§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what circumstances a person making a fresh claim for housing benefit in one of the proposed 1009W pilot areas for housing benefit reform after the pilots have begun will receive less housing benefit than under the existing rules. [83955]
§ Malcolm Wicks[holding answer 28 November 2002]: The standard local housing allowance will provide a better, quicker service based on simpler, clearer rules, and will for the first time give tenants real choice over their housing decisions.
The standard allowance will be calculated on the same basis as the existing local reference rent. The scheme is therefore designed so that tenants should not be worse off than if they had claimed under the existing rules. In fact, current estimates suggest that around half of affected tenants will gain from the reforms when compared to the existing rules. Details of the scheme will be contained in regulations, which will be subject to the usual parliamentary scrutiny.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate(a) how many and (b) what percentage of housing benefit claimants' housing benefit entitlement meets less than 100 per cent. of their rent
HB recipients receiving an amount less than their eligible rent: All HB recipients With income from employment With other income With non-dependant deductions Tenure type Number Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Local Authority 2,133,000 113,000 5.3 469,000 22 100,000 4.7 Registered Social Landlord 998,000 74,000 7.4 222,000 22.3 32,000 3.2 Private Rented Sector 743,000 78,000 10.5 144,000 19.4 16,000 2.1 Total 3,874,000 264,000 6.8 836,000 21.6 147,000 3.8 Notes:
1. The data refer to households claiming Housing Benefit which may be a single person, a couple or a family. More than one benefit household can live in one property, for example two or more adults in a flat or house share arrangement.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
3. Percentages refer to the percentage of all Housing Benefit recipients in each type of tenure and are rounded to one decimal place.
4. Figures exclude any Extended Payment cases.
5. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.
6. Figures are subject to a degree of sampling error.
7. The number of Housing Benefit recipients receiving less than their eligible rent for reasons other than those stated is negligible.
8. There may be some overlap in the figures, as recipients will be counted each time they fall into any of the three categories mentioned.
Source:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System
Annual 1 per cent. sample taken in May 2001.