Housing benefit bill: MPs warn that 'bedroom tax' will hit poorest

Plans to slash the housing benefit bill partly by the introduction of the so-called bedroom tax could have a "severe impact" on the income of Britain's poorest people, MPs warn the Government today.

Two million people are expected to be affected by reductions in housing benefit of up to 25 per cent for tenants judged to be living in properties too large for them.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) could not predict the impact of the changes on claimants or on the housing supply. "Even small reductions can have a severe impact," it said.

The DWP responded: "It is absolutely necessary we get that spending under control."