And So To Bed

Ros Wynne Jones writes:

The government has been defeated in the highest court in the land over the bedroom tax.

In a devastating blow to the hated policy, seven justices of the Supreme Court found in favour of Paul and Sue Rutherford who look after their severely disabled grandson Warren.

They also backed the Carmichaels, who are unable to share a bedroom due to Jacqueline Carmichael’s severe disability.

Five other cases, including one involving a sanctuary room for a woman escaping domestic violence, failed, and may now appeal.

Backed by the Daily Mirror, the Rutherfords have been fighting for three years against the levy, which is charged on a room used to store Warren’s equipment and by overnight carers.

Born with rare chromosomal disorder Potocki Shaffer syndrome – which affects the development of his bones, brain and other organs – teenage Warren needs round-the-clock care which the Rutherfords provide.

“We are absolutely delighted,” said Paul Rutherford.

“This is the best day we’ve had for three and a half years – that’s how long we have been fighting.

“But it has always been about all the other people as well as us and we feel absolute solidarity with all those who lost today.

“I want to take the opportunity to thank everybody who have supported us, it’s too many to thank individually.

“Now it’s time for the government to end this hated policy.

“We should never have been put in this position. All we want to do is care for our grandson.”

Jacqueline and Jayson Carmichael said their life had been “sheer, absolute hell” since the bedroom tax had been introduced.

“We have been so stressed and anxious,” Jacqueline said.

“We have been trapped in an unsuitable property for years waiting for our legal position to be resolved. We are so thankful for all the support we have had had.

“We are very very happy,” said Jayson, Jacqueline’s husband and carer.

“We could hardly believe it.

“We hope our win helps other people get justice and gets Theresa May to look at it again.”

Jacqueline Carmichael has spina bifida and has to use a hospital bed because of extreme ­problems with bedsores.

This means she can’t share a bed with her husband.

The idea her domestic sleeping arrangements are now the business of the Supreme Court made her “want to weep”, she said before the verdict.

The Rutherfords yesterday said they were “exhausted but happy”.

Because their grandson Warren has epilepsy and autism, skeletal problems and learning difficulties, his home was specially built for him as a three-bedroom bungalow to allow space for his equipment and for respite carers.

Yet his grandparents are still charged £60 a month “spare room subsidy”.

This is despite the fact Paul and Sue save the taxpayer thousands of pounds a week by caring for Warren at home.

The Mirror, the Child Poverty Action Group and a team from Leigh Day solicitors has backed the Rutherfords and Carmichaels since the beginning of their respective fights through the courts, along with many of the other families as part of our Axe the Bedroom Tax campaign.

Since the Supreme Court hearing in February, the fate of seven families have lain in the hands of in seven judges – as the Rutherfords’ case was heard alongside six other cases.

They included a victim of rape and domestic violence paying the bedroom tax on a home with a panic room – a reinforced attic with security devices provided by police.

During the hearings the court heard the woman, who cannot be named for her own safety, had twice faced eviction from that safe place because of the bedroom tax.

The woman – known only as ‘A’ – yesterday lost her appeal to cries of “shame, shame on you” from the gallery.

Two out of seven judges had dissented from the judgement over A.

One of them Lady Hale said:

“For a woman in a sanctuary scheme to have to endure all those difficulties and uncertainties on top of the constant fear and anxiety in which she lives cannot be justified.”

Yesterday her lawyers demanded the Secretary of State now put in place guidance to protect all those in sanctuary schemes.

Other bedroom tax victims who lost yesterday included a disabled widower, an RAF veteran, and three other families with severely disabled children or adults in them.

The DWP said it “welcomed” the verdict.

“It is welcome that the Court found in our favour in five out of the seven cases,” a spokeswoman said.

“The Court also agreed with our view that Discretionary Housing Payments are generally an appropriate and lawful way to provide assistance to those who need extra help.

“In the two specific cases where the Court did not find in our favour, we will take steps to ensure we comply with the judgement in due course.

“In most cases, Local Authorities are best placed to understand the needs of their residents, which is why we will have given them over £1bn by the end of this parliament for Discretionary Housing Payments to ensure that people in difficult situations don’t lose out.”

Many struggled long distances to the court yesterday to hear the verdict.

For Paul Rutherford, the journey is a seven-hour round trip from West Wales.

Sophie Earnshaw from the legal team at Child Poverty Action Group, who acts for the Rutherfords, said:

“The Rutherfords’ legal ordeal is finally over.

“These are ordinary grandparents who have dedicated their lives to caring for their grandson; they have won much-needed rights for families who care for disabled children who need overnight care.

“We are all in their debt that they were prepared to stick with it to the end.”

The Rutherfords win will set a precedent for thousands of families paying the bedroom tax with a disabled child.

Meanwhile, the Carmichaels win means people with a “medically-based need” for an additional bedroom will no longer pay the levy.

Even more importantly, these brave families have struck a wounding blow to a reviled policy that will give hope to 600,000 other families struggling to pay the bedroom tax.