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142370

registered interest
date	06/11/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with disabilities have moved home since becoming subject to the under-occupancy penalty; and what proportion such people are of all those who have moved house since becoming subject to that penalty.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	213812
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Information requested is not readily available and can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>In order to support vulnerable people who require extra help we have provided increased Discretionary Housing Payment funding of £345 million since April 2013 to the end of the spending review period.</p><p> </p><p>This includes £25 million per annum intended to help support disabled people to continue to live in homes that have been significantly adapted, and which are larger than they need but where it makes no sense for them to move to alternative accommodation.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 18/11/2014 14:11:06 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

106411

registered interest
date	04/11/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what (a) number and (b) proportion of households affected by the bedroom tax have fallen into rent arrears since the introduction of the bedroom tax.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	213382
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>My Department does not collect such information.</p><p> </p><p>The removal of the spare room subsidy is estimated to save around £500 million of taxpayers' money in Great Britain in 2014-15 by reducing the benefit bill, helping pay off the budget deficit left by the last Administration. The measure also encourages the more effective use of social housing, by addressing the under-occupation of family homes.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 05/01/2015 14:35:35 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

106134

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2014 to Question 211139, if he will place in the Library the administrative data (Single Housing Benefit Extract) calculation used to estimate the figure of £1 billion pounds; and what estimate he has made of the cost of exempting from the under-occupancy penalty people who would be exempt for reasons set out in sub-clauses 2(1)(a) to (c) of the Affordable Homes Bill.
tabling member constituency	St Ives
tabling member printed	Andrew George
uin	212990
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The calculation of the cost of about £1 billion pounds for the Affordable Homes is solely in relation to Clause 2 (1) (a), (b) and (c). This was estimated using both the administrative data (Single Housing Benefit Extract) and the department’s policy simulation model.</p><p> </p><p>As the estimate was made in this way, it is not possible to place the base data in the Library for this estimate.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 10/11/2014 14:51:03 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	227 label Biography information for Andrew George

102224

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of people subject to the under-occupancy penalty who have moved into a smaller home since the introduction of that penalty.
tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent North
tabling member printed	Joan Walley
uin	905823
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The last published figures for May 2014 showed that, as a result of various actions, the number of people affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy had fallen by 65,000 over the last year.</p><p> </p><p>Analysis of off-flows indicated that up to December 2013, around 22,000 people had downsized or moved.</p><p> </p><p>New figures are not yet available and will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 03/11/2014 17:55:41 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	286 label Biography information for Joan Walley

89869

registered interest
date	29/08/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial information is sent to his Department from individual local authorities on the administrative costs incurred in the preparation for, and the processing of, the under-occupancy penalty; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Ross, Skye and Lochaber
tabling member printed	Mr Charles Kennedy
uin	207327
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The Department has provided funding to each local authority to meet the additional costs resulting from our reforms to Housing Benefit. Local Authority Associations were fully consulted when determining these new costs.</p><p>The Department does not collect details of expenditure on Housing Benefit administration from individual local authorities.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 05/09/2014 13:50:27 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	634 label Biography information for Mr Charles Kennedy

89878

registered interest
date	29/08/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of (a) the amount of savings accruing to the public purse through penalties incurred on housing benefit arising from the under occupancy penalty to date and (b) the amount paid in discretionary housing payments in that time.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	207317
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2014 answer text <p>a) The Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy is estimated to save around £500 million per year in 2013/14 and 2014/15.</p><p>b) In 2013/14 total discretionary housing payment expenditure by local authorities across Great Britain was £176,393,889. This figure includes amounts spent by Local Authorities over and above their government contribution in DHP funding. At the end of the financial year, 240 out of 380 LAs across Great Britain under-spent by £13,285,430 against the available government contribution. This was in addition to the £7,111,693 unallocated from the £20 million reserve fund.</p><p>Detailed information about discretionary housing payment expenditure was published in June 2014 and can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322455/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-june-2014.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322455/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-june-2014.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 05/09/2014 13:42:36 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

89890

registered interest
date	26/08/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the operation of the under-occupancy penalty so that it applies only when suitable alternative accommodation is readily available.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
uin	905118
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/09/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The removal of the spare room subsidy remains government policy. There are no plans to amend this.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 01/09/2014 16:35:20 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

79695

registered interest
date	28/07/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase the availability of suitable housing for housing benefit claimants eligible for the under-occupancy charge who are willing but unable to move to smaller accommodation due to a lack of social housing available.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL1587
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/08/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The 2015-18 Affordable Housing Programme encourages housing providers to build social homes of sizes that match local household needs. Of the successful bids so far, 77% have been for 1 and 2 bedroom homes. This will make more housing available for households in social housing who wish to downsize.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has also taken steps to support mobility among tenants in the social rented sector. Our social housing reforms have given councils and social landlords much more flexibility in the allocation of housing. Our statutory guidance on social housing allocations encourages local authorities to prioritise under-occupying tenants wishing to move, and to consider whether there are provisions in their allocation scheme that might make it difficult for under-occupiers to move. In February, we issued a guide to help landlords facilitate mutual exchanges; the guide highlights various steps landlords can take to make mutual exchange a more attractive and viable proposition for tenants. The introduction of the national <em>HomeSwap</em> Direct scheme has made it easier for tenants wanting to move to find a suitable property. Since its launch in October 2011, tenants have carried out over 18 million searches of the property data held on <em>HomeSwap</em> Direct. The Government has also made clear its intention to introduce a Right to Move for social tenants who need to move to take up a job or be closer to work – we intend to consult soon on proposals.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In addition, many social landlords (both housing associations and councils) are helping affected tenants to move to more suitable accommodation by holding “mutual exchange fairs” (where tenants who want to downsize can meet with tenants who want a larger property), running transfer incentive schemes, and repairing properties which are being swapped through mutual exchange.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 18/08/2014 09:32:53 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

79696

registered interest
date	28/07/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to mitigate the impact of the under-occupancy charge on household debt.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL1588
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The removal of the spare room subsidy was a necessary change in order to get the housing benefit bill under control, return fairness to the system and make better use of social housing stock.</p><p> </p><p>For those that are vulnerable and who may require more time to make the transition to change, the Discretionary Housing Payment scheme administered by local authorities is available. Money management and budgeting and debt advice is also provided by many local authorities and social sector landlords.</p><p> </p><p>Additional Discretionary Housing Payment funding has been made available to local authorities to help them support vulnerable claimants to cope with the changes. For 2014/15 this totals £165m. At the end of 2013/14 £21m of the £180m central Government funding remained unspent. This included £7m from a bidding scheme fund that was available during the second half of the year and which all local authorities were encouraged to apply for.</p><p> </p><p>Recently published data from the Homes and Communities Agency shows housing association arrears in England falling for the two quarters to the end of March 2014 compared to the same period in the previous year. Rent collection remained at 99 per cent during the same period.</p><p> </p><p>We are continuing to monitor and evaluate the policy. The final report of the two year independent evaluation will be published during 2015.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 30/07/2014 14:36:30 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

79697

registered interest
date	28/07/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the under-occupancy charge on child poverty.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
uin	HL1589
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>This cost of providing this information is disproportionate.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has made good progress in tackling the root cause of child poverty and has recently published its 2014-17 child poverty strategy which outlines the actions being taken.</p><p> </p><p>The latest figures from 2012/13 show that the number of children in relative income poverty has fallen by 300,000 since 2009/10 representing the lowest level since the mid – 1980s.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 30/07/2014 14:19:03 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans