Angus Council may block off rooms to fight ‘bedroom tax’
ByGraeme Strachan
The 'bedroom tax' has been the subject of widespread opposition.
Angus Council is to take the drastic step of sealing up rooms in a bid to beat the so-called bedroom tax.
Council leader Iain Gaul said it was the only way to stop hard-up tenants from being plunged further into poverty.
The controversial subsidy has seen people living with a spare room in a two-bedroom property having their housing benefit cut by 14%.
Mr Gaul said there are simply not enough one-bedroom properties available in Angus to meet demand.
Therefore, rather than putting a single person in a two-bedroom flat and seeing their benefits slashed, the local authority will block off access to the spare room to get round what Mr Gaul described as “a tax on the poor”.
“We would be sealing off the windows and doors to the spare room so there is no access,” said Mr Gaul.
“We can’t continue to use monies to defeat an unfair tax. The consequences of not doing this are horrendous.
“If people do not have enough money to live on what are they going to do?”
Angus Council may block off rooms to fight ‘bedroom tax’
