§ Mr. LofthouseTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he is taking to ensure that local authority tenants do not subsidise housing benefit payments as a result of increases due to relaxed entitlement criteria not being met in full by central Government funding.
§ Mr. ChopeI assume the hon. Member is referring to the arrangements whereby rent officers determine, for housing benefit subsidy purposes, whether rents are at a reasonable market level. Where a rent is above this level, and the claimant is in a vulnerable group, the local322W authority is required to consider whether it is reasonable to expect him to move, before restricting housing benefit. If the local authority decides that benefit cannot be restricted, 50 per cent. subsidy is paid on that part of the rent which is above the rent officer's assessment. These arrangements apply only to deregulated private sector rents, not to council rents. Any costs not met by subsidy must be debited to an account other than the housing revenue account, and in consequence none of these costs will be a charge to the authority's own tenants.