Latest article with Jo here. She’s from Speke and I’ve been in contact with her about the bedroom tax for most of this year (visited her house in June to write this article):
Jo lives in Speke in a two-bedroom housing association flat. She’s lived in that flat for about 13 years. She was moved to her current flat so she could care for her elderly mother who lives nearby. Jo is disabled herself and on employment and support allowance. She has one small “spare” room for which she must pay the bedroom tax.
When the bedroom tax began, she knew that she’d struggle to pay for that “spare” bedroom out of her small benefit. So she applied to Liverpool City Council for a discretionary housing payment. That was in April. She was awarded a DHP of about £11 a week which was paid directly to her housing association (the South Liverpool Housing Group) to cover the bedroom tax.
The problem is that Jo’s DHP award was only for six months (DHPs are time-limited) and it has just run out. She applied for another DHP a couple of weeks ago, but was turned down. So now she’ll have to pay the bedroom tax herself. “A discretionary housing payment is not a long term solution for assistance with your rent shortfall,” the council says.”
Letters Jo received from Liverpool City Council saying her application for DHP had been turned down are here: