Last week the Rutherford family won their Court of Appeal bedroom tax challenge. The court agreed that the bedroom tax discriminates against disabled children who need overnight care.
The government argues that the availability of discretionary housing payments (DHPs) ensures the most vulnerable are protected from a shortfall in rent as a result of the bedroom tax (known formally as housing benefit size criteria rules).
However many of the parents appear unaware that DHPs exist. Contact a Family’s “Counting the Costs” campaign found that of those experiencing a shortfall in rent, 44 per cent had not heard of DHPs… http://bit.ly/cforum97