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The government had a devastating report on the Bedroom Tax for a week before slipping it out on the same day as a mountain of 424 documents.

The study by Iain Duncan Smith's department showed 78% of victims were penniless by the month's end and half had to turn down their heating .

It was released on December 17 - dubbed "take out the trash day" when the Tories rushed out a stack of paperwork cutting police funding, solar panels and local government in 24 hours.

Now Labour have confirmed the report was received by the Department for Work and Pensions on December 8 and signed off completely for publication on December 11.

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A DWP spokesman insisted it was standard practice for there to be a week's delay between reports being received and published online.

But shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith claimed the "rotten" government was "desperate to hide its record".

(Image: Trinity Mirror)

He added: "The Tories are right to be ashamed about a report showing the Bedroom Tax is driving people deeper and deeper in to poverty.

"Iain Duncan Smith should show some decency, by being honest about the damage his hated policy is causing. Then listen to Labour's calls to scrap the Bedroom Tax at once."

The government released 36 ministerial statements - compared to three or four on an average day - in a mountain of information on the last day of Parliament before Christmas.

The Bedroom Tax report, Evaluation of Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy, showed 23% of victims received assistance from a fund set up to help the hardest-hit.

The hardship fund rolled out by the government has already given £500million to councils and plans to give another £870million before 2020.

(Image: REUTERS)

It was blasted at the time by Labour and Alison Garnham, of the Child Poverty Action Group.

She said: "The DWP’s own evaluation finds the ‘bedroom tax’ is not only pushing families into hardship but it’s also failing to free up more accommodation for families - the key argument ministers used to justify this controversial policy.

"This is a long and deep look at a hugely controversial policy - it really should not have been released just as MPs rise for Christmas."

DWP sources still stand by the bedroom tax, saying it was "wrong" that "taxpayers had to subsidise benefit claimants to live in houses that are larger than they require".

A DWP spokesman said: "All our publications are pre-announced, as is standard practice, and we published this report within 7 working days of receiving the final report from the authors."