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| Ealing Council's 'foster to avoid benefits cut' call condemned | Ealing Council's 'foster to avoid benefits cut' call condemned |
| (1 day later) | |
| A London council has been criticised for sending out leaflets suggesting people foster a child to avoid losing benefits if they have empty bedrooms. | A London council has been criticised for sending out leaflets suggesting people foster a child to avoid losing benefits if they have empty bedrooms. |
| Under government plans, social housing tenants who have a spare bedroom could have housing benefit cut from 1 April. | Under government plans, social housing tenants who have a spare bedroom could have housing benefit cut from 1 April. |
| Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the Labour-run Ealing Council should not have sent out the leaflets. | Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the Labour-run Ealing Council should not have sent out the leaflets. |
| The council said foster care applicants would not be approved if their "sole motivation" was financial gain. | The council said foster care applicants would not be approved if their "sole motivation" was financial gain. |
| A caller to the deputy prime minister's weekly radio phone-in on LBC 97.3, who gave her name only as Lisa, said she had received a letter from Ealing Council suggesting she could "subsidise" the loss by taking in a foster child. | A caller to the deputy prime minister's weekly radio phone-in on LBC 97.3, who gave her name only as Lisa, said she had received a letter from Ealing Council suggesting she could "subsidise" the loss by taking in a foster child. |
| Rigorous assessment | Rigorous assessment |
| Mr Clegg said it was wrong for councils to suggest families should take such a drastic step simply to cover a %14 cut in benefit. | |
| "I think it is not right for Ealing Council to take what was an exemption that we announced a couple of weeks ago when we said foster families will not be covered by this and then to use that locally to say 'why don't you turn yourself into a foster family?'," he said. | "I think it is not right for Ealing Council to take what was an exemption that we announced a couple of weeks ago when we said foster families will not be covered by this and then to use that locally to say 'why don't you turn yourself into a foster family?'," he said. |
| An Ealing Council spokeswoman said: "We want as many people as possible to consider fostering and recognise welfare benefit changes may have appeared to be a barrier to some families who could become potential foster parents. | An Ealing Council spokeswoman said: "We want as many people as possible to consider fostering and recognise welfare benefit changes may have appeared to be a barrier to some families who could become potential foster parents. |
| "Until recently foster families were not exempt from the changes regarding spare bedrooms so we produced a leaflet to explain the position." | "Until recently foster families were not exempt from the changes regarding spare bedrooms so we produced a leaflet to explain the position." |
| He added: "We have a very rigorous assessment process and if financial gain was the sole motivation the applicant would not be approved." | He added: "We have a very rigorous assessment process and if financial gain was the sole motivation the applicant would not be approved." |