Scottish Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess comments on benefits high court challenge and additional funding for those affected by housing benefit changes.
Following a meeting with Lord Freud today, Ms Burgess said:
“I am disappointed by today’s ruling. The Bedroom Tax will hit the poorest hardest and it is wrong that it applies to people in crisis such as those in temporary accommodation and some supported accommodation.
“Scotland is disproportionately disadvantaged because much of Scotland's temporary accommodation is affected by the bedroom tax, unlike in England. The majority of our temporary accommodation is local authority owned, which is not the case in England.
“Our estimates show that the Bedroom Tax will affect 82,500 households in Scotland and around 80 per cent contain an adult with a disability. Due to the under-occupancy penalty, we estimate that 15,500 of households affected are families with children.
“I met with Lord Freud this afternoon and made it clear to him that Scotland expects a fair share of the additional £35 million the UK government will allocate to make discretionary payments to those affected by the changes to housing benefit.
“Families are anxious about the changes, which I believe do not reflect compassion and fairness, the core values of the Scottish people. This government will continue to press home the message that UK must do more to protect poor and vulnerable people.
“Only Independence will provide the Scottish Parliament with affect control over welfare matters. Being in charge of our own welfare system will mean fairer policies that protect the vulnerable and benefit the Scottish people.”