My Lords, Amendment 40 focuses on the impact of the underoccupancy charge on would-be adopters, special guardians and foster parents. We know that there is a widely held concern about the negative impact of the housing underoccupancy charge or, as we call it, the bedroom tax. The plight of those who are unable to move to smaller properties, or who need the extra accommodation for obviously justifiable reasons is regularly highlighted in the media.
However, I want to concentrate our concerns today on a very specific consequence of the new charge, which is how it impacts on the already chronic shortage of existing and potential foster carers. As noble Lords will know, the bedroom tax restricts housing benefit to one bedroom per person or per couple living as part of a household. Tenants affected will face a 14% cut in housing benefit for the first “excess” bedroom and a 25% cut where two or more bedrooms are underoccupied. The average loss of income is estimated to be around £14 per week. Our concern is that foster children are not counted as part of the household for benefit purposes and therefore that, technically, all foster carers could face cuts in housing benefit.
This matter was raised by our colleagues in the Commons and last-minute changes announced in Committee by the Minister mean that foster carers are allowed one additional room in their homes, as long as they have registered as a foster carer or fostered a child within the past 12 months. This means that around 5,000 foster carers would be exempt from the bedroom
tax, and obviously we welcome that concession. However, foster carers with more than one child will still face the bedroom tax. The reforms still apply to foster carers who have two or three bedrooms for fostering children.
Carers in this situation can apply to a discretionary housing fund for support with their housing costs but because of its discretionary nature, this is not guaranteed—and carers will have to reapply for this benefit every six weeks, even if they have fostered a child on a long-term basis. We do not believe that this is satisfactory. It shows a lack of joined-up thinking by the Government, given the current acute shortage of foster carers. We believe that if the rules remain as they are, foster carers will be deterred from providing foster care for more than one child at a time. This means, for example, that children in foster care are more likely to be separated from their siblings. With there already being a shortage of foster carers in the UK, these reforms are likely to mean fewer new recruits coming forward and children’s well-being suffering as a result.
Our amendment is simple and modest. It would require the Secretary of State to review the impact of the bedroom tax on foster carers to see what impact this is having, on this group and to report back to Parliament on the conclusions within one year. When this was debated in the Commons, I understand that the Minister agreed to take this proposal away and think about it again.