Legal victory is another blow for the Government's hated bedroom tax

The government’s hated bedroom tax was dealt another blow after the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of two legal challenges against it.

The separate cases were brought by a victim of domestic violence and the grandparents of a severely disabled teenager, and represents another victory for campaigners against the controversial measure, including a number of high-profile cases in Merseyside.

Earlier this month, the ECHO reported on a Merseyside man – left permanently brain damaged after a 60ft fall from a motorway flyover – who had beaten the bedroom tax.

Bedroom Tax

The family of Neil Carroll, who faced being penalised because of his specially-adapted home in Prescot , successfully argued the charge was unfair at Liverpool Tribunal Court, which ruled Neil’s four-bedroomed home was NOT under-occupied.

Last year, it was revealed that a disabled football coach – who was praised by Prime Minister David Cameron for his community work – could lose his home thanks to the bedroom tax.

At the same time as cerebral palsy sufferer John Smith, from Croxteth, was presented with an award , it was revealed the government was also trying to slash his housing benefits, potentially placing his home in jeopardy.

And in another shocking case, severely disabled Merseyside man Rob Tomlinson was forced to bathe in a paddling pool in his living room after he was driven out of his specially adapted home because of the tax.

Today’s ruling by three judges at the Court of Appeal in London followed a hearing in November.

Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas, Lord Justice Tomlinson and Lord Justice Vos announced that they were allowing the appeals on the ground that the “admitted discrimination in each case … has not been justified by the Secretary of State”.

Neil Carroll and his partner Kathryn Dyer in their specially adapted home in Prescot. They have been asked to pay more bedroom tax because the council say they have a spare bedroom. Neil and Kathryn in Neils bedroom

Shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith said: “This victory in the Court of Appeal is a massive blow to the Tories’ bedroom tax.

“It provides a glimmer of hope for the hundreds of thousands of people who have been hit by this cruel policy.

“Labour has long argued that the bedroom tax is deeply unfair and discriminatory, which is why we have campaigned so hard against it.

“Surely the time has now come for the Tories to discover a conscience, listen to the courts as well as the public, and scrap the hated bedroom tax.”

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was given permission to challenge the Court of Appeal’s ruling at the Supreme Court.

The Government rejects the term “bedroom tax” and says the regulations remove what is in fact a “spare room subsidy”, with the aim of encouraging people to move to smaller properties and save around £480 million a year from the housing benefit bill.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/