§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which direct payment options are(a) offered and (b) available to housing benefit claimants; and if he will make a statement. [160679]
§ Mr. PondPayment of Housing Benefit for private sector dwellings can be made either to the claimant or, where certain conditions are satisfied, direct to the landlord; Housing Benefit for local authority dwellings is paid as a rebate on the rent account. Individual local authorities have discretion in deciding the appropriate method of payment of housing benefit, taking into account tenants' circumstances, such as access to bank accounts.
Wave 8 of the Local Omnibus Survey, which is conducted with local authority managers, asked about payment methods for housing benefit of those local authorities, which responded, the main method of payment was by cheque. Although 45 per cent. of responding local authorities said that they were not currently using automated credit transfer, 81 per cent. of those said that they had plans to introduce it. A copy of the survey has been placed in the Library.
We are currently undertaking Local Housing Allowance pathfinders in nine local authorities, under which payments are made directly to tenants. We are working with the pathfinder authorities and the British Banking Association to provide tenants with easier access to bank accounts.