IDS bottles out of Bedroom Tax Debate

Iain Duncan Smith refuses to attend Commons Bedroom Tax debate

• DWP boss to snub debate on hated measure he introduced
• His own figures show 400,000 of those affected are disabled
• Families hit forced to move or face £720 per-yer bill

UPDATE: Can you guess where he is today? PARIS that’s where! (FULL STORY)

Iain Duncan Smith is refusing to attend a Commons debate on the Bedroom Tax — a measure he pushed through parliament. Westminster anoraks have told Scrapbook it is “highly unusual” for a secretary of state to miss an ‘opposition day debate’ on such a controversial issue.

With the debate scheduled last week, IDS’ office are spinning that he is missing the exchange because of a long-planned commitment.

So why did they only inform Rachel Reeves’ office last night?


MORE — Here’s the motion in full:

“That this House regrets the pernicious effect on vulnerable and in many cases disabled people of deductions being made from Housing Benefit paid to working age tenants in the social housing sector deemed to have an excess number of bedrooms in their homes; calls on the government to end these deductions with immediate effect; furthermore calls for any cost of ending them to be covered by reversing tax cuts which will benefit the wealthiest and promote avoidance, and addressing the tax loss from disguised employment  in construction; and further calls on the government to use the funding set aside for Discretionary Housing Payments to deal with under-occupation by funding local authorities so that they are better able to help people with the cost of moving to suitable accommodation.”

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