§
Mr. Rossi
Revised estimates of the information provided in annexes A, C and D of the consultative document "Assistance with Housing Costs'—DOE: March 1981—have now been made. These have been prepared on a mid-1981 basis, and are as follows:
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| Annex A—The number of households affected by the proposals |
| Table 1 The present situation |
| Type of benefit |
Estimated No. of households in mid-1981 million |
Average benefit per week in 1981–82 £ |
Estimated cost in 1981–82 £ million |
| Supplementary benefit (housing addition) |
2.7 |
11.90 |
1,800 |
| Rent rebate (local authority tenants |
1.6 |
6.89 |
570 |
| Rent allowance (private tenants) |
0.2 |
4.74 |
60 |
| Rate rebate (all tenures) |
3.5 |
1.86 |
338 |
Note. Numbers of households are not cumulative as most recipients of rent rebates also claim rate rebates.
| Table 2 The effects of the proposed change on existing recipients (Numbers are estimates based on the situation in mid-1981) |
| A. Rebate recipients |
million |
| Local authority tenants (rent and rates) |
*1.7 |
| Private tenants (rent and rates) |
*0.3 |
| Owner occupiers (rates only) |
*l.5 |
| *Claiming and payment systems unchanged. Entitlements affected by changes in tapers. |
| B. Estimated position in respect of SB recipients with income below Scale Rate plus |
| Additional Requirements plus Non-Rebatable Housing Costs |
| i. Without non-dependants |
million |
| Local authority tenants (rent and rates) |
*l.20 |
| Owner occupiers (rates only) |
0.40 |
| Private tenants (rent and rates) |
0.39 |
| * DHSS certifies 100 per cent, housing benefit entitlement to local authorities. Authorities issue demands rebated for the period certified, or cash, as appropriate. |
| † Entitled to 100 per cent, assistance with housing costs. |
| ii. With non-dependants |
million |
| Local authority tenants (rent and rates) |
0.25 |
| Owner occupiers (rates only) |
0.07 |
| Private tenants (rent and rates) |
0.04 |
| * As above except that local authorities issue rent/rate demands to cover non-dependant deductions or reduce cash benefit, as appropriate. |
| † Entitlement to 100 per cent. assistance less non-dependant deductions. |
| C. Owner occupiers |
million |
| Mortgage interest only—for rates see B above. |
*0.14 |
| * Means testing, eligibility assessment and payment continues to be by DHSS. |
For all the above households the DHSS checking of rent/rates is eliminated as is DHSS payment of individual cash amounts. Local authority collection of rent and/or rates from the households without non-dependants is also eliminated.
| ANNEX C |
| Distributional effects of proposed reform on recipients of rebate Estimated numbers of households at mid-1981 ('000s) (GB) |
| Weekly amounts (£) |
LA tenants |
Private tenants |
Owner Occupiers |
Total |
| Losers |
| 0.01—0.25 |
220 |
90 |
620 |
920 |
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| Weekly amounts (£) |
LA tenants |
Private tenants |
Owner Occupiers |
Total |
| 0.26—0.50 |
240 |
50 |
270 |
550 |
| 0.51—0.75* |
580 |
50 |
60 |
690 |
| Total |
1,040 |
190 |
940 |
2,170 |
| Gainers |
| 0.01—0.50 |
100 |
30 |
200 |
320 |
| 0.51—1.00 |
90 |
40 |
110 |
230 |
| 1.01—1.50 |
70 |
20 |
‡ |
90 |
| 1.51—2.00 |
60 |
20 |
† |
80 |
| 2.00+ |
130 |
10 |
† |
140 |
| Total |
450 |
110 |
310 |
870 |
| Breakers-even |
| Total |
240 |
50 |
240 |
530 |
Notes:
† indicates no households.
‡indicates that the sample is too small to allow a reasonable estimate. sub-totals may not add to totals because of rounding.
* theoretical losses if the Government's decision to limit rebate losses generally to 75p had not been made:
| 0.51—0.75 |
180 |
20 |
50 |
240 |
| 0.76—1.00 |
150 |
10 |
10 |
170 |
| 1.01—1.50 |
190 |
10 |
‡ |
210 |
| 1.51+ |
70 |
‡ |
‡ |
70 |
| D. SB recipients with income equal to or greater than Scale Rate plus Additional Requirements plus Non-Rebatable Housing Costs Claimants who switch to HB calculated according to income— |
|
Those no worse off as a result of the change |
Those entitled to DHSS topping up payments |
| Local authority tenants |
36,000 |
106,000 |
| Private tenants |
30,000 |
25,000 |
| Owner occupiers |
6,000 |
8,000 |
| ANNEX D |
| Distributional effects of the proposed reform of supplementary benefit recipients |
| Estimated number of recipients in mid 1981 (000's) (GB) |
| Weekly gain or topping up payment (£) |
Topping up cases |
Gainers |
| 0.01—0.99 |
37 |
37 |
| 1.00—1.99 |
46 |
17 |
| 2.00—2.99 |
35 |
8 |
| 3.00 and over |
22 |
11 |
| Total |
139 |
73 |