UNDER-OCCUPANCY PENALTY AND THE VULNERABLE

That this House is concerned that withdrawing housing benefit from social housing tenants with unoccupied bedrooms will hit the poor, the vulnerable and the disabled hardest, unfairly penalises parents with sons and daughters in the armed forces living at home but away fighting for their country on the Afghanistan front line, takes no account of those who need specialist home care and threatens to disrupt the lives of children in the joint custody of divorced or separated parents; recognises that local authorities do not have enough one-bedroom housing stock available to enable those who can downsize to do so; and supports the Sunday People campaign calling on the Government to increase central funding for the discretionary housing allowance so that those unable to pay the bedroom tax do not become homeless.