Post by Teddy Bear on Mar 16, 2013 17:33:32 GMT
The BBC is now so used to adopting the Labour point of view in their reporting on government actions, they haven't even noticed that their terminology, used by Labour to denote a negative way of looking at this benefit reform, is actually completely false.
But while the present government complains, they will not do anything about it.
SPINELESS!
But while the present government complains, they will not do anything about it.
SPINELESS!
Iain Duncan Smith's fury at the BBC for adopting the language of Labour and calling benefit cut 'bedroom tax'
By James Chapman
Iain Duncan Smith has launched an incendiary attack on the BBC for ‘adopting the language of the Labour Party’ by branding a key welfare reform a ‘bedroom tax’.
In a letter leaked to the Daily Mail, the Work and Pensions Secretary accuses the corporation of helping to alarm hundreds of thousands of people in social housing who will be unaffected.
In the strongest attack on its coverage by a minister since the coalition came to power, he says there has been ‘persistent use’ of the term ‘bedroom tax’ by BBC correspondents and on the BBC’s news website, despite the phrase being ‘innately political and indeed factually wrong’.
Iain Duncan Smith slated the BBC for using the 'innately political' and 'factually wrong' term
Iain Duncan Smith slated the BBC for using the 'innately political' and 'factually wrong' term
Under the Government’s housing benefit reforms, which come into effect in April, working-age claimants in social housing who have more bedrooms than they require will see their handouts reduced.
Tenants affected will face a 14 per cent cut in housing benefit for the first excess bedroom, and 25 per cent where two or more bedrooms are unused.
The Government, which estimates the average affected household affected will lose £14 a week, says the policy will save taxpayers £500 million a year from the massive housing benefit bill. It will also encourage people to move into smaller properties to relieve pressure on stock, helping families crammed into homes that are too small, ministers say.
Mr Duncan Smith says the Government is simply cutting what he calls a ‘spare room subsidy’, but Labour has mounted a fierce campaign to oppose the move, branding it a ‘bedroom tax’.
In a letter dated March 7, to Fran Unsworth, the acting head of BBC News, the Work and Pensions Secretary insists: ‘It is not a tax and it is wrong to describe it in this way. A tax, as the Oxford English Dictionary makes clear, is a “compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on worker’s income and business profits or added to the cost of some goods, services and transactions”.’
He goes on: ‘What this policy does it reduce some social housing tenants’ benefit if their home has one or more spare bedrooms. This cannot in any way be described as a tax. The BBC gas a duty to inform the public. We believe that the BBC is failing in this duty and confusing members of the public on whether they might be “taxed”.
‘This is a public disservice. In using the word tax, the BBC has helped to worry those not in social housing that they might be taxed when this is not the policy.
‘It is also a term continually used and promoted by the Labour Party.’
Mr Duncan Smith says that the Government has complained about the unquestioning use of the term before and been led to believe that the BBC, which has a statutory duty to be politically unbiased, accepted it was political and should not be used.
But correspondents continue to use it, sometimes with the addition of the words ‘critics call’ or ‘it’s been called’, he complains.
The Work and Pensions Secretary said he accepts the BBC is right to report that the Labour Party is calling the policy a tax, but insists its correspondents should make clear that the term is factually incorrect and innately political.
‘We do not believe it is the job of the BBC to use misleading terms and promote the views of the Labour Party,’ he adds. ‘Rather than doing this, you might care to devote some time to explaining what the Government is trying to do – I’m sure your audience would value this.’
He points out that on BBC Breakfast, Moneybox presenter Paul Lewis talked about how the policy might impact disabled people and foster carers ‘without even mention there is millions in support’ for those groups. Foster carers and parents of serving armed forces personnel have since been exempted from welfare deductions.
‘Nor have we heard any of the facts given to you by the department about the thousands of families in overcrowded accommodation or on waiting lists for a home,’ Mr Duncan Smith adds.
‘This is not simple debate about the “branding” of a policy. It is about factual accuracy, ensuring the public are properly informed, and being clear about the political nature of terminology that has gained common currency at the BBC.
‘The public expects you to do better.’
A BBC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have received a letter from Iain Duncan Smith and we will respond directly in due course.”
A YouGov poll showed that 49 per cent of the public support the government’s reforms, compared to 38 per cent against. Labour has opposed the welfare reform, but yesterday there was confusion as one shadow minister suggested it would support it when claimants refused to move to smaller properties.
Shadow culture minister Helen Goodman said: ‘We have said that the bedroom tax should only apply if people have been offered a smaller place to live and turned it down, because obviously it’s better to use housing stock more efficiently.’
