§ Ms BuckTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the costs of(a) extending entitlement to Housing Benefit to cover the first (i) 12 weeks and (ii) 24 weeks of work and (b) placing Housing Benefit entitlement on the same time basis as Working Families Tax Credit. [93069]
§ Angela EagleIt is not possible to estimate the cost of extending entitlement to Housing Benefit for everyone starting work to cover the first 12-24 weeks of work, owing to insufficient information.
287WHowever, if it is assumed that the eligibility conditions for a Housing Benefit extended payment are applied, (eg receipt of Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance for at least 26 weeks before starting work) the cost of increasing the extended payment to cover the first (i) 12 weeks in work is £50 million and (ii) 24 weeks in work is £125 million, at 1999–2000 prices. Estimates assume that there are no behavioural changes.
It is not possible to estimate the cost of placing Housing Benefit entitlement on the same time basis as Working Families Tax Credit due to insufficient information.