1,299 Black Country people in arrears over bedroom tax
More than half of the thousands of people in a Black Country borough who have been hit by the so-called bedroom tax are currently in rent arrears.
Around 2,300 people living in Dudley have seen their benefits cut by the controversial policy that was first introduced by the Coalition Government two years ago.
People living in housing association or council homes with spare bedrooms lost benefits as their properties were deemed to be 'under-occupied'.
Ministers said the policy was introduced to help free up housing stock for larger families but opponents have slammed it as a draconian measure which is hitting some of the most vulnerable people.
Figures released by Dudley Council revealed there are currently 2,366 people whose benefits have been cut because they have at least one spare bedroom, with 1,299 of these in rent arrears.
The authority has been working to help some of those affected move to smaller accommodation, with 273 having secured new homes between April 2013 and March 2015.
Housing benefit was reduced by 14 per cent for households with one spare bedroom and a quarter for two.
The National Housing Federation has said the bedroom tax is 'heaping misery and hardship' on families who were already struggling.
A survey produced by the group last year claimed one in seven families who have been affected were facing eviction.
Former Dudley Council leader David Sparks said it was 'inevitable' that people would struggle when the measure was introduced.
The Labour councillor said: "The bedroom tax is a misguided and unjust tax and it is no wonder the whole thing is in a mess.
"It was inevitable that it was going to lead to people struggling to pay and the sooner it is abolished the better."
Wordsley councillor Derrick Hemingsley said some of the most vulnerable were being hit the hardest.
"I think it is a very unfair tax and it certainly needs to be revisited," he said.
"It seems to attack the most vulnerable in society and there is no logic to most of the cases.
"People with extra bedrooms are often the most vulnerable in society.
"I feel for elderly people because they have made a life in that community, and if they are going to be rehomed it needs to be in that particular area.
"I am not at all surprised. When it first came up I was one of the ones to say it hadn't been looked at correctly."
