§ Mr. Favellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the actual cost of housing benefit for 1984–85; and what proportion of the total social security budget this represents.
§ Dr. BoysonThe cost of housing benefit in 1984–85 was estimated as £3,665 million in the Supply Estimates (HC 292-XII). The effect of the new benefit rates announced on 18 June and of other announced changes is to decrease this figure to £3,650 million, or just under 10 per cent. of total benefit expenditure.
§ Mr. Favellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the percentage of the number of households in the United Kingdom receiving housing benefit.
§ Dr. BoysonIt is estimated that a third of all households in Great Britain are in receipt of housing benefit.
§ Mr. Terry Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will estimate the total amount of rent owing to local authorities as a result of arrears accrued due to the transfer of responsibility for the payment of housing benefit from his Department to local authorities;
(2) if he will estimate how many housing benefit beneficiaries have accrued rent arrears since the transfer of responsibility for payment passed from his Department to local authorities.
§ Dr. BoysonNo information is held centrally or the number of housing benefit recipients who have accrued rent arrears. However, the transfer of responsibility for payment of housing costs from the Department to local authorities should ensure that the amounts of rent owing to local authorities are less than they would otherwise have been.
Mr. Favell askedthe Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any proposals to introduce capital limits for the recipients of housing benefit.
§ Dr. BoysonWe have no such plans.
§ Mrs. Beckettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many authorities continued to apply the £3.10 a week non-department deduction to 18 to 20-yearolds receiving supplementary benefit after 1 April; and how many are still applying this deduction because their systems have not yet incorporated all the changes tc the housing benefit scheme supposedly effective from 1 April;
(2) how many housing benefit claimants were subject to retrospective adjustments to their benefit because of delayed implementation of the changes due to apply from April;
(3) how many local authorities have been, to his knowledge, unable to implement the changes to the housing benefit scheme due to take effect from 1 April; how many have experienced some delay in implementation; and how many have still not implemented all the changes.
§ Dr. BoysonThe housing benefit measures introduced from 1 April were mainly amendments of rates rather than structural alterations, making implementation easier. When I met representatives of the local authority associations on 6 February they assured me that the 135W measures could be implemented on time. As far as I am aware individual authorities have not experienced serious difficulties.
§ Mr. Craigenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his Department's share of the cost to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee district councils of operating the housing benefits scheme.
§ Dr. BoysonThe Housing Benefits (Subsidy) Order 1984 provides that in 1984–85 the Department will meet 65 per cent. of all reasonable costs incurred by Scottish authorities by way of a specific grant.
§ Mr. Craigenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the Government will consider meeting the entire cost to local authorities of operating the standard housing benefit scheme, as with new towns where 100 per cent. reimbursement is available.
§ Dr. BoysonThe Housing Benefits (Subsidy) Order 1984 provides for new towns' administration costs to be fully reimbursed through specific grant because they have no powers to levy rates. For other authorities, it has always been the case that a proportion of costs is borne by the rate fund, as with other local authority services.
§ Mrs. Beckettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services on which dates local authorities using ICL software for housing benefit received the revised software package incorporating the changes supposedly effective from 1 April; and how many authorities use this software package.
§ Dr. BoysonI understand that 45 local authorities use ICL software for housing benefit and that the revised software package for the April changes was released by ICL by 1 March 1984.