HC Deb 05 December 1988 vol 143 c60W
Mr. Flannery

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will adjust the weighting of private sector housing benefit claims to reflect the complexity of the liaison between the local authority and the rent office.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Discussions on the allocation of housing benefit administration costs subsidy for 1989–90 are currently taking place between the Department and the local authority associations. It has been agreed in those discussions that the weighting used for private sector housing benefit cases for 1989–90 should not be adjusted to take account of the new rent officer arrangements. For future years, the weighting used will be reconsidered in the light of data on the operation of the new arrangements.