§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing the level of gross earnings in April at which(a) a single householder, (b) a married couple, (c) a married couple with two children aged four and six years and (d) a single parent with one child, aged three years, will lose in housing benefit, assuming full take-up of family credit, average rent and rates and other assumptions, as in his reply to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Clay), Official Report, 1 December 1987, column 566.
§ Mr. Jack[holding answer 30 April 1991]: The answer is set out in the table. It should be noted that the results in the table remain arbitrary. They cannot reflect, except by chance, the actual circumstances of particular people and cannot claim to be representative of the population at large. The table uses hypothetical rents so it does not reflect the full range of housing costs which people can pay. The table sets out separately the cut-off points for housing benefit, which, in the earlier reply to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Clay) included rate rebate, and community charge benefit.
355WNotes:
1. A community charge of £250 per person, per annum has been assumed throughout.
2. Average rents are assumed to be as follows: £21.23 for a single person and for a married couple; £23.43 for a single person with one child and £25.60 for a married couple with two children. All other assumptions are as set out in the published tax/benefit model tables.