A DISABLED man has been ordered to pay an extra £50-per-month from his benefits due to now living alone in a two-bedroom flat.
By Keith McLeod
AN amputee has fallen foul of the hated Bedroom Tax rules because his elderly mother has been forced to move to a care home.
Andrew McIntyre now has to find an extra £50 a month because he lives alone in a two-bedroom housing association flat.
Andrew, 50, who receives disability allowance, shared the flat with mum Agnes, 78, for seven years until her dementia meant she had to move to the care home last year.
Now Andrew has been told by his local housing association in Ibrox, Glasgow, that he must pay extra for the vacant bedroom in the two-bed flat in Brand Street.
However, his initial payments will top £50 per month because the fees are backdated to April.
Andrew, a former shop worker – who had lived with Agnes all his life – said:
“If my mum’s dementia had not got to the stage where she had to go into a home, this would never have happened, so it has been a double blow really.
A family photograph of Andrew and his Mum Agnes
Garry F McHarg /FOCAL Scotland
”I’ve got no choice now but to try to find this extra money from my benefit.
“It means I’m going to have to do without other things but I’m so stunned I’ve not even been able to work out the money side of things yet.
“I don’t blame the housing association for this – their hands are tied. I’m to be penalised simply because my mum has had to move out to receive the proper care she needs.
“The blame for this situation lies squarely with the Westminster Government and Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith in particular.
“I’d like him to try to live in my position for about a couple of months.
“He is a millionaire, like the rest of the Cabinet, so £40 or £50 a month is nothing to him. But, to me, this is going to have a significant impact on my quality of life.”
Wheelchair user Andrew had to have his left leg amputated at the knee two-and-a-half years ago after bad circulation led to gangrene setting in.
8 Responses
Appalling. Wonder if this nauseating legislation is breaking the Human Rights Acts on 2 counts:
1) The right to a family life (rels can’t stay with you if you only have one bedroom)
2) Discrimination against disabled people as the majority of those at the sharp end here are disabled.
My advice to this man is simply refuse to pay it, If everyone refused then what could the government do,? It’s time to fight back,
Agreed.
£50 a week is going to get the country out of recession !! Hit Thames Water for not paying millions of pounds in tax as well as most Corporate companies operationg in the UK.
i totally agree there should be a fight-back by large numbers of people refusing to pay the extra amounts.
i fully sympathise with Andrew but there is no point saying “the housing association’s hands are tied” and trying to work out how to pay.
there needs to be a large-scale non-payment campaign, as there was with the poll tax.
if your spare bedroom is used for your carer to sleep over; or you have a second bathroom or room which is needed because of your disability then i dont think you have to pay bedroom tax do you?
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