Agenda item

Bedroom Tax

It was moved by Councillor Harry Harpham, seconded by Councillor John Robson, that this Council:-

(a)       notes comments from the Independent newspaper on 18^th May 2013 ‘The extent of the suffering inflicted by the “bedroom tax” can be revealed for the first time today as figures show a 338 per cent leap in the number of people applying for emergency hand-outs in the month since it was imposed’;

(b)       further notes comments relating to Sheffield in the article ‘In 2012 the Council received an average of 100 applications for emergency help with housing per month. In April 2013 they received 1,400’;

(c)        further notes recent reports that the Council has received a 48 per cent increase in calls to its contact centre in the first half of April compared with last year and believes this is a consequence of welfare reform;

(d)       condemns this policy which will affect anyone of working age (below 61½) on housing benefit deemed to be ‘under-occupying’ a social housing home, which equates to around 7500 homes across Sheffield;

(e)       deplores the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam for allowing the Government to implement this deeply unfair policy;

(f)        notes that the following are not exempt from the “bedroom tax”

(i)            those couples who need an extra bedroom because of one of them having a medical condition or disability;

(ii)          non-resident parents who have their children to stay at weekends in the holidays;

(iii)         families who offer regular respite support to other family members; and

(iv)         people living in homes which have  been substantially adapted at tax-payers’   expense;

(g)       is committed to supporting all residents both children and adults, including those with disabilities and medical needs;

(h)       regrets that the Discretionary Payments Fund that the Government has made available is completely inadequate and is estimated to cover only a fraction of people affected by the “bedroom tax” and notes that this Fund is also expected to cover other welfare changes;

(i)         notes that the Government’s own Equality Impact Assessment estimates that two-thirds of households affected will have a member with a disability;

(j)         further notes that many independent analysts are predicting that households will move into the private rented sector, costing more, and that care needs for many disabled people will increase, again costing more;

(k)        further notes that there is not an excess supply of small properties available for households to move into in Sheffield;

(l)         further notes the “bedroom tax” is unfairly hitting many people including families with disabled children or adults, families who share the care of their children and families who offer respite care to other family members;

(m)      further notes that this policy may well end up costing the public purse more;

(n)       believes that disabled people – both adults and children – deserve respect and not to be penalised for their medical needs;

(o)       values the role of non-resident parents and believes they should be encouraged to play as full a part in the lives of their children as possible;

(p)       further values and appreciates the role of families who offer respite care – and not only because it saves the taxpayer billions of pounds;

(q)       notes that Housing Associations will have difficulty in keeping arrears down, damaging services for all tenants; and

(r)        therefore resolves to:

(i)         ask the Leader to write to the Secretary of State re-affirming the Council’s continued opposition to the “bedroom tax”; and

(ii)        closely monitor the impact of the “bedroom tax” and asks the relevant Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee to examine its impact on Sheffield people, in addition to the impact of all other welfare changes.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Penny Baker, seconded by Councillor Andrew Sangar, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

(1)       the deletion of paragraphs (a) to (q);

(2)       the deletion of all the words after the word “examine” in paragraph (r)(ii) and their substitution by the words “what actions the Council can take to support affected residents”;

(3)       the relettering of paragraph (r) as a new paragraph (m); and

(4)       the addition of new paragraphs (a) to (l) as follows:-

(a)       reiterates its opposition to the ‘bedroom tax’;

(b)       welcomes concessions that have already been made to the ‘bedroom tax’, notably the exemption made for members of the armed forces and foster families;

(c)        supports also the Government’s decision to treble the Discretionary Housing Payment budget and provide councils with discretionary funding to help families in difficult circumstances;

(d)       encourages the Government to go further by agreeing additional exemptions and increasing the Discretionary Payments funding;

(e)       believes these concessions come as a result of Liberal Democrat influence in Government and thanks Liberal Democrat Ministers for working to improve the policy;

(f)        reaffirms that the root cause of this problem is the nation’s housing crisis and endorses the current Government’s action to build more affordable housing;

(g)       contrasts this action with the lamentable record of the previous Government who during their thirteen years in power:

