Rejection of amendments proposed by the House
of Lords to the Welfare Reform Bill unfair to vulnerable
families.
2 February 2012
Yesterday’s debate in the House of Commons saw
the rarely used ‘financial privilege’ rule used to overturn all the
Lords amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill. This mechanism
prevents Peers from overruling MPs on matters of spending.
Responding to the vote Federation Chief
Executive David Orr said:
'The decision by MPs to reject the Lords'
Bedroom Tax compromise is a blow to thousands of families in social
housing across the country, many of whom are already struggling to
make ends meet.
'That over 70 organisations, from disabled
charities to mortgage lenders, came together in support of this
change to the Welfare Reform Bill shows just how important this
issue is. It is unjust to penalise people for under-occupying their
homes when they have nowhere else to move to.
'Given the level of opposition in the Lords to
these proposals and their potential impact, it is totally wrong for
the Government to shut down discussion by claiming financial
privilege.
'We will continue to campaign against these
unfair proposals.
'While we welcome the Government's commitment
to introduce a nine-month grace period for claimants hit by the
overall benefit cap after losing their job, we remain concerned
that this crude measure will lead to a rise in rent arrears,
homelessness and child poverty'.
The Commons debate
With the bedroom tax vote receiving the
smallest government majority of the night, it is clear that our
lobbying work alongside housing associations and a coalition of
over 70 disability, health and housing charities, as well as the
Council of Mortgage Lenders, made an impact.
There were three major votes last night. MPs
voted on whether to accept Peers’ amendments on:
- plans to cut payments to disabled children – this was
overturned by a government majority of 69
- the bedroom tax –this was voted down by a government majority
of 42
- charging single parents for the services of the Child Support
Agency –this was overturned by a government majority of 61.
Peers had prepared themselves for legislative
‘ping pong’ over these issues. And Nick Clegg’s announcement that
the coalition would not use the Parliament Act to force proposals
through offered hope that scrutiny would be intense.
The ‘financial privilege’ rule is usually only
used on major spending bills, such as those connected to Budgets.
Although the Welfare Reform Bill will return to the Lords, Peers’
ability to amend it further is now severely restricted.
The Federation will continue its efforts to
influence the regulations that will give shape to Welfare Reform
Bill proposals, and its subsequent implementation. We will keep
members updated as this progresses.
Our campaign
Working with members and a coalition of over
70 organisations our campaign in the lead up to the commons debate
made an impact.
- 68,331 people were reached via twitter
- 76 organisations signed up to our
joint letter to the Guardian which was published yesterday
- 117 people tweeted our call to action to tweet
Lib Dem MPs (compared to 127 people tweeting live updates from the
Guardian website)
- 350 emails were sent to MPs from supporters in
the week leading up to the debate with personalised messages
regarding the bedroom tax
- We took the campaign to the doorstep of Parliament with a giant
advert urging MPs to support the House of Lords amendment.
And we put it in a place few of them could avoid - their
private entrance to Westminster Tube station.
