§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people had their housing benefit restricted as a result of(a) single room rent and (b) local reference rent in each London borough in each year since 1998. [105093]
§ Malcolm WicksHousing Benefit Management Information System data provided by local authorities show the numbers of tenants in the deregulated private rented sector whose claims to housing benefit are assessed under the local reference rent and single room rent schemes. These data do not distinguish between cases where rent is restricted following a rent officer determination and those where it is not (for example because the actual rent is sufficiently low, or the person claiming has transitional protection).
However, using information from rent officer statistics, it is possible to estimate the proportion of deregulated private rented sector cases referred by local authorities where housing benefit would be restricted if the overall claim was successful. The latest available estimates for the years 1997–98 to 2000–01 have been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 30 January 2003,Official Report column 1009W, on housing benefit, if he will commission research into the impact of the July 2001 changes to the single room rent restriction to housing benefit in those areas that will not be used as pathfinders for the new standard local housing allowance. [105149]
440W
§ Malcolm WicksThe Department has commissioned research in the current wave of the Local Authority Omnibus Survey on the impact of the July 2001 changes to the single room rent restriction to Housing Benefit. The results of the research are expected to be available in the Autumn. The Local Authority Omnibus Survey covers all local authorities that administer Housing Benefit in England, Scotland and Wales.