Friday 4 October 2013

If My Heart Gets Any Harder...

Bedroom tax payments have left a woman and her disabled husband fearing they will "die of starvation" as they have no money left for food.
Mmmm, judging by the pictures, that’s not an imminent danger by any means…
Kim and Larry Evans, of Teal Avenue, St Mary Cray, have two spare bedrooms
Two!?!
… and need to pay £30.84 a month in bedroom tax.
No, they don’t. Because it’s not a ‘tax’ at all – it’s a benefit reduction.
They are willing to move but have been unable to find a place suitable for the needs of Mr Evans, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
Ah, well, that’s down to the council to resolve. Don’t tell me they put a political campaign against the government before the needs of their ‘service users’?
She added: "I always thought as council tenants we would have this house until we were dead but now this tax has changed everything."
The money’s run out. Didn’t the last Chancellor tell you that?
A council spokesman said: "We are working closely with our housing association partners, Job Centre Plus and the DWP to offer advice and assistance to those affected by the benefit cap and the spare room subsidy so households can find the best option for them in the light of any shortfall in benefit.
"We are also working with our housing association partners to look at discretionary payments where this is appropriate."
Get rid of a few diversity consultants and five-a-day coordinators and you can afford quite a lot of ‘discretionary payments’…

6 comments:

ivan said...

It is interesting that we are never told the total income these types of people are/were receiving before this reduction is/was applied.

I can only assume the non publishing is to stop taxpayers getting all upset by finding out how their money is being wasted.

Anonymous said...

Bunny

A £30 a month reduction and they are going to starve to death? Right so their entire food budget was £30 a month and it has been cruelly removed. A political campaign that does not stand up.

Anonymous said...

A classic News Shopper tale from The Crays/ Bags of 'partnership' bollocks going on in dat Bromley innit?

John Pickworth said...

"I always thought as council tenants we would have this house until we were dead."

You still can... if you hurry up!

JuliaM said...

"It is interesting that we are never told the total income these types of people are/were receiving ..."

I think my blood pressure couldn't take it...

"A £30 a month reduction and they are going to starve to death?"

Indeed!

"You still can... if you hurry up!"

:D

Anonymous said...

So... If I wanted to rent a 3 bedroom house privately for say £600 per month, but there is a 2 bedroom house for £550, I have to CHOOSE whether to spend an extra £50 per month in order to have that extra bedroom and find that extra £50 out of my total income. If taxpaying renters (like myself) have to make these sorts of choices why shouldn't the teat-suckers also have to do the same? And I'm fairly sure that 'starve' is a relative term. I can't imagine we'll be talking about swollen bellies and hair falling out, they're probably talking about 'feeling hungry' which I'm not going to lose even a moment of sleep or sympathy over...