By Richard Johnstone in Brighton | 23 September 2013
Labour leader Ed Miliband has said that a Labour government would abolish the controversial ‘bedroom tax’, which cuts Housing Benefit paid to social housing tenants deemed to have spare rooms.
The policy reduces Housing Benefit by 14% for one spare room and by 25% for two or more. According to the government, this removes a subsidy on spare rooms that has already been halted for private-rented homes.
But speaking at the start of the Labour Party conference in Brighton, Miliband said the cuts disadvantaged disabled people, who needed rooms to house special equipment and aids. Reversing it would be paid for by closing tax loopholes for hedge funds, Miliband said.
He also announced that Labour would undertake a review of the National Minimum Wage to examine what can be done to boost its value.
Average pay have fallen in 38 out of 39 months since the coalition came to power, with the National Minimum Wage having declined in value by 45p an hour in real terms, the Labour leader said.
Miliband has appointed Alan Buckle, deputy chair at accountants KPMG, to investigate how the role and powers of the Low Pay Commission, which determines the level of the National Minimum Wage, could be extended to strengthen it.
Buckle will examine what steps could be taken to restore the value of the minimum wage to the level it was at in 2010, and will also look at whether particular sectors could afford to pay more.
The review comes after Business Secretary Vince Cable announced at last week’s Liberal Democrat party conference that he had asked the commission to consider if the wage rate could be increased without hitting jobs.
Miliband said that the NMW was ‘one of the proudest achievements of the last Labour government’. However, action was needed to reverse its decline in value.
‘Of course, many businesses are facing tough times. But does anyone here really believe that a big bank can’t afford to pay their cleaners a little bit more?
‘I want to send a very clear signal today: It is wrong that millions of people are going out to work, working harder and harder, and can’t afford to bring up their families. The next Labour government will put that right. The next Labour government will strengthen the National Minimum Wage.’
Miliband said the Labour coference would be focused on solutions to the ‘cost of living crisis’ across the UK.
