§ Mr. ColemanTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to allow housing benefit claimants sufficient time to move to a cheaper private rental area before being subject to the proposed standard local housing allowance. [118492]
§ Malcolm WicksIn the ten Pathfinder areas where the standard local housing allowance will be introduced, local authorities will contact people affected by the new scheme to let them know about the change in the way their benefit is calculated.
We propose to protect existing benefit recipients at the point of transfer if they would lose out under the new scheme. As a result, no one will be forced to move to a cheaper area because of a fall in the amount of housing benefit they receive.