Hundreds of people in Hull are expected to join a protest march over bedroom tax
Protesters have gathered in Hull to ask the Government to rethink the so called Bedroom Tax. Around seven thousand families will be affected in the city when the cuts to housing benefit come in next month. Victoria Whittam reports.
Hull was just one city across the UK holding demonstrations against the tax. Click here to see the National picture, reaction from MPs and to find out more on the issue.
Hundreds of people are expected to gather in Hull City Centre today to protest over the government's so-called bedroom tax. Figures from the National Housing Federation show that 6,900 families living in the city will be hit by the new tax.
These figures include tenants of non-council social housing in Hull in addition to the 4,700 Hull Council tenants. These households would lose an average £728 per year when the Government's cuts in housing benefit start next month.
Hull North MP Diana Johnson who has recently raised the issue in the House of Commons will be joining the protest today. It is one of several happening across the country.
– Diana Johnson, MP Hull North"As well as making some of the poorest Hull families even poorer, the shortage of smaller alternative homes means that the bedroom tax will force more families into the private sector market renting and make others homeless - all costing more. This means the bedroom tax will not achieve the Government's stated aim of saving money on benefits, nor make any real impact on reducing over-crowding."