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Thursday 28 November 2013

610 Thanet Households Victims of Bedroom Tax

6,921 households in Kent have had their housing benefits cut as a result of the Government’s bedroom tax according to figures released by the Department for  Work and Pensions (1).

The figures, which cover the period April until August 2013, are the first to identify how many households have lost housing benefit payments since the introduction of the bedroom tax in April 2013.
In August, the most recent period for which figures are available, 788 people living in Swale lost an average of £900 per year in housing benefit, making it the worst affected district in Kent.

The least badly affected district is Dartford, where 365 people have lost an average of £894 per year in benefits.
In Thanet 610 households have lost on average £770 per year in Housing Benefits.

An estimated £6 million will have been slashed from Kent’s housing benefit payments by the end of the first year of the bedroom tax. The average loss per Kent affected household has been calculated to be a staggering £868 per year.
Thanet Green Party Councillor, Ian Driver,   said: “The bedroom tax is having a major impact on the most vulnerable and low-paid people in Kent. There are simply not enough smaller rented properties to move into, so people already living on a low income are being forced to cut back even further on essentials such as food, heating and clothing. This ill-conceived policy will force thousands of families in Kent into poverty.”

Evidence is now beginning to emerge that many households caught by the bedroom tax are falling into rent arrears. A survey carried out by the National Housing Federation estimates that more than 50% of housing association tenants who are affected by the bedroom tax have fallen behind with rent since the introduction of this policy (2).
The Green Party opposes the Bedroom Tax. It is unfair and targets some of the most vulnerable and deprived  people in society. The Party calls upon Kent Councils not to evict anyone falling into rent arrears as a consequence of the bedroom tax. The Green Party, alongside many charities, disabled groups and trade unions is campaigning for the  immediate abolition of the bedroom tax.             ENDS

Notes

1.   The Impact of Bedroom Tax on Kent.

Local authority
Households hit by bedroom tax
Average amount lost per year
Estimated total loss of benefit payments for 2013 -14
Ashford
604
£807.76
£487,428
Canterbury
534
£829.66
£442,686
Dartford
365
£894.33
£315,360
Dover
621
£750.90
£465,750
Gravesham
712
£812.32
£578,144
Maidstone
636
£904.89
£574,944
Sevenoaks
480
£976.35
£468,480
Swale
788
£899.77
£574,944
Shepway
453
£775.12
£351,075
Tonbridge and Malling
660
£1,013.02
£668,580
Tunbridge Wells
458
£986.07
£451,588
Thanet
610
£770.84
£469,700
 
6,921
av loss  = £868
 £5,848,679

 Data extracted from DWP statistical tables at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/number-of-housing-benefit-claimants-and-average-weekly-spare-room-subsidy-amount-withdrawal

2.   See National Housing Federation press release
http://www.housing.org.uk/media/press-releases/more-than-half-of-families-hit-by-bedroom-tax-pushed-into-debt

6 comments:

  1. it is not a tax, taxes are paid on wealth, consumption or income (generally by those working) it is a housing subsidy. Glad it has been reduced, I pay enough money to keep the unemployed in fags and booze as it is.

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    Replies
    1. Your statement, anon @ 15.13 is based on total ignorance and reveals a despicable, selfish and stupid mindset!

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    2. Yes it has been classified as a tax , and most of these unemployed people have worked throughout their lives at some points, paid tax whether employed or unemployed as well

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    3. It has been inaccurately called a tax as a propaganda expedient. How many households in Kent actually receive housing benefit, without that information, the figure above are meaningless.

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  2. It is no overstatement to claim that we are living in a holocaust by stealth, where the most vulnerable in society are being targeted, while the rest of us either don't notice, don't care, or in some disturbing cases, 15:13, are actually enjoying it.

    This bedroom tax is both cruel and unnecessary and will lead to bigger social problems down the road, for example, as spare bedrooms are let to complete strangers to cover the bills.

    Our senior citizens are being euthanised on the NHS Care Pathways, 100,000 so far and rising, while suicides are up, especially among kids and there are record numbers of youngsters on ADHD drugs, largely due to excessive vaccinations and food additives, as well as financial incentives given to welfare mothers to claim their kids as suffering from ADHD, which is just a made up load of old quackery, whichever way you look at it.

    There is a ticking time-bomb of kids being irreparably damaged by WIFI transmitters in the school classrooms, and nearly everyone appears to have a GSM glued either to their hand or the side of their head. THE MICROWAVES ARE KILLING YOU, YOU MUPPETS!

    Class A drug use is hitting epidemic levels, largely due to generations of ADHD kids brought up on Ritolin etc., and we all know who is bringing the drugs in, don't we? That's right, the same people who are exporting British kids, to wealthy perverts and it would not surprise me if Manston were being used for this purpose; it does seem rather odd to have two airlines with nazi/freemasonic links and histories, both serving a quiet and isolated airport that no one else will touch with a bargepole. 10,000+ children per year, across the UK, are being stolen from loving parents by the social services for this racket, and Thanet does seem to have more than it's share of children's homes. Are they holding centres?

    The book 'The Wizard of Oz' was written at the turn of the 20th century, by Frank Baum, who was privy to the international bankster's plan. Baum wrote this book in the hope that he would inspire generations of youngsters to become strong of body, mind and spirit and to ultimately take down the criminal banking oligarchy, before they take down Humanity.

    The clues are in the book, let's take these bastards down!

    http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/L_Frank_Baum/The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz/

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  3. The argument that the Bedroom Tax forces people to downsize is about as sensible as praying to the Flying Spaghetti Monster because there are no properties to down size to. The result is while five hundred grand is not spent on benefits most of that is eaten up in paperwork costs and discretionary payments and further administration and hard work for people that could better be placed helping get TDC fit for purpose. The emperor, as they say, is naked.

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