My Lords I support Amendment 57BC, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, to which I have added my name. She eloquently set out the case for the amendment and I will not repeat her comprehensive and cogent arguments. I have no doubt that the Government will regard the amendment as too wide-ranging. It provides for a
determination setting aside the bedroom tax, potentially for a very large number of families. For a considerable number of families a move into new and smaller accommodation will be contrary to the interests and the welfare of the child. At the lower level of harms—if one can call them lower level—a house move may involve the children having to change school at the same time as they move home. Other children will move away from a grandparent or somebody else who looks after them when their parents are working. These sorts of changes could have very serious consequences for very sensitive children—not necessarily just disabled ones. At its most serious, a move may deprive a family of the basic space they need in order to continue managing a severely disabled child, or indeed an adult, in the family and therefore keeping the family intact. I want to focus on this to avoid duplication.
We know that families with a disabled child have been disproportionately disadvantaged by the bedroom tax, although the Government accept and have made changes to ensure that a disabled child should at least have a room of their own. That was certainly progress. The Minister always tells us that the discretionary housing payment is the answer to all possible problems. It will no doubt help many families with a short-term problem, if they are able to move into smaller accommodation—that is a big if—without serious consequences for a child or for the family as a whole, but where there is a short delay before the move can take place. I guess that would work pretty well. I accept that discretionary housing payments can be a helpful safety net for some people in the short term. That is how I think I see it working.
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However, to illustrate a point, let us take the case of Mary Jane—not her real name—who is blind and unable to walk or talk. Mary Jane’s mother has what might be described as a spare room. It is not a spare bedroom and not actually a spare room at all. It is a vital sensory haven for her very severely, multiply disabled daughter. The room contains a ball pool: a plastic space full of balls of different textures and sizes in which her daughter can sit and have a little bit of pleasure in life—not very much but a little. The room is also a storage space for Mary Jane’s wheelchairs and other aids that enable her to be moved round the house because, of course, her mother cannot lift her.
This family cannot reasonably move into smaller accommodation. One can never envisage a time when they could. If they were forced to do so, how long would it be before Mary Jane was being admitted to residential care, at considerable cost to the taxpayer? Instead, this mother has been asked to find an extra £570 bedroom tax per year for her essential space. I emphasise “essential”. We are not talking about a luxury here. That is the point of my remarks. For a small number of families extra space is not a luxury. Yes, Mary Jane’s mother has now been awarded a discretionary housing payment that should cover the shortfall, apparently, for the start of the year. However, what is that to this mother who has the most enormous stresses to start with and now wonders whether she is going to be able to stay in her home with a little bit of
extra space? She will have to claim these payments—as I understand it but I think the Minister has questioned this—or may have to claim them over and again with no certainty about whether or when she might be turned down. These payments are discretionary and will continue to be so. This is for very good reasons for many families but for these families it is a disaster.
First, does the Minister believe that it is right to cause that degree of uncertainty and inevitable stress for a committed carer who is, in fact, saving the taxpayer very large amounts of money every year? This one claimant already says that she has had to cut back on absolutely everything, including food. Presumably that was before she got this discretionary payment but then she is thinking, “My God, when this comes to an end, what will we do then?”.
Secondly, if the Minister is not willing to amend the bedroom tax and turns away this amendment, has he calculated the costs and benefits of these provisions for families with a disabled child, taking account of the inevitable number of children who will over time be placed in residential care? What will be the balance of costs and benefits? Is there not an argument—rather a strong one I suggest—to do something about this?
Finally, will the Minister agree to take this matter away and come back at Third Reading with a proposal to protect some families at least? I understand that the Government are not very happy about a wide discretion or a dismissal of the bedroom tax but it feels very concerning to leave it as it is. These are three serious questions and I hope the Minister will answer them today.