THIS week is the first birthday of the bedroom tax. Designed by the coalition, this policy sees families receive less housing benefit if they are deemed to have more bedrooms in their home than they need.

Ministers insist the change is necessary to reduce the housing benefit bill and also free up much-needed living space. I wonder how many disabled people will be celebrating this tax – being a disabled person, I will not.

This tax is very divisive, like the party that introduced the poll tax and bedroom tax – but no mansion tax. I’m no leftie but I feel very strongly that this charge where it targets disabled people who need the extra room on health grounds who are being charged due to their disability is just turning the screw on disabled people who find life difficult enough in the first place.

If a government minister had to spend a week as a person with a severe disability, dependent on a wheelchair for mobility, social care for daily living and local NHS services, they would think more than twice about their policy regarding the disabled.

Now we have the Personal Independent Payments (PIP), do the government plan to continue to squeeze the disabled?

MARK LAWLEY Chairman Disability Action Wyre Forest Hayes Road Wolverley