Recently I met with local housing association Fife Housing along with the Deputy Leader of Fife Council, David Ross to discuss the effects of the Bedroom Tax on the Kingdom. According to Fife Housing Association one in five of their tenants will be affected by the Bedroom Tax within the region.

The Bedroom Tax is an issue for many across the Kingdom and I was pleased to meet with Fife Housing and Councillor David Ross to raise and discuss the concerns I have. I am aware that Fife Housing is taking steps to train their staff to deal with the difficult situation but they will be faced with real challenges as a result.

An analysis of Fife Housing’s housing stock shows that the Association holds only 82 one bed properties compared to 2,364 properties with two beds or more. These statistics show that there simply isn’t enough 1 bedroom properties to accommodate those that would want to downsize. This will result in people being penalised for living in a two bedroom flat despite not having any alternative as there is no smaller house available.

The people of Fife will feel let down by both Westminster and Holyrood on this issue. The UK Government should not be introducing such a policy and the Scottish Government need to be doing more to stop it adversely impacting residents across the country.

We are calling on the Scottish Government to introduce emergency legislation to avoid evictions due to the bedroom tax and provide funding for Local Authorities and housing associations to meet the challenges they are facing. Unless the Scottish Government takes action to mitigate the effects of the bedroom tax we could see vulnerable families at risk of losing their homes.