The extent of the suffering inflicted by the “bedroom tax” can be revealed for the first time today as figures show a 338 per cent leap in the number of people applying for emergency handouts in the month since it was imposed.
In April, more than 25,000 people resorted to applying for discretionary housing payments (DHP) to help cover their rent, according to an analysis of 51 councils by The Independent. There were only 5,700 such claimants in the same month last year.
Demand on the emergency fund – which is intended to provide short-term help to housing benefit claimants who are unable to pay their rent – is now so great that people who would previously have been given help may receive reduced handouts. Some applicants have already had their claims refused altogether.
In Birmingham, which saw the number of DHP claimants jump from 496 in April last year to 2,601 last month, the city council reported that many of those hit by the welfare reforms were turning to “last-resort services” such as food banks.
In Glasgow, which saw the highest number of claimants of any council in the country, 5,501 people sought emergency help last month in the form of a DHP payment, while neighbouring North Lanarkshire has seen the number of claimants rise from just 37 over four months last year to 1,451 this April alone.
Councils reported massive shortfalls in their emergency housing grants. Birmingham City Council believes it will have to support residents hit by a total cut of £11.5m to their annual benefits because of the bedroom tax, but only has a DHP fund of £3.7m. Portsmouth only has a DHP fund of £475,000, but has to cope with a bedroom tax shortfall of £1.5m.
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