MADAM,

Regarding the ‘bedroom tax’ which has been imposed upon the poor and vulnerable of this country.

This is to bring to the attention of those who are responsible for the appalling, immoral and financially debilitating tax forcing financial hardship to those vulnerable citizens whose lives are a hard enough daily monetary financial struggle to survive as it already was prior to this bedroom tax being imposed and forced upon them.

This is an absolute disgrace, a law that has been imposed on the poor and vulnerable by the rich and wealthy.

Instances where people use their bedroom to store, rather than to sleep in, because the room is too damp to put clothes in let alone sleep in, and being forced to sleep in a box dining room because of it and being charged this bedroom tax and blamed for the way they choose to live, having swapped rooms to sleep in. When their homes were inspected by the housing authorities and the tenants challenged this decision, they were told that the bungalow is quite spacious enough to be classed as a two bedroom property and that they were classing smaller roomed bungalow/ properties as having two bedrooms.

This tax is effecting people who are struggling as single, married or couples who are on benefits such as council and housing benefits and/ or very low income, as well as those single, married or couples who are on housing and council tax benefits but who are also disabled who get extra disability living allowance and mobility/ care low, medium or high allowances and are not of a pension age (65 or over). Under 65’s have to pay regardless.

That is to say that even though the people who are on very low incomes, who have no extra benefits are still being expected to pay this bedroom tax. Some get concessionary reductions.

Compared to people who receive a state pension or are 65 and over, women and men alike because of their age who are only a year or two older than people not 65 - because of this they do not have to pay this bedroom tax - they are exempt, even though they may live next door in exactly the same size bungalow to people one or two years younger who are being charged this tax.

Many over 65s have reasonable savings and some also have disability and mobility allowances which gives them more financial security. I suspect most under 65s on very low income or benefits do not have savings or very-little.

Whereas the less well off under 65s who do not have the savings or extra benefits are still being expected to pay this abominable bedroom tax, even though their financial necessities, living costs and needs are the same as those who do not have to pay the bedroom tax because of being over 65 means that they are exempt. (This is not the fault of the over 65s but those who have introduced this tax. This is not an attack on pensioners over 65).

Younger people who are on housing and council tax benefit with or without being disabled are being expected to live on a paltry sum of approximately £74 per week.

These are all the basic rights of any human being and which cannot be done on a low income, and many are being put into extreme debt and even evicted from their homes. Not to mention means tested benefits, such as widowers benefits which means they then have to pay a proportion of it for rent and council tax. This leaves next to nothing to buy food alone. Whereas on jobseekers or on the sick these are not means tested and so does not affect paying rent and council tax.

Something has to be done about this appalling state of affairs because people are suffering unmercifully due to this bedroom tax.

It has to be and must be abolished and for those who have paid it by scrimping or using their savings they should have it returned.

Councillor John Fletcher

(Monmouth)