§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 18 January,Official Report, column 101, what method was used to assess the value of a universal housing benefit scheme; and what other means are used in his Department to assess the benefits of proposals for social security schemes.
§ Mr. BurtThe Department has received various proposals for extending the housing benefit scheme. Departmental analysts assess the financial impact of a policy by using micro-simulation models to compare, for a sample of the population, estimated benefit entitlement before and after the proposed change.
The main data sources used are the Income Support Annual Statistical Enquiry, the Family Expenditure Survey, and forecasts produced by the Government Actuary's Department for caseloads of non income-related benefits.