Margaret Curran MP, Labour’s Shadow Scottish Secretary, has written to Alistair Carmichael MP following his comments on the bedroom tax at the Scottish Affairs Committee yesterday. During the Committee session, the Secretary of State for Scotland conceded that the Government may scrap the bedroom tax if their review shows that the policy leads to significantly lower savings than the Government set out.

Drawing on evidence from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) which shows that the bedroom tax could cost at least £58m in Scotland, but save only £50m Margaret Curran wrote:

“It is clear that the evidence you are looking for already exists. Instead of waiting for the conclusions of your Government’s review, which will come only after tens of thousands of people have been affected and housing associations and local authorities have borne the brunt of your Government’s policy, you should scrap the bedroom tax now.”