NRAS supports anti ‘Bedroom Tax’ amendment in the Welfare Reform Bill

Maidenhead, UK, 1st February, 2012 – The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) is one of over 76 organisations to sign a joint letter in The Guardian asking the Government to support a cross-party amendment in the Welfare Reform Bill to exempt families with one additional unoccupied bedroom from having their Housing Benefit cut.

Under the proposals, 670,000 households - two thirds containing a disabled family member - would lose an average of £670 a year because they are deemed to be ‘under occupying’ by having one or more additional spare bedrooms, irrespective of whether the extra bedroom is being used to store vital medical supplies and equipment.

A full copy of the letter can be downloaded here.


For further media information, please contact:
Jamie Hewitt, Government Affairs Manager, National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society
Tel: 0845 458 3969, Email: jamie@nras.org.uk

Notes for Editors:
1.    The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS) was launched in October 2001 and in a relatively short time has become established as the campaigning voice in the UK for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis.   NRAS provides a total one-stop-shop with support, information and advocacy for all people in the UK with RA, their carers and families.  NRAS has a national volunteer network, a group of people with the disease who provide peer to peer support and provide additional resource to help NRAS in many different ways.

2.    RA is a chronic, progressive and disabling autoimmune disease, which chiefly impacts upon joints but can also affect other organs such as the heart, eyes and lungs. RA is often confused with osteoarthritis, which is a different disease caused by wear and tear of the joints as we get older. RA impacts heavily on people of working age affecting around 690,000 of the UK adult population, with approximately 26,000 new diagnoses each year.