[BITList] Brits are xxx insane

[John Feltham]

Mother of four in £2m house (and taxpayers foot the bill)
By STEVE DOUGHTY and NEIL SEARS
Last updated at 7:44 AM on 22nd December 2008

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A mother of four receives more than £90,000 a year from the taxpayer  
to live in a £2million townhouse in one of the country's most  
fashionable areas.

Francesca Walker is given £1,755 a week in benefits to pay the rent on  
the five-bedroom villa, which is a few hundred yards from David  
Cameron's home.

Kensington and Chelsea Council says under Labour's benefits rules it  
has no choice but to offer Miss Walker the home in Notting Hill, West  
London.


'Not greedy': It costs £1,755 a week to keep Francesca Walker here

Her good fortune again turned attention to how taxpayers are being  
forced to pay for families to occupy such vast and expensive houses.

In October it was revealed that Afghan single mother Toorpakai Saiedi  
and her seven children were given a £1.2million property by Ealing  
council in West London.

Mrs Saiedi, 35, receives £170,000 a year in benefits. Some £50,000 of  
that is paid to a private landlord for the seven-bedroom house.

Her son Jawad said: 'When the council chose to put us here we did not  
say no. If someone gave you a lottery jackpot would you leave it?'

But Miss Walker, who moved into her house in September, claims she is  
'not a greedy person'.

'I would rather not be here,' she said yesterday. 'Council housing  
would be fine for me. My personal circumstances are not really  
anybody's business  -  you just need to look at housing policy.'

Miss Walker  -  who is British  -  is able to live in the home, which  
has two bathrooms and a roof terrace, thanks to 'local housing  
allowance' rules introduced in April.

The Government advertised the rules as 'a much fairer way of  
calculating housing benefit', which is worth £15.4billion a year.

They set a maximum rent for properties in a neighbourhood that benefit  
officials will be prepared to pay.


Good fortune: Jawad Saledi whose mother, Toorpakai, gets £170,000 in  
benefits. Including £50,000 for this house in west London

They are intended to ensure that someone who is being housed by the  
council has a choice of half the available rental properties of the  
allotted size in the area.

Kensington and Chelsea is one of the most expensive districts in the  
world  -  meaning the benefit system will pay up to £1,950 a week for  
a five-bedroom house.

The figure is public, so landlords approached by the council know what  
it is prepared to pay before they start negotiating.

Tory-controlled Kensington and Chelsea Council also pointed to rules  
that homeless families must be given 'suitable accommodation'.

Under the rules, children must be close to their schools and should  
not be moved further away from relatives.

Miss Walker said: 'Lots of people are losing their jobs and becoming  
unemployed, and they're unable to meet their mortgage payments, or  
they're overcrowded.

'All of these people end up in the same circumstances.

'Lots more people could lose their jobs and find themselves in a house  
worth millions  -  even though they don't want to move into it.'

A Department of Work and Pensions spokesman said yesterday: 'We are  
reviewing the whole housing benefit system and will publish a paper in  
January. We want to make sure that it is fair to people who need  
support, but that it is also fair to the taxpayer.'

The house occupied by Miss Walker is owned by a gynaecologist, Nigel  
Armstrong, who offered it for rent through Foxtons estate agents. He  
now lives in another West London suburb.


ooroo

If you don't hear the knock of opportunity - build a door.

Anon.



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