The Department is currently working with the Council Tax Partnership Forum and local authorities to identify appropriate and proportionate data for the independent three-year review of the local council tax support policy.<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/p>
The timetable, coverage, process for data collection and detailed terms of reference for the review will be agreed and published in due course.<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/p>
Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last government, costing taxpayers £4 billion a year \u2013 equivalent to almost £180 per year per household. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit left by the last Administration.<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/p>
Our reforms to localise council tax support now give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people into work. We are ending the last Administration\u2019s \u201csomething for nothing\u201d cultures and making work pay.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-03-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-03-09T16:53:09.153Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2015-02-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Council Tax Benefits"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 November 2014 (HL2301), whether they will now publish the detailed terms of reference for the review of the impact of abolishing Council Tax Benefit.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/143", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness King of Bow"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness King of Bow"} ], "uin" : "HL5056"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222716", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222716/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
In December 2014, the Government identified £129.6 million within upper-tier local authority budgets for local welfare provision funding.<\/p>
<\/p>
The additional £74 million to assist with dealing with wider pressures on local welfare and health and social care has been distributed to upper-tier local authorities in line with their settlement funding assessment formula. A breakdown of the figures is set out within the attached table.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "attachment" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222716/answer/attachment/1", "fileName" : {"_value" : "150302 PQ807286 table -final.xlsx"} , "title" : "Local Gov Settlement 2015-16"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-03-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-03-09T16:47:55.797Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2015-02-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Local Government Finance"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government, further to the Written Statement on 3 February by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (HLWS223), whether they will provide a breakdown by local authority of the additional £74 million for local welfare, health and social care in the 2015\u201316 local government settlement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/143", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness King of Bow"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness King of Bow"} ], "uin" : "HL5057"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222717", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222717/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Collection and enforcement is a matter for local authorities, who are best placed to decide on the appropriate way to manage their collection and debt recovery operations.<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/p>
In our Department for Communities and Local Government\u2019s best practice document, \u201c50 ways to save\u201d, we listed improving council tax collection rates and reducing arrears as a key way of making sensible savings to help keep overall council tax bills down and protect frontline services. Every penny of council tax that is not collected means a higher council tax for the law-abiding citizen who does pay on time.<\/p>
<\/p>
<\/p>
It is important that councils are sympathetic to those in genuine hardship, are proportionate in enforcement and do not overuse bailiffs (we have published guidance for councils to stop unjustified, aggressive collection practices; this guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/goverment/publications/council-tax). However, these figures show that there is a significant potential source of income for councils, which councils across the country could use to support frontline service or freeze council tax bills next year.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-03-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-03-09T16:53:37.447Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2015-02-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Local Government: Debt Collection"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government which local authorities have announced plans to establish in house bailiff teams to recover outstanding Council Tax and other debt; and whether they will issue guidance to local authorities on such an approach.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/143", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness King of Bow"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness King of Bow"} ], "uin" : "HL5058"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222718", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222718/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Government has been clear that the long term use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families with children is both unacceptable and unlawful. The law is very clear on this matter. It says that bed and breakfast accommodation should only ever be used to house homeless families in an emergency, and then for no longer than six weeks.<\/p>
<\/p>
Further legal protections also give households the right to challenge an authority\u2019s use of this accommodation. Under section 202 of the Housing Act 1996, households have the right to challenge an authority\u2019s decision to place them in such accommodation for longer than six weeks. Statutory homelessness guidance which local housing authorities must, by law, have regard to says that when using bed and breakfast accommodation the authority should notify the family of the effect of the law. In particular, that it is unlawful for the authority to continue to secure bed and breakfast accommodation for families with children any longer than six weeks.
Recent figures show a significant reduction (38 per cent on the same quarter as last year) in the numbers of families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than six weeks.<\/p>
<\/p>
We have kept up the pressure on this issue. Actions included housing Ministers writing to those authorities with the highest numbers in bed and breakfast accommodation, challenging them to take action and calling them in to hear their plans to reduce the numbers.<\/p>
<\/p>
We invested almost £2 million to support local authorities to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to prevent unlawful bed and breakfast use for families with children. The seven funded authorities have achieved and sustained 96% average reduction in the number of households with children in bed and breakfast for longer than six weeks. Lessons learned from this funding have been used to develop a comprehensive training package to help those authorities who were not funded to develop the same successful approaches.
This investment comes on top of over £500 million this Government has provided to prevent and tackle homelessness. Homelessness acceptances remain lower than in 27 of the last 30 years, and homelessness is around half the average level it was under the previous Government. Households now spend on average seven months less in temporary accommodation than at the start of 2010.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-03-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-03-09T16:53:01.833Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "7"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Communities and Local Government"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2015-02-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Homelessness"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those local authorities currently breaching the maximum six-week limit on the placement of homeless families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation established by the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 are prevented from doing so.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/143", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness King of Bow"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Baroness King of Bow"} ], "uin" : "HL5059"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222719", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/222719/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
It has been a number years since the Housing Ombudsman Service had a system where complaints where upheld or refused. The terms of reference for the Housing Ombudsman Service were changed on the 1 April 2013 to reflect the Localism Act 2011 and in preparation for this the Housing Ombudsman Service changed the dispute handling process, which now focuses on local and early resolution.<\/p>
The table below shows the data from 2011 to the 31 March 2013, categorised as follows:<\/p>
<\/p>
| <\/td> | 2011<\/p><\/td> | 2012<\/p><\/td> | January to March 2013<\/p><\/td><\/tr> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of Complaints Received<\/p><\/td> | 5,739<\/p><\/td> | 6,757<\/p><\/td> | 1,675<\/p><\/td><\/tr> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Number of Complaints Investigated Formally<\/p><\/td> | 641<\/p><\/td> | 577<\/p><\/td> | 77<\/p><\/td><\/tr> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maladministration<\/p><\/td> | 147<\/p><\/td> | 123<\/p><\/td> | 10<\/p><\/td><\/tr> | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No Maladministration<\/p><\/td> | 371<\/p><\/td> | 316<\/p><\/td> | 44<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> The table below shows the data from 1 April 2013 to December 2014, categorised as follows:<\/p> <\/p>
|