AN MP has pledged to fight against the 'Bedroom Tax' after new figures reveal its impact.

Makerfield MP Yvonne Fovargue says the "unfair" tax, officially called the Spare Room Subsidy, is affecting hundreds of families across the borough and will cost people in the borough more than £700 per year if the Conservatives remain in power.

As of August 2014, more than 3,400 families in the Wigan Borough were paying the Bedroom Tax according to Department of Work and Pensions statistics.

On average the tax costs people over £700 per year in this region.

Ms Fovargue said: “The Bedroom Tax will cost people more than £700 per year in the Wigan Borough if the Tories win again.

“At the moment more than 3,400 people are paying, but many more will be caught if the Tories win again. Labour has pledged to abolish the Bedroom Tax and only a Labour government will do this.

“The government has imposed the 'Bedroom Tax' on families who are already hard pressed to make ends meet.

“There aren’t enough smaller properties for people to move so even the government’s own studies show that people are having to cut back on household essentials to pay it.”

There are more than 49,000 people in social rented tenure in the borough and all non pensioner social tenants are at risk, according to Ms Fovargue – meaning a family can become liable if children leave home or someone dies.

She has also highlighted how people cannot move, saying that in April 2013, just before the 'Bedroom Tax' was introduced, there were already 3,418 households on the council housing waiting list for Wigan, of whom 2,029 required one bed flats.

She claims the 'Bedroom Tax' added to an already long waiting list and highlighted a DWP evaluation which showed that 57 per cent of claimants are cutting back on household basics but that only 4.5 per cent had been able to move.