§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish the list of the changed circumstances a housing benefit claimant must report. [17867]
§ Malcolm WicksThe duty to notify changes of circumstances is set out in regulation 75 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987. Subject to the exceptions set out in regulation 75(2), the regulation provides that a person claiming housing benefit has a duty to notify the local authority in writing of any change of circumstances that he or she might reasonably be expected to know might affect his or her right to housing benefit, the amount of benefit or his or her receipt of benefit. It is not possible to provide a definitive list of relevant changes as these will depend on each person's individual circumstances.
How people are made aware of their responsibility to notify changes of circumstances is a matter for individual local authorities to decide upon. However, we have developed a model housing benefit and council tax benefit claim form which local authorities are encouraged to use. The guidance for completing the form includes a list of many of the common changes which must be reported.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will list in date order the housing benefit regulations and amendments to them issued since September 2000; [7904]
(2) how many (a) sets of housing benefit regulations, (b) number of housing benefit regulations, (c) amendments to housing benefit regulations and (d) housing benefit circulars there have been in each year since 1988. [7905]
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will list the date and nature of each of the changes to housing benefit regulations that have been made since April 1997; [15858]
(2) if he will list the dates and subject matters of the circulars he has sent to local authorities on (a) housing benefit administration and (b) measures to tackle housing benefit fraud since April 2000. [15860]
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many regulatory changes affecting the administration of housing benefits have been made(a) in each year since 1997 and (b) in each month since July 2000; [19503]
(2) how many departmental circulars modifying housing benefit rules have been issued (a) each year since 1997 and (b) each month since July 2000. [19504]
§ Malcolm Wicks[holding answer 11 December 2001]: Many of the changes we have made to the housing benefit and council tax benefit schemes since 1997 support our wide-ranging welfare reform initiatives.
We recognise the need to ensure that the impact of such change on local authorities is fully taken into account before implementation. We are, therefore, establishing a 375W Regulation Scrutiny Group, including local authority representatives, to consider future proposed regulations, and to report on the implications for local authorities.
The available information on the number of sets of housing benefit regulations, statutory instruments containing regulations amending housing benefit provisions and circulars issued is in the table.
year Sets of housing benefit (HB) regulations Statutory instruments containing regulations amending HB provisions Number of HB circulars issued 1988 3 3 20 1989 2 2 25 1990 3 8 23 1991 3 6 20 1992 4 11 35 1993 5 11 46 1994 5 10 34 1995 7 13 58 1996 4 16 57 1997 8 18 83 1998 4 14 89 1999 4 15 81 2000 5 23 73 20011 8 20 74 1To October 31 Information on the number of individual provisions, including how they affect administration, within each set of regulations and amendments to them could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, a list of sets of regulations affecting housing benefit (including amendments to these regulations) made between 1 September 2000 and 10 December 2001 has been placed in the Library.
The numbers of departmental circulars identified as giving guidance on changes to housing benefit rules for each year since 1997 and each month since July 2000 are in the table.
376W
Year/month Number 1997 47 1998 41 1999 43 2000 January to June 21 July 3 August 1 September 6 October 2 November 5 December 3 Total 41 2001 January 3 February 4 March 5 April 6 May 3 June 2 July 2 August 4 September 2 October 6
Year/month Number November 3 December 1 Total1 40 1To 30 November Note:
Circulars that confirm, consolidate or reinforce previous guidance are not included. Circulars that interpret changes to rules in relation to the Verification Framework are also not included.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what was the figure for expenditure on the housing benefit under occupation pilot that was not specified on page 103 of the 2001 Departmental report. [18917]
§ Malcolm WicksThe under-occupation pilot encourages housing benefit recipients living in under-occupied social housing to move to smaller and cheaper accommodation in order to make more efficient use of housing stock. The pilot is expected to run until 2003. Estimated expenditure in 2000–01 was £17,335. This figure is subject to adjustment on receipt of audited claims from participating authorities.
§ Ms BuckTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the(a) costs and (b) savings to the housing benefit budget in each region in England of the introduction of rent restructuring in (i) 2002–03 and (ii) 2003–04. [19820]
§ Malcolm WicksThe information is not available in the format requested.
Initial estimates suggest that the overall public expenditure cost of rent restructuring, taking account of housing benefit payments, rental income of councils and grant requirements for new housing association developments is broadly neutral.
§ Ms BuckTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what percentage of all(a) council and (b) registered social landlord tenants in each London local authority are in receipt of housing benefit; [19911]
(2) what percentage of (a) council and (b) registered social landlord tenants in each London local authority are pensioners and of these what proportion are in receipt of housing benefit. [19821]
§ Malcolm WicksInformation is not available in the format requested.
The total number of local authority and social landlord tenants by local authority is not collected centrally. Reliable estimates of the number of pensioners in receipt of housing benefit and living in either local authority or social landlord housing by each London local authority are not available.