§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the(a) local authorities which have contracted out the administration of Housing Benefit and (b) companies contracted by each authority for this work. [112651]
§ Angela EagleAs there is no formal requirement on local authorities to inform the Department that Housing Benefit administration has been contracted out, comprehensive data are not available. Such information as is available is set out in the table: 147W
Local authority Contractor Barrow-in-Furness CSL Bexley Capita Business Services Brent Electronic Data Services Ltd. Bromley Capita Business Services Broxbourne W. S. Atkins Croydon CSL Ealing Vertex Datasciences Ltd. East Cambridgeshire Capita Business Services Hackney ITNet Havant Capita Business Services Horsham Seimens Business Services Hounslow ITNet Islington ITNet Lambeth Capita Business Services Mendip Capita Business Services North Somerset CSL Rother CSL Sheffield CSL South Bucks ITNet South Oxfordshire CSL Southwark CSL Taunton Deane CSL Westminster Capita Business Services West Devon Capita Business Services
§ Ms BuckTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the total estimated saving from Single Room Rent restrictions(a) in total and (b) in London for each year since 1996; and how many people have been subject to these restrictions in each year. [114099]
§ Angela EagleWhen the Single Room Rent restriction was introduced, the estimated yearly savings, which took little account of behavioural changes, for 1996–97,1997–98 and 1998–99 were £13/£57/£62 million respectively. However, we are unable to provide actual savings because there is insufficient quantitative information to assess how this group as a whole responded to the change.
Because of the number of reasons which could limit the contractual rent, on which data are not held, it is not possible to estimate the savings from Housing Benefit restrictions.
The measures which limit the rent for Housing Benefit purposes are:
certain service charges included in the contractual rent which are not generally eligible for Housing Benefit, for example, charges for cleaning, laundry, fuel, meals and personal care and nursing;the range of determinations, including determinations of single room rents, made by rent officers in respect of most claims from tenants living in the private rented sector; andwhere local authorities consider that the rent is unreasonably high or the accommodation overlarge or the eligible rent is none the less too high in respect of a particular case.Such information as is available is contained in the table:
Date Numbers assessed under the Single Room Rent restriction rules May 1997 30,000 May 1998 32,000 Source:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Annual Summary Statistics May 1998.
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§ Ms BuckTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the total estimated savings from Housing Benefit restrictions(a) in total and (b) in London for the period 1994–95 to 1998–99; [114098]
(2) how many households with children were subject to Housing Benefit restrictions as a consequence of rent restrictions in 1997,1998 and 1999; [114095]
(3) how many households on income support were subject to restrictions of Housing Benefit entitlement (a) in total and (b) in each London borough in 1997–98 and 1998–99. [114097]
§ Angela EagleBecause of the number of reasons which could limit the contractual rent, on which data are not held, it is not possible to estimate the savings from Housing Benefit restrictions.
The measures which limit the rent for Housing Benefit purposes are:
certain service charges included in the contractual rent which are not generally eligible for Housing Benefit, for example, charges for cleaning, laundry, fuel, meals and personal care and nursing;the range of determinations, including determinations of single room rents, made by rent officers in respect of most claims from tenants living in the private rented sector; andwhere local authorities consider that the rent is unreasonably high or the accommodation overlarge or the eligible rent is none the less too high in respect of a particular case.Under the current arrangements, Rent Officers are required to make rental determinations in respect of claims from most tenants living in the deregulated private rented sector. These determinations restrict the rent for a variety of reasons. We do not centrally collect information on individuals' contractual rent and are unable to provide the information for specific household compositions.
§ Mr. LepperTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what research his Department has(a) carried out and (b) commissioned on the effects of single room rent restriction on the accessibility of housing for those aged 18 to 24 years; and if he will make a statement on the findings of such research. [114517]
§ Angela EagleIn 1997, the Department of Social Security and the Department of the Environment Transport and Regions (DETR) commissioned the London Research Centre to explore the role of Housing Benefit in the private rented sector. In particular, the study sought to investigate the impact of the single room rent and local reference rent. The study included interviews with young people who had their Housing Benefit restricted under the single room rent rules, as well as with other tenants, landlords, Housing Benefit Officers and Rent Officers. The report was published by DETR in April 1999, with the title 'Housing Benefit and the Private Rented Sector'.
The findings of the report concluded that the single room rent restriction is causing difficulties for some young people under 25 years in accessing and maintaining accommodation. We are considering the future of the single room rent as part of our wider review of housing. We will be taking account of all the available research which will include the localised reports we received from a variety of organisations on the effects of the single room rent.
149W
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the cost of implementing the housing benefit verification framework; and what estimates have been made of the savings in housing benefit costs through fraud reduction. [114103]
§ Angela EagleThe Government have made available £100 million to enable all local authorities to implement the Verification Framework. By the end of 1999–2000 we expect to have spent over £34.5 million funding the implementation of the Verification Framework in 229 local authorities. Some authorities will have received set-up costs, some will have received continuing costs and some will have received both set-up and continuing costs.
Although it is too early to draw firm conclusions about the impact of the implementation of the Framework on savings in Housing Benefit costs the increasing number of authorities implementing the Framework will make an important contribution towards reducing the estimated £840 million lost each year through fraud and error in Housing and Council Tax Benefit claims. A robust approach to checking at the outset and during the life of a claim will prevent fraudulent claims from entering the system and will detect fraud at the earliest point during the life of a claim. Initial views from local authorities that are fully compliant with the Framework indicate that its implementation has already led to the prevention and detection of a considerable amount of fraudulent claims.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what evidence he has assessed and what monitoring is being undertaken, of the impact of the housing benefit verification framework on(a) the overall level of housing benefit claims, (b) the level of housing benefit claims from pensioners and (c) the time taken to process new and repeat claims for housing benefit. [114102]
§ Angela EagleAll local authorities are required to provide Housing Benefit management information. In addition, local authorities fully compliant with the Framework provide Verification Framework management information. This information will enable us to measure the impact of the introduction of the Framework. At present we only have initial views and anecdotal information concerning a limited number of local authorities.
We are currently examining, and we will continue to monitor, the impact of the Verification Framework on the number of Housing Benefit claims, the overall Housing Benefit caseload and the time taken to process claims. As part of our on-going evaluation of the Framework we will examine the number of pensioners receiving Housing Benefit.
As soon as robust evidence becomes available the Department will consider publishing this in the usual way.