Topic summary
Welfare Reform Act 2012
The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c. 5) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes changes to the rules concerning a number of benefits offered within the British social security system. It was enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 8 March 2012.
Among the provisions of the act are changes to housing benefit which came into force on 1 April 2013. These changes include an "under-occupancy penalty" which reduces the amount of benefit paid to claimants in social housing if they are deemed to have too much living space in the property they are renting. (This already applied to tenants in private rental accommodation). Although the Act does not introduce any new direct taxes, this penalty has been characterised by the Labour Party and some in the media as the "Bedroom Tax", attempting to link it with the public debate about the "Poll Tax" in the 1990s. Advocating the Act, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (George Osborne) stated that the changes would reduce welfare dependency and support working families.