Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess is urging Westminster to clarify how many of Scotland's vulnerable citizens could have been wrongly affected by changes to housing benefit.

Recently, it emerged that thousands of social housing tenants in the UK are to be refunded after the spare-room subsidy, or 'Bedroom Tax', was incorrectly applied to them.

It is understood social housing tenants who have been living at the same address and have been claiming housing benefit continuously since 1 January 1996 may be entitled to receive money back.

Ms Burgess is set to meet with Lord Freud, the UK Government's Minister for Welfare Reform, in London later today and she has said she will ask for an explanation into the matter.


Speaking ahead of the meeting, she said: "I am deeply disturbed to hear reports that some of Scotland's most vulnerable people could have been overcharged. Lord Freud needs to provide answers so we can understand how many people may have been affected by this Department of Work and Pensions error.

"Westminster now needs to take action. We need to know what steps are being taken to compensate those people who have wrongfully had their housing benefit withdrawn."

Ms Burgess added that the UK Government has "a lot to answer for" as people are "struggling to pay their bills because of the Bedroom Tax."

It is thought as many as 40,000 claimants could be affected, but the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) say it is up to 5,000 claimants.

A spokesperson for the DWP said: "The removal of the spare room subsidy is necessary to return fairness to housing benefit and we have given councils in Scotland over £13m in 2013/14 to support vulnerable people who need extra help through our reform.

"Even after the policy change we still pay the majority of most claimants' rent, but it's simply not affordable to pay housing benefit for people to have spare rooms."

(JP/CD)