Britain cannot afford the spare room subsidy We have a problem that needs addressing. There are over quarter of a million households living in overcrowded social housing in England alone and another 1.8 million households stuck on the social housing waiting list. It is not right to make families wait and wait for a house that is big enough, while other households on benefits are allowed to live in homes that are too big for their needs, at no extra cost. Many working families cannot afford the luxury of having spare bedrooms, and Government cannot afford to pay for bedrooms that are not needed. Of course there will be situations where it would not make sense for people to move, or where personal circumstances mean that extra support will be necessary. That's why we have given £155 million to local authorities to help with these cases. This includes £30 million targeted specifically at helping disabled people whose homes have been adapted and for foster carers. Pensioners and people living in temporary accommodation will not be affected by these changes. People who need a spare room for an overnight carer are also exempt, and bereaved families will have a year before the policy will affect them. Councils and housing associations across the country are getting ready for this reform by running housing swaps, and other innovative programmes that will make it easier for people to find the right accommodation for them. These changes are about fairness. We will be able to make better use of our social housing stock, and help more families into their own home whilst keeping the welfare budget sustainable. But we will also make sure that people in difficult situations are protected. Labour have deliberately set out to scare as many people as possible whilst opposing this change. We should remind Labour that this coalition inherited a housing crisis from them where Housing Benefit had doubled in ten years to £21billion - a cost of £900 to every household in the country. Furthermore, by letting house building fall to the lowest levels since the 1920's, Labour in government ensured that 250,000 households ended up living in overcrowded accommodation. Not once have Labour apologised for this mess.