Angus Council has made moves to shoulder the financial burden some families are experiencing due to the “bedroom tax”.
The UK Government’s removal of a spare room subsidy saw housing benefits cut by up to 25% for some claimants, depending on the level of occupancy in their home but a meeting of the full council is expected to rubber-stamp a policy that will support affected residents by as much as £410,000 in discretionary housing payments (DHP).
A yearly grant from the Department for Work and Pensions and Scottish Government will allow the council to redistribute money from its underspent housing budget.
In his report, to be presented to councillors, revenue and benefits service manager Graham Ritchie states: “Sufficient funding exists to address in full the loss of housing benefit due to the spare room/‘bedroom tax’, benefit capping and to help address wider issues around welfare reform, thereby helping as many people across Angus as we can who have been affected by the reforms.
“Due to the level of spare-room subsidy losses in Angus, it is unlikely we will receive any additional funding from the Scottish Government a further £15 million is available should they be granted the power to further top-up DHP budgets.”
The report will update members on the funding available for DHPs in 2014/15 and recommends a policy response for DHPs which would apply “until circumstances change”.
The Scottish Government, which has opposed the tax, contributed an extra £20m to the DHP fund in 2013/14 to help those struggling most with the costs.
That brought the total amount of funding to more than £35m, the maximum permitted under UK legislation.
The DHP scheme allows the council to make payments to individuals who require further financial assistance by topping up their housing benefit.
The individual must be entitled to housing benefit before they can apply to the scheme and there must be a shortfall between the amount of their rent and the amount of housing benefit they receive.
Graeme Dey MSP said the Scottish Government’s action has prevented the effect of the tax being felt “more acutely”.
He said: “Scotland does not have a ready supply of single-bedroom properties available for tenants to move into, meaning many, including some of the most vulnerable in society, would be left counting the costs if we had failed to take action.
“Thankfully this scenario has been avoided and I’m pleased that our SNP-led council has committed to a no-eviction policy for ‘bedroom tax’ victims, protecting people from the threat of losing their homes.”