That is already four times more than the amount whom the Work and Pensions Secretary had predicted would be hit by his failure to close a housing rules loophole
Bungling Bedroom Tax villain Iain Duncan Smith has been accused of being “in denial” over his mishandling of the hated levy.
The attack on him came as the number of council tenants wrongly penalised in the scandal headed towards a shocking 40,000.
Results from 175 of Britain’s 346 local authorities now show that 19,140 homes had the cruel charge slapped on illegally.
That is already four times more than the 5,000 people whom the Work and Pensions Secretary had predicted would be hit by his failure to close a housing rules loophole.
The figures are revealed in freedom of information requests by Labour to councils – and it is likely the tally will more than DOUBLE once all the results are in.
The loophole means that social housing tenants in the same property since 1996 should not have had housing benefit cut.
They included tragic gran Stephanie Bottrill, 53, of Solihull, who killed herself – blaming the hated tax in her suicide note.
Shadow welfare minister Chris Bryant said: “Mr Duncan Smith is in total denial over the numbers hit by his loophole blunder.
"Despite Tory, Liberal and Labour councils across the UK contradicting him, he refuses to accept he was wrong.”
Read more...
The attack on him came as the number of council tenants wrongly penalised in the scandal headed towards a shocking 40,000.
Results from 175 of Britain’s 346 local authorities now show that 19,140 homes had the cruel charge slapped on illegally.
That is already four times more than the 5,000 people whom the Work and Pensions Secretary had predicted would be hit by his failure to close a housing rules loophole.
The figures are revealed in freedom of information requests by Labour to councils – and it is likely the tally will more than DOUBLE once all the results are in.
The loophole means that social housing tenants in the same property since 1996 should not have had housing benefit cut.
They included tragic gran Stephanie Bottrill, 53, of Solihull, who killed herself – blaming the hated tax in her suicide note.
Shadow welfare minister Chris Bryant said: “Mr Duncan Smith is in total denial over the numbers hit by his loophole blunder.
"Despite Tory, Liberal and Labour councils across the UK contradicting him, he refuses to accept he was wrong.”
Read more...
