Disabled man fights benefit rule
The mother of a disabled student is considering a legal challenge against the government over its failure to consider the impact of housing benefit regulations on disabled people.
Linda Burnip wants to challenge the Department for Work and Pensions because under its rules her son could only receive benefit to cover the rent of a one-bedroom flat even though he needs a second room for his carers to sleep in.
The DWP had promised to review the impact of housing benefit and local housing allowance on disabled people by December 2009. However, the review has not yet taken place.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote to the DWP in May 2009 to say that it should have undertaken an equality impact assessment of the policy before LHA was introduced in April 2008.
The Burnip family is taking Birmingham Council to the upper tribunal over its decision not to pay enough LHA to cover a two-bedroom flat and Leicester Council to lower tribunal in a similar case.
A previous lower tribunal hearing said that the regulations did not allow Birmingham to pay enough benefit for a two-bedroom property.
Both Leicester and Birmingham councils said they wanted the government to change legislation to allow councils to pay benefit to cover an extra bedroom for a carer.
A spokesperson for the DWP said the department believed it had met its disability equality duties when it carried out a wider regulatory impact assessment of the welfare reform bill in 2006, as the LHA rules did not significantly change the draft.
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Readers' comments (2)
Alex | 30/04/2010 2:28 pm
Why doesn’t some one else, who doesn’t claim any benefit takes the government to courts on the effect these benefits are having on them; as they end up paying all these benefits. Hopefully Human Rights Acts will help them as these taxes are depriving them having a family life (they are forced to work for these families on benefit rather then spending the time with their family or able to afford a family).
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Wary Manager | 01/05/2010 8:27 am
Alex, I would extend it further; what about the rights of people who share with a benefit claimant and have to pick up the tab for their share of the rent that LHA doesn't cover? I share a house with a friend who is unable to work through ill health. Her entire benefits - ESA, small occupational pension & LHA - cover less than her share of the rent, so I have to cover the rest, and the rest of the other bills too. She had always worked, never once been unemployed, until her health deteriorated. She then set up her own business to work from home, until even that became too much for her.
If she was a council tenant she would have her full rent paid, no matter how high, with no deductions. LHA is plain unfair and should be scrapped.
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