(i)         saw the building of social housing decline to its lowest figure since the Second World War;

(ii)        built seven times more prison cells than council homes;

(iii)       oversaw the Housing Market Renewal Scheme, in which 4,590 houses in South Yorkshire were demolished, while just 2,415 were built, at a cost of £265 million; and

(iv)       created a legacy where there are now 2 million households in England on housing waiting lists, 250,000 families living in over-crowded accommodation and 1 million bedrooms standing empty;

(h)       recalls that the previous Government implemented an under-occupancy rule in the private sector through Local Housing Allowance, in which no concessions were made for foster children, overnight carers, or service personnel;

(i)         notes that the Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pensions, still refuse to commit to repeal the ‘bedroom tax’ as well as the commitment of the Shadow Chancellor to "work within" the Coalition's current spending forecasts;

(j)         furthermore, highlights that Her Majesty’s Opposition have yet to put forward any credible plans for reducing the record budget deficit that they created or the unsustainable welfare bill that taxpayers are being asked to fund;

(k)        draws attention to the complete lack of action from the present Administration in supporting affected residents and in particular notes the following decisions:

(i)         imposing a 23% cut in Council Tax Benefit, refusing an offer of £1.1 million from the Government to reduce the cut;

(ii)        consistent dithering over £10 million of New Homes Bonus funding, which should have been used earlier to help provide affordable housing in Sheffield; and

(iii)       rejecting proposals from opposition councillors for a cross-party working group to support local residents affected by the ‘bedroom tax’;

(l)         implores the Administration to offer local residents more than crocodile tears and investigate what action the Council can take to support those who are affected.

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

After a right of reply from Councillor Harry Harpham, the original Motion was put to the vote and carried, as follows:

RESOLVED:  That this Council:-

(a)       notes comments from the Independent newspaper on 18^th May 2013 ‘The extent of the suffering inflicted by the “bedroom tax” can be revealed for the first time today as figures show a 338 per cent leap in the number of people applying for emergency hand-outs in the month since it was imposed’;

(b)       further notes comments relating to Sheffield in the article ‘In 2012 the Council received an average of 100 applications for emergency help with housing per month. In April 2013 they received 1,400’;

(c)        further notes recent reports that the Council has received a 48 per cent increase in calls to its contact centre in the first half of April compared with last year and believes this is a consequence of welfare reform;

(d)       condemns this policy which will affect anyone of working age (below 61½) on housing benefit deemed to be ‘under-occupying’ a social housing home, which equates to around 7500 homes across Sheffield;

(e)       deplores the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam for allowing the Government to implement this deeply unfair policy;

(f)        notes that the following are not exempt from the “bedroom tax”

(v)          those couples who need an extra bedroom because of one of them having a medical condition or disability;

(vi)         non-resident parents who have their children to stay at weekends in the holidays;

(vii)        families who offer regular respite support to other family members; and

(viii)      people living in homes which have  been substantially adapted at tax-payers’   expense;

(g)       is committed to supporting all residents both children and adults, including those with disabilities and medical needs;

(h)       regrets that the Discretionary Payments Fund that the Government has made available is completely inadequate and is estimated to cover only a fraction of people affected by the “bedroom tax” and notes that this Fund is also expected to cover other welfare changes;

(i)         notes that the Government’s own Equality Impact Assessment estimates that two-thirds of households affected will have a member with a disability;

(j)         further notes that many independent analysts are predicting that households will move into the private rented sector, costing more, and that care needs for many disabled people will increase, again costing more;

(k)        further notes that there is not an excess supply of small properties available for households to move into in Sheffield;

(l)         further notes the “bedroom tax” is unfairly hitting many people including families with disabled children or adults, families who share the care of their children and families who offer respite care to other family members;

(m)      further notes that this policy may well end up costing the public purse more;

(n)       believes that disabled people – both adults and children – deserve respect and not to be penalised for their medical needs;

(o)       values the role of non-resident parents and believes they should be encouraged to play as full a part in the lives of their children as possible;

(p)       further values and appreciates the role of families who offer respite care – and not only because it saves the taxpayer billions of pounds;

(q)       notes that Housing Associations will have difficulty in keeping arrears down, damaging services for all tenants; and

(r)        therefore resolves to:

(i)         ask the Leader to write to the Secretary of State re-affirming the Council’s continued opposition to the “bedroom tax”; and

(ii)        closely monitor the impact of the “bedroom tax” and asks the relevant Scrutiny and Policy Development Committee to examine its impact on Sheffield people, in addition to the impact of all other welfare changes.

