Sandra Osborne MP this week backed a motion calling for an end to the “unfair” impact of the Government’s so-called “bedroom tax” on unpaid carers brought forward by her Labour colleague Barbara Keeley MP.
Sandra said she fully supported her party’s plans to abolish the “bedroom tax” if elected next year, but said there was a need to focus on its current impact on the financial situation of unpaid family carers.
The Bill would exempt households with one additional room from the “bedroom tax” if a member of the household was entitled to carers allowance, and widened the exemption to the “bedroom tax”for those households where a person needed overnight care.
She said: “These simple measures would have a significant impact on a group of people who deserve support rather than being unfairly hit financially as they have been by this Government.”
The Coalition’s so called “bedroom tax”, she argued, had “hit at least 60,000” of the estimated more than 6.5 million unpaid family carers.
She said: “It is inconsistent and unfair that a disabled person who needs overnight care from a paid care worker or a non-resident relative is exempt from the bedroom tax, but where that care is provided unpaid by a partner, or another carer living in the same house, they are hit by the tax.”
Earlier in the year she also supported Lib Dem MP for St Ives Andrew George to secure wider exemptions from the “bedroom tax” for disabled households through his Private Member’s Bill, the Affordable Homes Bill, which passed its first Commons hurdle last month.
She said: “The Bill put forward this week suggests simple measures that would improve the financial situation of carers and their families. If the Bill progresses it would address one of the most unfair outcomes of the ’bedroom tax’ that is the impact it has had on unpaid carers. Subjecting carers to the ’bedroom tax’ was always illogical as well as unfair.”
She added: “For me, it’s an insult to carers who have had to make the difficult decision to give up work so that they can care for a family member to be penalised even further for that decision.”
The motion was approved by 204 votes to eight, majority 196. The Bill was listed for a second reading on November 21, but is unlikely to become law due to a lack of Parliamentary time.
Sandra said she fully supported her party’s plans to abolish the “bedroom tax” if elected next year, but said there was a need to focus on its current impact on the financial situation of unpaid family carers.
The Bill would exempt households with one additional room from the “bedroom tax” if a member of the household was entitled to carers allowance, and widened the exemption to the “bedroom tax”for those households where a person needed overnight care.
She said: “These simple measures would have a significant impact on a group of people who deserve support rather than being unfairly hit financially as they have been by this Government.”
The Coalition’s so called “bedroom tax”, she argued, had “hit at least 60,000” of the estimated more than 6.5 million unpaid family carers.
She said: “It is inconsistent and unfair that a disabled person who needs overnight care from a paid care worker or a non-resident relative is exempt from the bedroom tax, but where that care is provided unpaid by a partner, or another carer living in the same house, they are hit by the tax.”
Earlier in the year she also supported Lib Dem MP for St Ives Andrew George to secure wider exemptions from the “bedroom tax” for disabled households through his Private Member’s Bill, the Affordable Homes Bill, which passed its first Commons hurdle last month.
She said: “The Bill put forward this week suggests simple measures that would improve the financial situation of carers and their families. If the Bill progresses it would address one of the most unfair outcomes of the ’bedroom tax’ that is the impact it has had on unpaid carers. Subjecting carers to the ’bedroom tax’ was always illogical as well as unfair.”
She added: “For me, it’s an insult to carers who have had to make the difficult decision to give up work so that they can care for a family member to be penalised even further for that decision.”
The motion was approved by 204 votes to eight, majority 196. The Bill was listed for a second reading on November 21, but is unlikely to become law due to a lack of Parliamentary time.