BEDROOM TAX 'WAS COALITION POLICY'
The so-called "bedroom tax" was agreed at the "very highest levels" of Government, welfare reform minister Lord Freud has said following the Liberal Democrats' dramatic withdrawal of support for the policy.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has told the party's Conservative coalition partners that it was "clearly time to take stock and change our approach" on the highly-criticised policy.
Mr Alexander said no-one should face a cut in state help if there was no suitable smaller property available and all disabled claimants should be exempt.
But Lord Freud insisted at question time in the House of Lords that it remained Government policy.
Questioned on the Lib Dem position, the Tory minister said: "Maybe I am not the best person to comment on Liberal Democrat manifesto planning.
"I can, however, assure the House that the removal of the spare-room subsidy does remain Government policy and I remind the House that this was coalition policy that was decided in 2010 at the highest levels of Government."
His comments came after Labour spokeswoman Baroness Sherlock told peers: "The long-awaited interim report on the bedroom tax emerged this week - put out at the height of the reshuffle without so much as a ministerial statement.
"It confirms what we knew, that only 4.5% of claimants have downsized, arrears have gone up and half of claimants have cut back on essentials like food and a quarter have gone into debt to avoid losing their homes."
She asked Lord Freud: "Given the rather extensive briefing in today's media that the Liberal Democrats are doing a u-turn on the bedroom tax, is it still Government policy?"
Under the welfare reform, social tenants deemed to have more bedrooms than they need have had their housing benefit reduced, to eliminate what the Government calls a ''spare-room subsidy''.
