§ Mrs. BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans she has to change the rules on housing benefit to ensure that local authority tenants are not subsidising, through rent levels, the housing benefit of other tenants. [8348]
585W
§ Mr. RaynsfordI have been asked to reply.
Under the housing revenue account subsidy system, an authority's entitlement to subsidy for its council housing is based upon various assumptions about its relative income and expenditure. If the cost of rent rebates is excluded from the subsidy calculation, most local authorities have a notional surplus of income over expenditure. These surpluses are used to offset the cost of rent rebates.
We have some sympathy with local authorities' concerns about this aspect of the subsidy system and have embarked on a review of the HRA subsidy system as part of the comprehensive spending review of housing.
1995–961 Department Number of cases Number of internal staff perpetrators Value £ Cases Per cent. change 1995–96 over 1994–95 +/(-) Value Per cent. change 1995–96 over 1994–95 +/(-) Cases Per cent. change 1995–96 over 1993–94 +/(-) Value Per cent. change 1995–96 over 1993–94 +/(-) Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 5 5 3,400 2— - 0 (81) Cabinet Office 4 4 4,678 300 738 33 (52) Crown Office (Scotland) 2 2 2,486 100 2,080 0 69 Crown Prosecution Service 3 3 56 200 124 200 (98) HM Customs and Excise 31 31 1,420,320 (43) 555 (54) 2,618 Ministry of Defence 212 212 506,500 9 (51) 112 (3) Export Credit Guarantee Department 3 3 2,635 50 133 — — Department of Education and Employment 17 18 28,446 (23) (71) (50) (71) Department of the Environment 5 5 19,690 67 3,289 (58) 230 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 3 3 35,607 (40) (75) (80) (81) Forestry Commission 3 4 187 (25) (99) 200 112 GCHQ 4 4 1,606 0 (65) (20) (48) HMSO (now The Stationery Office) 1 1 75 (75) (94) - - Department of Health 3 3 1,124 (25) (92) (25) (88) Home Office 25 27 50,435 257 21 (11) (17) Inland Revenue 7 7 261,920 (30) 662 (42) 143 Intervention Board 2 5 1,476 — — 100 (72) HM Land Registry 4 4 513 - - - - Lord Chancellor's Department 12 12 11,972 (20) (96) 20 (93) Department of National Heritage 3 3 532 - - 50 (100) Department of National Savings 1 1 330 - - - - Overseas Development Administration (now DFID) 1 1 50 0 (99) - - Department of Social Security 111 121 474,485 122 180 692 312 The Scottish Office 5 5 4,593 (54) (89) (50) 296 Department of Trade and Industry 4 4 11,874 100 12,016 (20) 18 Department of Transport 2 2 3,690 (50) 57 (80) (64) HM Treasury 1 1 0 - - 0 (100) Welsh Office 2 2 20 (33) (95) (50) (100) Total 3476 493 £2,848,700 1 The table excludes Departments which reported a nil return in 1995–96. 2 The notation '—' indicates that the Department recorded a nil return in the year concerned and there is therefore no basis for comparison with the base year 1995–96. 3 The reduction in the 480 cases referred to in the 1995–96 report reflects the subsequent correction of a database error. 1. Some large percentage changes in value and case numbers are based on relatively small changes in actual values. The overall pattern shows a gradual increase year on year in the numbers of cases being reported. This increase may be due in part to better reporting arrangements and improved fraud awareness in departments.
2. Levels of fraud reported in previous years cannot easily be inferred from reductions in percentage changes of 100 per cent. since the maximum reduction is 100 per cent.