§ Mr. David MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on progress towards reform of the housing benefit system. [126587]
§ Mr. PondOur overall strategy for reforming housing benefit is to improve administration, promote choice and responsibility, enhance work incentives and reduce levels of fraud and error in the system.
We are abolishing the need to automatically reclaim housing benefit after a set period, and in October we launched Rapid Reclaim for Housing Benefit. This has removed barriers to taking and declaring work by reducing concerns about the delays in reclaiming benefits if a job does not last.
And in his most recent Budget statement, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer reaffirmed our commitment to reform housing benefit. He announced new measures to apply the 30-hour disregard in housing benefit and council tax benefit to those working between 16 and 29 hours per week; to change the hospital downrating rules so that there will be no reduction in benefit for those in hospital for up to 52 weeks; and to extend the housing benefit run-on to people receiving incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance.
The Standard Local Housing Allowance is a further, radical step forward in the simplification of housing benefit, which we will test out in 10 pathfinder local authorities from October 2003.