the increased charge. It is not fair on the thousands of people languishing in hostels and dreadful accommodation that social housing stock is left unused in this way especially when most people in the city who work can often not afford a spare room.

Obviously people with a proven need for an extra room e.g. disabled and need night time carers staying are a totally different case but I understood these people were being helped.

As for ghettos being created in London - London is already a financial ghetto for anyone on an average income - hence the huge commuter belt around it. This has been the case for many years so wake up to the real world.

As for the protest on Saturday it was the smallest protest I've seen. There were only about 20 people on it so perhaps that indicates what most people think about this policy.

Where is this housing? I suppose it is in Jeopardy where there seem to be so many jobs these days.

The ghettos will not be in London but cheaper areas of the country as council's export their problems elsewhere.

HJarrs wrote:

Kate234 wrote:
Those who can't find smaller accommodation should be forced to rent out a room to people in need or pay the increased charge. It is not fair on the thousands of people languishing in hostels and dreadful accommodation that social housing stock is left unused in this way especially when most people in the city who work can often not afford a spare room.

Obviously people with a proven need for an extra room e.g. disabled and need night time carers staying are a totally different case but I understood these people were being helped.

As for ghettos being created in London - London is already a financial ghetto for anyone on an average income - hence the huge commuter belt around it. This has been the case for many years so wake up to the real world.

As for the protest on Saturday it was the smallest protest I've seen. There were only about 20 people on it so perhaps that indicates what most people think about this policy.

Where is this housing? I suppose it is in Jeopardy where there seem to be so many jobs these days.

The ghettos will not be in London but cheaper areas of the country as council's export their problems elsewhere.

Well if there weren't so many empty bedrooms in council properties there would be lots more to go round

Kate234 wrote:
Those who can't find smaller accommodation should be forced to rent out a room to people in need or pay the increased charge. It is not fair on the thousands of people languishing in hostels and dreadful accommodation that social housing stock is left unused in this way especially when most people in the city who work can often not afford a spare room.

Obviously people with a proven need for an extra room e.g. disabled and need night time carers staying are a totally different case but I understood these people were being helped.

As for ghettos being created in London - London is already a financial ghetto for anyone on an average income - hence the huge commuter belt around it. This has been the case for many years so wake up to the real world.

As for the protest on Saturday it was the smallest protest I've seen. There were only about 20 people on it so perhaps that indicates what most people think about this policy.

idiot

In the interest of accuracy there is no such thing as a bedroom tax - this is just a leftie label which does not represent fact - but hey lefties never let facts get in the way of a good rant !

I have wondered where all these one bedroom flats are?

If someone said they wanted to move to avoid this and wasn't offered another property will they still have to pay it even if they cannot afford it?

Typical! Green grandstanding without anything of substance to back them.

HJarrs wrote:

Kate234 wrote:
Those who can't find smaller accommodation should be forced to rent out a room to people in need or pay the increased charge. It is not fair on the thousands of people languishing in hostels and dreadful accommodation that social housing stock is left unused in this way especially when most people in the city who work can often not afford a spare room.

Obviously people with a proven need for an extra room e.g. disabled and need night time carers staying are a totally different case but I understood these people were being helped.

As for ghettos being created in London - London is already a financial ghetto for anyone on an average income - hence the huge commuter belt around it. This has been the case for many years so wake up to the real world.

As for the protest on Saturday it was the smallest protest I've seen. There were only about 20 people on it so perhaps that indicates what most people think about this policy.

Where is this housing? I suppose it is in Jeopardy where there seem to be so many jobs these days.

The ghettos will not be in London but cheaper areas of the country as council's export their problems elsewhere.

Once again the voice of the people (well the minority...good old HJarrs) has spoken and left us in no doubt that the bedroom tax should be rushed in and that further cuts in benefits should follow!