Labour Bedtroom Tax Campaign Briefing
Introduction
David Cameron's Bedroom Tax tells you al you need to know about him and his Tory-led Government.
He's hitting families of soldiers serving our country who will have to find extra money for their son or daughter's bedroom, and foster families helping children in need of a home.
He is making disabled people in council and housing association homes pay more when they need more space due to their disability.
Divorced parents whose kids come to stay are being affected. Grandparents will pay more.
At at exactly the same time as the Bedroom tax comes into effect he is giving thousands of millionaires a tax cut of £100,000 a year.
This isn't about tough choices, it's about the wrong choices.
Labour intends to hold the Tories to account for their choices, we've launched a new campaign in the run up to the local elections to highlight the unfair choices David Cameron is making.
This pack will help you get involved, it included a draft motion to table to put pressure in the Tory and Liberal Democrat councillors in your area as well as a draft press release and statistics on how many people are hit in each constituency.
We've also launched a new website as part of the campaign at:
www.labour.org.uk/bedroomtaxshare
It includes a call for stories of how households are hit at local level. You can send in your stories there via e-mail to:
byrnel@parliament.uk or katy_neep@labour.org.uk
Script
David Cameron's Bedroom Tax tells you all you need to know about him and his Government.
The Tories like to try and say they're targeting the skivers but the reality is very different.
This unfair policy will hit working people and the most vulnerable.
Two-thirds of the households hit are home to someone with a disability, families of soldiers serving our country will have to find extra money for their son or daughter's bedroom, and foster families helping children in need of a home are also hit.
And at exactly the same time as the Bedroom tax comes into effect he is giving thousands of millionaires a tax cut of £100,000 a year.
Labour supports sensible welfare reform but the Bedroom tax is far from that - it is unfair and won't work.
David Cameron and Iain Duncan smith have been forced to admit that it is impossible for their plans to solve under-occupancy because there aren't enough smaller homes for families to move to.
In Hull, for example, the City Council says that 4,700 tenants will be affected by the policy, but that it has only 73 one- and two-bedroon properties available to let.
In Newport in South Wales there are 1,800 families set to be hit but the city's Housing Options website lists just 24 one- and two-bed properties for rent.
Not only are the Tories' plans unfair, but they are now in such a mess they could end up costing more than they save in many parts of the country.
If families are made homeless or pushed into expensive private rented accommodation the taxpayer could actually be left with a higher bill - and still the problem of under-occupancy will not be solved.
Everyone agrees the welfare bill needs to come down, but as a result of David Cameron's economic failure the Government is now set to spend £13bn more on welfare than he had planned because they are totally failing to get Britain moving again.
The best way to bring down the benefits bill is to get people into jobs. That's why Labour is calling for a tough but fair Compulsory Jobs Guarantee. We would offer anyone who has been out of work for more than 2 years a real job - one that they would be required to take, no ifs and not buts.
Britain needs real welfare reform that is tough, fair and works - not more chaos and confusion from David Cameron.
His Bedroom Tax is unfair and in total disarray.
He should now admit that he has got this horribly wrong and think again - before it's too late.
Motion
We would like you to table the following motion at your council meeting to help hold to account Tory and Liberal Democrat councillors on their support for David Cameron's unfair and incompetent Bedroom Tax.
This Council:
- Asks the Government to re-examine the measures it is putting in place to cut Housing Benefit from some of (local area)'s most vulnerable residents on the grounds that their social housing has a spare bedroom;
- Believes it to be an unworkable policy given that if people moved house it would not save any money;
- Notes that according to the Government's own Impact Assessment, two-thirds of the households affected have a disabled person;
- Further notes that the policy will cut support from the families of service personnel, but not prisoners; and
- Calls on the Government to drop this policy and think again
We would be grateful if you could let us know when you have done this, and what the Tory and Liberal Democrat councillors do in response.
Send your stories to
katy_neep@labour.org.uk
Draft press release
EMBARGOED for 00:01hrs on Wednesday 06 March 2013
Labour councillors call on XXX council/lors to condemn unfair Bedroom Tax which will hit people in >>AREA<<
Labour council/lor XXX has today called in >>>COUNCIL<<< to condemn David Cameron's unfair Bedroom Tax which is hitting people in XXX, tabling a council motion which highlights how vulnerable people are being hit and calling on the council to examine the measures they are putting in place to support local people.
David Cameron's unfair and incompetent Bedroom Tax will hit 660,000 households, two-thirds of them home to someone with a disability at exactly the same time as the Government gives a massive £100,000 tax cut to 13,000 millionaires.
Local councillor said:
"David Cameron's Bedroom tax will hammer families in XXX already struggling to make ends meet, and could actually risk costing local tax-payers a fortune in higher private rents and covering the cost of driving people out of their homes.
"Two-thirds of the households hit are home to someone with a disability, and families or soldiers and foster parents will also be hit. Yet at the same time prisoners get off and millionaires are getting a massive tax cut.
"How can that be right?"
Labour's Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liam Byrne said:
"David Cameron's April tax plan is simply not fair. From next month, 13,000 millionaires are getting a tax cut worth £100,000 a year on average while over 600,000 armed forces families, disabled people and foster carers have to find £728 a year to pay a new Bedroom Tax.
"Yet the plan is such a shambles that someone who's been to prison on a short sentence won't have to pay. How unfair is that? Millionaires and prisoners are looked after, but vulnerable people.carers and armed forces families get hit.
"Labour plan relentless pressure on this out-of-touch Government until Ministers see sense, admit this policy is totally unfair, and think again"
ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The full text of the motion tabled is as follows:
This Council:
- Asks the Government to re-examine the measures it is putting in place to cut Housing Benefit from some of (local area)'s most vulnerable residents on the grounds that their social housing has a spare bedroom;
- Believes it to be an unworkable policy given that if people moved house it would not save any money;
- Notes that according to the Government's own Impact Assessment, two-thirds of the households affected have a disabled person;
- Further notes that the policy will cut support from the families of service personnel, but not prisoners; and
- Calls on the Government to drop this policy and think again
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