§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security under what powers his Department has reduced payments after 31 July for anyone with capital between £6,000 and £8,000; and why the reduction is not mentioned in RR4 or any other public document.
§ Mr. Peter LloydOn April 27 my right hon. Friend announced that the capital limit in housing benefit was to be increased from £6,000 to £8,000 with effect from 30 May. Households affected could reapply and be paid housing benefit by their local authority from the beginning of June. At the same time my right hon. Friend announced the scheme of transitional protection; the details of which were outlined to claimants in leaflet RR4, which makes it clear that households with less than £8,000 in capital can claim a transitional payment to cover them from the beginning of April until the end of May. A claim to housing benefit from June obviously reduced the need for transitional protection. Transitional protection is therefore adjusted with effect from the date when housing benefit is paid. Clearly a cut-off date had to apply to these arrangements and so, following discussions with the local authority associations, it was decided that the period for which transitional payments could be paid in such cases in respect of the full loss would not extend beyond 31 July where there continues to be entitlement to housing benefit. Claimants who delayed a claim for new housing benefit until after that date would have their entitlement to housing benefit reflected in a reduced transitional protection from 31 July. It is open to local authorities to consider the backdating of housing benefit in these cases.
All transitional payments are extra-statutory and applicants are notified individually about circumstances affecting the calculation of their transitional payments.