Once upon a time the Scottish and UK Governments promised to work together to scrap the bedroom tax at source - through Universal Credit www.gov.scot/policies/soc.... That didn’t happen because they were both busy with other things. 1/x - ThreadSky

emmahaslanded.bsky.social • 16 days ago

Once upon a time the Scottish and UK Governments promised to work together to scrap the bedroom tax at source - through Universal Credit https://www.gov.scot/policies/social-security/support-with-housing-costs/#:~:text=We%20are%20working%20with%20the,continue%20to%20apply%20for%20DHPs. That didn’t happen because they were both busy with other things. 1/x

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emmahaslanded.bsky.social•16 days ago

But what the Scottish Government did do was use Discretionary Housing Payments to mitigate the bedroom tax and the benefit cap (note the benefit cap is different to the 2 child limit, it is a cap on maximum amount of Universal Credit a household can receive) https://www.gov.scot/publications/discretionary-housing-payments-in-scotland-1-april-2024-to-30-september2024/pages/background/ 2/x

emmahaslanded.bsky.social•16 days ago

Then the Scottish Government said they would also mitigate 2 child limit. They haven’t set out the details yet but it looks like they plan to create a benefit payment similar to the Scottish Child Payment. This would be administered by Social Security Scotland https://www.gov.scot/news/scrapping-the-two-child-limit/ 3/x

emmahaslanded.bsky.social•16 days ago

This is all excellent, it helps people in poverty, it protects people from becoming homeless, it will help children get the best start in life. But it is unnecessarily complicated. To get Universal Credit you need to apply to DWP. To get Discretionary Housing Payments you apply to your council 4/x

emmahaslanded.bsky.social•16 days ago

And then to get the two child limit mitigated that will be an application to Social Security Scotland. Why not simplify that, let’s mitigate all three through Universal Credit itself, just like the original bedroom tax plan. It will be easier for the people who need the help that way. 5/x

emmahaslanded.bsky.social•16 days ago

I am calling on anyone with influence to ask the UK and Scottish Governments to deliver that package, mitigate the bedroom tax, benefit cap and 2 child limit for people in Scotland at source through Universal Credit. Make the system simpler, and make sure everyone gets what they deserve. 6/6

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