It has been confirmed that the much debated Welfare Reform Bill has now completed its final journey through Parliament in what has been referred to by David Cameron as ‘a historic step in the biggest welfare revolution in over 60 years’.
The controversial ‘bedroom tax’ which I have referred to in a previous blog (Welfare Reform Bill highlights bedroom tax) remains as one of the most difficult areas for Parliament to come to any agreement on. On being passed, this will mean that any tenants who live in properties which are not proportionate to the size of their household will have penalties placed on their Housing Benefit allowance meaning that they will have to contribute to their rent despite the reasons why they may have come to be in that property in the first place. Clearly this has potential to be unfair and disadvantageous to those tenants who are in properties which are too big for them through no fault of their own.
Lord Freud has promised to carry out further research on this issue to ascertain the full impact on tenants up and down the country. At present we have only experienced the difficulties which the under-occupation penalty could present from a theoretical perspective. We will therefore have to ‘wait and see’ as to how these changes will take effect practically. Lord Freud has apparently stated that he will commit to bringing fuller proposals once the Bill has received full assent.
Lord Best has previously rocked the parliamentary boat by threatening to force a vote that would include in the Bill a commitment for a six month review on under-occupation after it has been passed. I would agree with this approach given that it will take time to identify any potential areas for amendment until after the Bill has been fully implemented. This would allow for ‘real life’ development as and where it is needed rather than wasting time and resources debating on issues which may never actually occur. However, he was appeased by Lord Freud’s recommendation for further research and did not pursue this course of action.
It is important that the Bill, and any further changes to it once it has received royal assent, need to remain transparent. Essentially the Government’s agenda in carrying out such an overhaul on our welfare system was to save money in what was already an overstretched budget. However this Bill stands to have an effect on millions of people throughout the country therefore it is important that it is done properly. In any event, it will be interesting to see what is next for the Bill and indeed the welfare system in general.
By housing law specialist, Jayne Croft