£1,000,000 Council House disgrace

UPDATE: The Council comments in Daily Express

"Barnet council said it had no involvement in finding a property for Mrs Odia, which was arranged privately. It said Mrs Odia is paid “considerably less” housing benefit than the £25,000 quoted, but was unable to confirm the exact figure.

Council leader Mike Freer said councils had no control over entitlement criteria for housing benefits, which are paid on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. The Pensions Secretary James Purnell ordered a review.

He said: “The housing benefit system does need to support people on low incomes, but also has to be fair to the taxpayer.”

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We've always admired Barnet's flat building housing supremo, Councillor Lynda Hillan's generosity with tax payers money. However today's Daily Mail made us choke on our Cornflakes. The Daily Mail reports that the Council is paying for a family of six, on benefits, to live in a £1,000,000 detached house in Edgware at an annual rent of £25,000.

Both the Tax Payer's Alliance and Government Ministers have expressed concern. Good to see that the GDfB is continuing on it's march to Stalinism.

Statler and I have written an email to Councillor Hillan. We find our home a bit pokey and given our recent Iceland investment issues, are a bit strapped for cash. Let us hoping she can find us a £1,000,000 tax payer funded house too, we know how much she must be able to empathise with those staring over the abyss into bankruptcy.