After being told by charities that it could penalise those with disabilities, Ian Duncan Smith has agreed to re-examine the spare bedroom tax.

Council tenants faced a reduction in their housing benefits if they had a spare bedroom.

However, this runs the risk of punishing those with disabilities and their carers if they cannot stay together in the same room.

The BBC article suggests that this is something that has been noted and will be looked at:

‘Mr Duncan Smith said he understood the concerns.

He said he had has “already issued an instruction” to officials at the Department of Work and Pensions saying, “let’s look at this again”.

On Thursday, the chief executives of seven charities – Carers UK, MS Society, Mencap, Macmillan Cancer Support, Disability Rights UK, Carers Trust and Contact a Family - wrote an open letter toChancellor George Osborne and Mr Duncan Smith.

In it they expressed their concerns about the impact of the new policy on disabled people and families caring for disabled family members.’

For the full story, see the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21541400