ABERDEEN COUNCIL TO EVICT BEDROOM TAX VICTIMS

ABERDEEN COUNCIL TO EVICT BEDROOM TAX VICTIMS

Mon, 25/03/2013 - 17:11

Today the SNP group in Aberdeen City Council submitted an emergency motion calling for the council to not evict anyone subject to the bedroom tax who takes all reasonable steps to repay arrears.

The administration rejected hearing a motion to stop bedroom-tax evictions, whilst at the same time raised senior administration members pay £41,599 higher than the previous administration. The current Aberdeen City Council Administration is now the most expensive in history.

All SNP-run councils have committed to implementing a no eviction policy, following the lead of Dundee City Council, showing it can be delivered. The SNP group in Aberdeen City Council is calling on the administration to give Aberdeen tenants the same protection from this devastating policy.

SNP Group Leader Cllr Callum McCaig said:

“The bedroom-tax is a devastating policy being pursued by the UK Government. Local councils cannot do everything to protect people but the council can do this: they can remove the threat of eviction. When a council tenant runs into arrears through no fault of their own because of the bedroom-tax then the council should not be evicting them.

“The Labour-led administration has chosen today to put themselves and their salaries before the needs of the citizens of Aberdeen. They are failing to take action they could on the bedroom-tax whilst putting up their own salaries up.”

Aberdeen Central MSP Kevin Stewart – a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee – said:

“This is probably the most ill thought-out policy since the Poll Tax, and Labour’s complete inability to stand up for the people of Aberdeen - while lining their own pockets - is as baffling as it is shameful.

“Almost 2000 people in Aberdeen are to be affected by this iniquitous tax – a tax which 90% of Scottish MPs have voted against, yet is still to be imposed on Scotland.

"As long as decisions about welfare are made in Westminster, Scotland will continue to have unfair and damaging policies forced on it by governments that we didn’t vote for. That is why Scotland needs to have the powers of independence, so that we can make decisions in and for Scotland."

http://www.snp.org/media-centre/news/2013/mar/aberdeen-council-evict-bedroom-tax-victims