§ Mr. RoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of gross rents in(a) the private rented, (b) local authority and (c) the housing association sectors is met by housing benefit. [69740]
§ Malcolm WicksThe information is in the table.
Tenancy type Housing Benefit payments (HB)1 as a percentage of the total value of the rental market Private landlord2 20 Local Authority / Council / New Town / Scottish Homes 55 Housing Association / Trust 55 Source:
Family Resources Survey 2000–2001
1The percentages are calculated from the total value of Housing Benefit payments divided by the total value of gross rents due. Gross rent is the total amount of rent which would he eligible for Housing Benefit paid by a household to the landlord.
2"Private Landlord" includes all landlords which do not fall into the other two categories.
3Gross rent does not include rent paid by one member of the household to another—it is the total rent paid by the household which is counted. For Housing Benefit, payments in respect of rent paid by any member of the household are included.
4Estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors to account for regional. Council Tax band and a number of demographic variables.
5Estimates are subject to sampling error and variability in non-response.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out the basis for his statement in paragraph 20 of the Government's Response to the Second report of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, on pension credit, that plans to improve the administration of housing benefit are well underway. [67806]
§ Malcolm WicksWe have a comprehensive long-term strategy for reforming Housing Benefit (HB) and dealing with the legacy of neglect we have inherited. We are determined to work with local authorities to drive up standards of service, tackle fraud and error, reduce barriers to work and tackle social exclusion.
1562WThe Spending Review announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 15 July includes the biggest investment in HB administration since the scheme began in 1988. Starting with £40 million next year, we are investing an extra £200 million over three years to help local authorities meet the performance standards in delivery of HB.
From April 2003 all local authorities currently complying with the Verification Framework will receive a 50 per cent. increase in their funding allocation for this work. In addition, any authority seeking to become compliant now or in the near future will also receive 50 per cent. more than they otherwise would have done.
In March last year we established a Help Team to work in partnership with local authorities to support them in improving the administration of HB. We are already seeing real improvements resulting from the Team's work.
In addition, we have set up a Help Fund to support local authorities by providing funding for locally-led initiatives to improve the administration of HB. For the financial year 2001–02, a total of £1,637,570 was awarded which benefited over 200 authorities.
We also want to help more authorities deliver a high standard of HB service by sharing good practice. We have now introduced a dedicated web-site for local authorities and have also distributed on CD a Housing Benefit manager's service improvement "toolkit".
In April this year we published for the first time performance standards for the full range of HB administration. These standards provide authorities with a definition of what they should be delivering.
We will continue to review local authorities core administration subsidy each year and we will fund the set-up and ongoing costs of implementing the changes needed to bring in the new tax credits and the pension credit.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps she takes to deal with councils which are not meeting their statutory obligations in delivering the housing benefit system; and if she will make a statement. [61096]
§ Malcolm WicksWe have a comprehensive long-term strategy for reforming Housing Benefit (HB) and dealing with the legacy of neglect we have inherited. We are determined to work with local authorities to drive up standards of service, tackle fraud and error, reduce barriers to work and tackle social exclusion.
We have already made progress. Through a programme of inspection and active support, we have helped many local authorities to improve their administration. But where inspection shows that an authority's performance continues to fall below acceptable standards and gives cause for concern, we will not hesitate to direct the authority to take the necessary steps to improve.
In April this year we published for the first time performance standards for the full range of HB administration. These standards provide authorities with a definition of what they should be delivering.
1563WThe Spending Review announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 15 July includes the biggest investment in HB administration since the scheme began in 1988. Starting with £40 million next year, we are investing an extra £200 million over three years to help local authorities meet the performance standards in delivery of HB.
From April 2003 all local authorities currently complying with the Verification Framework will receive a 50 per cent. increase in their funding allocation for this work. In addition, any authority seeking to become compliant now or in the near future will also receive 50 per cent. more than they otherwise would have done.
§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of(a) the effectiveness of local authorities' administration of housing benefit and (b) the effects of poor administration of housing benefit on tenants; and if he will make a statement. [63913]
§ Malcolm WicksHousing Benefit has a key role to play in supporting our efforts to tackle poverty and social exclusion and promote work for those who are able to. Many local authorities are doing a good job of administering benefit and some are delivering to a high standard. However, we accept that too many local authorities have backlogs of work and that consequently tenants are experiencing delays in the processing of their claims. We are determined to tackle these unacceptable variations in performance and the weaknesses in the current Housing Benefit scheme. That is why we have set out a comprehensive long-term strategy for reforming Housing Benefit and dealing with the legacy of neglect we inherited.
We have already made progress. Through a programme of inspection and active support, we have helped many local authorities to improve their administration. The result, in the better authorities, has been a fall in backlogs of cases, an improvement of turn-around times, tighter verification of claims, improved recovery of overpayments, and a strengthening of counter-fraud work.
In April this year we published for the first time performance standards for the full range of Housing Benefit administration. These standards provide authorities with a definition of what they should be delivering.
The Spending Review announced by my Right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 15 July includes the biggest investment in Housing Benefit administration since the scheme began in 1998. Starting with £40 million next year, we are investing an extra £200 million over three years to help local authorities meet the performance standards in delivery of Housing Benefit.
Local authorities need to process Housing Benefit claims quickly to avoid any inconvenience to tenants. The measures we are putting in place are designed to encourage better performance and are making Housing Benefit easier to administer.
§ Mr. Neil TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Wigan MB are claiming housing benefit as a percentage of the total population there; and what the equivalent statistics are for(a) the North West Region and (b) England. [71896]
1564W
§ Malcolm WicksThe information is in the table.
Housing Benefit recipients in Wigan, the North-West Region and England as a percentage of the total population aged 16 or over in each area: February 2002.
Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council area Government Office Region of North West England England 8.1 9.4 7.9 Sources:
Housing Benefit Management Information System quarterly 100 per cent. count taken in February 2002;
Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates for 2000.
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 exclude any Housing Benefit Extended Payment cases.
3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.