The votes on the Motion were ordered to be recorded and were as follows:-

For Paragraphs (a) (b) (d) (f) (g) (i) and (k) to (r) of the Motion (72)

-

The Deputy Lord Mayor (Cllr Peter Rippon) and Councillors John Robson, Jack Scott, Roy Munn, Simon Clement-Jones, Clive Skelton, Ian Saunders, Chris Rosling-Josephs, Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, Bryan Lodge, Denise Fox, Karen McGowan, Jayne Dunn, Stuart Wattam, Shaffaq Mohammed, Jackie Drayton, Ibrar Hussain, Talib Hussain, Robert Murphy, Mohammed Maroof, Rob Frost, Geoff Smith, Sylvia Anginotti, Mary Lea, Harry Harpham, Mazher Iqbal, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Keith Hill, Joyce Wright, Steven Wilson, Garry Weatherall, Penny Baker, Diana Stimely, Sheila Constance, Chris Weldon, Alan Law, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Steve Jones, Tim Rippon, Cate Mcdonald, Denise Reaney, Ian Auckland, Bob McCann, George Lindars-Hammond, Robert Johnson, Janet Bragg, Pat Midgley, Jenny Armstrong, Terry Fox, Anthony Downing, David Barker, Isobel Bowler, Anders Hanson, Lynn Rooney, John Campbell, Martin Lawton, Sioned-Mair Richards, Peter Price, Leigh Bramall, Gill Furniss, David Baker, Richard Crowther, Neale Gibson, Nikki Sharpe, Ben Curran, Adam Hurst, Trevor Bagshaw, Jackie Satur, Mick Rooney and Ray Satur.

Against Paragraphs(a) (b) (d) (f) (g) (i) (and (k) to (r) of the Motion (0)

-

Nil.

Abstained on Paragraphs (a) (b) (d) (f) (g) (i) (and (k) to (r) of the Motion (0)

-

Nil.

For Paragraphs (c), (e), (h) and (j) of the Motion (55)

The Deputy Lord Mayor (Cllr Peter Rippon) and Councillors John Robson, Jack Scott, Roy Munn, Clive Skelton, Ian Saunders, Chris Rosling-Josephs, Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, Bryan Lodge, Denise Fox, Karen McGowan, Jayne Dunn, Stuart Wattam, Jackie Drayton, Ibrar Hussain, Talib Hussain, Robert Murphy, Mohammed Maroof, Geoff Smith, Mary Lea, Harry Harpham, Mazher Iqbal, Joyce Wright, Steven Wilson, Garry Weatherall, Sheila Constance, Chris Weldon, Alan Law, Steve Jones, Tim Rippon, Cate Mcdonald, George Lindars-Hammond, Robert Johnson, Janet Bragg, Pat Midgley, Jenny Armstrong, Terry Fox, Anthony Downing, David Barker, Isobel Bowler,Lynn Rooney, John Campbell, Martin Lawton, Sioned-Mair Richards, Peter Price, Leigh Bramall, Gill Furniss, Richard Crowther, Neale Gibson, Nikki Sharpe, Ben Curran, Adam Hurst, Jackie Satur, Mick Rooney and Ray Satur.

Against Paragraphs (c), (e), (h) and (j) of the Motion (17)

Councillors Simon Clement-Jones, Shaffaq Mohammed, Rob Frost, Sylvia Anginotti, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Keith Hill, Penny Baker, Diana Stimely, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Denise Reaney, Ian Auckland, Bob McCann, Anders Hanson,David Baker and Trevor Bagshaw.

Abstained on Paragraphs (c), (e), (h) and (j) of the Motion (0)

Nil.