A Labour spokesman insisted: ‘We strongly oppose the bedroom tax and continue to do so.’
- Duncan Smith accuses the BBC of helping to alarm thousands of people
- He wrote in a letter that the phrase was political and 'factually wrong'
- The government estimates that each household affected will lose £14 a week
By James Chapman
Iain Duncan Smith has launched an incendiary attack on the BBC for ‘adopting the language of the Labour Party’ by branding a key welfare reform a ‘bedroom tax’.
In a letter leaked to the Daily Mail, the Work and Pensions Secretary accuses the corporation of helping to alarm hundreds of thousands of people in social housing who will be unaffected.
In the strongest attack on its coverage by a minister since the coalition came to power, he says there has been ‘persistent use’ of the term ‘bedroom tax’ by BBC correspondents and on the BBC’s news website, despite the phrase being ‘innately political and indeed factually wrong’.
Iain Duncan Smith slated the BBC for using the 'innately political' and 'factually wrong' term
Iain Duncan Smith slated the BBC for using the 'innately political' and 'factually wrong' term
Under the Government’s housing benefit reforms, which come into effect in April, working-age claimants in social housing who have more bedrooms than they require will see their handouts reduced.
Tenants affected will face a 14 per cent cut in housing benefit for the first excess bedroom, and 25 per cent where two or more bedrooms are unused.
The Government, which estimates the average affected household affected will lose £14 a week, says the policy will save taxpayers £500 million a year from the massive housing benefit bill. It will also encourage people to move into smaller properties to relieve pressure on stock, helping families crammed into homes that are too small, ministers say.
Mr Duncan Smith says the Government is simply cutting what he calls a ‘spare room subsidy’, but Labour has mounted a fierce campaign to oppose the move, branding it a ‘bedroom tax’.
In a letter dated March 7, to Fran Unsworth, the acting head of BBC News, the Work and Pensions Secretary insists: ‘It is not a tax and it is wrong to describe it in this way. A tax, as the Oxford English Dictionary makes clear, is a “compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on worker’s income and business profits or added to the cost of some goods, services and transactions”.’
He goes on: ‘What this policy does it reduce some social housing tenants’ benefit if their home has one or more spare bedrooms. This cannot in any way be described as a tax. The BBC gas a duty to inform the public. We believe that the BBC is failing in this duty and confusing members of the public on whether they might be “taxed”.
‘This is a public disservice. In using the word tax, the BBC has helped to worry those not in social housing that they might be taxed when this is not the policy.
‘It is also a term continually used and promoted by the Labour Party.’
Mr Duncan Smith says that the Government has complained about the unquestioning use of the term before and been led to believe that the BBC, which has a statutory duty to be politically unbiased, accepted it was political and should not be used.
But correspondents continue to use it, sometimes with the addition of the words ‘critics call’ or ‘it’s been called’, he complains.
The Work and Pensions Secretary said he accepts the BBC is right to report that the Labour Party is calling the policy a tax, but insists its correspondents should make clear that the term is factually incorrect and innately political.
‘We do not believe it is the job of the BBC to use misleading terms and promote the views of the Labour Party,’ he adds. ‘Rather than doing this, you might care to devote some time to explaining what the Government is trying to do – I’m sure your audience would value this.’
He points out that on BBC Breakfast, Moneybox presenter Paul Lewis talked about how the policy might impact disabled people and foster carers ‘without even mention there is millions in support’ for those groups. Foster carers and parents of serving armed forces personnel have since been exempted from welfare deductions.
‘Nor have we heard any of the facts given to you by the department about the thousands of families in overcrowded accommodation or on waiting lists for a home,’ Mr Duncan Smith adds.
‘This is not simple debate about the “branding” of a policy. It is about factual accuracy, ensuring the public are properly informed, and being clear about the political nature of terminology that has gained common currency at the BBC.
‘The public expects you to do better.’
A BBC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have received a letter from Iain Duncan Smith and we will respond directly in due course.”
A YouGov poll showed that 49 per cent of the public support the government’s reforms, compared to 38 per cent against. Labour has opposed the welfare reform, but yesterday there was confusion as one shadow minister suggested it would support it when claimants refused to move to smaller properties.
Shadow culture minister Helen Goodman said: ‘We have said that the bedroom tax should only apply if people have been offered a smaller place to live and turned it down, because obviously it’s better to use housing stock more efficiently.’
A Labour spokesman insisted: ‘We strongly oppose the bedroom tax and continue to do so.’
