Bedroom tax defeat for Westminster council in landmark case...
Barrister Surinder Lall, who is blind, wins appeal as his spare room stores essential equipment and has never been a bedroom
"A housing association tenant in central London has won an appeal against the imposition of the bedroom tax by Conservative-run Westminster city council, in what is thought to be the first such victory in England.
Surinder Lall, who is blind, argued successfully to a tribunal that a room in his flat classified as a second bedroom had never been used as one and had always been where equipment helping him to lead a normal life was kept.
In his decision notice, the judge wrote: "The term 'bedroom' is nowhere defined [in the relevant regulations]. I apply the ordinary English meaning. The room in question cannot be so defined."
The council, which had decided in March to cut what the government calls the spare room subsidy element of Lall's housing benefit, did not attend the hearing and will not appeal, although the Department for Work and Pensions has said it may do so...."
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/26/bedroom-tax-westminster-council-defeat
The article in the paper has been 'corrected', thus...
"In an article about Surinder Lall winning an appeal against the imposition of the bedroom tax, an editing error led to the suggestion that the housing association tenant had applied for a discretionary payment from Westminster council but had been turned down. In fact, Westminster had invited Lall to apply for a payment, but he did not take up the invitation"