Angus answer to ‘bedroom tax’ hailed as an ‘excellent’ solution for some
ByGraham Brown
A cash-carrot scheme for Angus Council tenants has been hailed as an effective weapon in the fight against the so-called “bedroom tax”.
The Downsizing Incentive Scheme (DIS) offered tenants up to £2,500 to move to a smaller home freeing up properties for larger families.
New figures have revealed 53 tenants across the district have taken advantage of the scheme, releasing 149 bed spaces.
The payouts to tenants have cost the council more than £90,000 but a senior official has reported that to build new homes for the equivalent number of benefiting tenants would have cost the council £6.6 million.
Housing officials say the existence of the DIS prior to the introduction of the spare room subsidy changes also helped the authority work with the 562 Angus tenants affected by the controversial new benefits rule-change.
Councillors have now agreed to continue the initiative and bring in an adjusted maximum £2,000 total payout.
Forfar councillor Glennis Middleton said the “excellent” scheme was a possible answer for Angus tenants facing financial challenges under the spare room subsidy changes.
