GLASGOW City Council wants to be able to use cash to help cash strapped tenants who are not affected by the bedroom tax.

Changes in funding means the council will see cash from the UK Government for Discretionary Housing Payments cut by £1m this year.

The council receives cash from the Scottish Government to top up the DHP funds but said it can only be used for Bedroom Tax cases.

Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said other tenants in hardship are losing out.

Yesterday the Evening Times reported how charities and housing officials warned tenants would face further hardship as available cash is used to mitigate bedroom tax.

The council said it will receive just £220,000 this year in DHP money as its allocation is cut by 80% .Last year it spent £1.2 million across more than 3000 cases.

DHP has been available to tenants having difficulty meeting rent payments, but since the Bedroom Tax was introduced has been used to mitigate the shortfall in housing benefit.

Mr Matheson said: "This decision is a disaster for thousands of households in Glasgow who will struggle to afford their rent and it will benefit absolutely nobody. It diverts another £1 million away from households all over Glasgow; where there are people who we know are in need and agencies with a strong track record of using this funding effectively, and into areas where it's not even clear the funding is required.

"In Glasgow and in Scotland, parties have worked together to ensure DHP is still available to households facing the bedroom tax. The crisis looming for these tenants, many of them among the most vulnerable in our communities, is no less severe and I will be urging Ministers in Edinburgh to give them the same priority."