§ Ms BuckTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he has consulted the Social Security Committee on his proposed broadening of the definition of the single room rent; [155293]
(2) if he will list the organisations that commented on the proposals relating to single room rent; and how many of these (a) supported abolition, (b) favoured abolition above a broadening of the definition, (c) supported broadening the definition and (d) supported no change to the current definition; [155295]
(3) which organisations his Department consulted in relation to the proposed new regulations to broaden the definition of the single room rent. [155294]
§ Angela EagleWe have fulfilled our statutory obligation to consult the Social Security Advisory Committee and the Local Authority Associations on our proposal to broaden the definition of the Single Room Rent.
The Social Security Advisory Committee was content for our proposal to proceed without the Committee conducting a public consultation exercise. The Local Authority Associations favoured abolition of the Single Room Rent, but they welcomed our proposal as a step in the right direction.
Our proposal is designed to better reflect the accommodation which is available in the market, based on advice from the Rent Service.