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.
Garry F McHarg FOCAL Scotland
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
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.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.
“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.”
