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79595

registered interest
date	24/07/2014
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 reasons why, according to their recent <i>Evaluation of Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy: Interim Report</i>, 4.5 per cent of people affected have downsized to smaller accommodation, compared with the 25 per cent estimated in the impact assessment <i>Housing Benefit: Under occupation of social housing</i>,<i></i>published in 2012.
tabling member printed	Lord German
uin	HL1491
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/07/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>Across the social sector as a whole there are a total of around 1.4 million one-bedroom properties (GB). Managing that stock efficiently is part of the challenge that social landlords must embrace. Landlords were given three years notice to start to prepare for this change and during that time were encouraged to take account of local needs and demographic trends when allocating properties and developing their building programmes.</p><p> </p><p>There is turnover of properties in the social sector, and with suitable management and prioritisation by social landlords this should provide a means of allowing many of those affected by the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy to move to suitable properties over time.</p><p> </p><p>The 2012 Impact Assessment: stated there was little robust evidence on which to base an assessment of behavioural responses and so did not predict the likely extent of downsizing. The 25 per cent figure within the Impact Assessment reflected research which asked a hypothetical question about what people thought they might do in response to a reduction, but this was undertaken some time before the full details of the policy were finalised.</p><p> </p><p>The Impact Assessment did look at the potential sensitivity of the estimated savings to moves by affected claimants. This sensitivity testing was based on an assumption that around 50,000 affected claimants moved (around 8 per cent). This was not a prediction, but both the interim evaluation report and ad-hoc analysis show that people are downsizing. The ad-hoc report shows around 19,000 had downsized in the Social Rented Sector between May and December 2013, broadly within the bounds of the Impact Assessment sensitivity analysis.</p><p> </p><p>It was never assumed that downsizing was a remedy for everyone and we were not in a position to predict how many people would choose to move.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 28/07/2014 13:16:26 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4163 label Biography information for Lord German

79596

registered interest
date	24/07/2014
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, in the light of their recent <i>Evaluation of Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy: Interim Report</i>, what incentives they intend to make available to social landlords to encourage offers of alternative housing to be made to people affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy.
tabling member printed	Lord German
uin	HL1492
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The Government has already taken steps to support mobility of tenants in the social rented sector.</p><p>Our social housing reforms have given social landlords, including councils, much more flexibility when allocating housing. Our statutory guidance on social housing allocations stresses the importance of giving under-occupying social tenants appropriate priority for a transfer. It also encourages authorities to re-consider the parameters of their allocation schemes which may prevent under-occupiers from being able to move.</p><p>The introduction of the national <em>HomeSwap</em> Direct scheme has made it easier for tenants wanting to move to find a suitable property. A guide was issued in February 2014 to support landlords seeking to facilitate mutual exchanges; highlighting various steps landlords can take to make mutual exchange a more attractive and viable proposition for tenants.Indeed, many social landlords are helping affected tenants by holding “mutual exchange fairs”, where tenants who want to downsize can meet those looking for larger properties.</p><p>The 2015-18 Affordable Housing Programme also encourages housing providers to build appropriately sized social homes to meet local need, 77% of successful bids have been for 1 and 2 bedroom homes, increasing the stock of housing available for those working to downsize.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 29/07/2014 11:10:40 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4163 label Biography information for Lord German

78826

registered interest
date	17/07/2014
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit claimants have declined to move into a property with fewer bedrooms, having been offered that option of doing so under the Government's under-occupancy penalty policy.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	206492
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The information requested is not available.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 22/07/2014 16:51:55 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

76947

registered interest
date	09/07/2014
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of housing benefit have moved to smaller properties since the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty in (a) 2014 to date and (b) 2013.
tabling member constituency	Rhondda
tabling member printed	Chris Bryant
uin	204813
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The information requested as to how many people have moved to smaller properties is not available.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>However this week the Department will be publishing a statistical analysis of changes in numbers subject to a reduction in Housing Benefit award as a result of the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 14/07/2014 15:48:36 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	1446 label Biography information for Sir Chris Bryant

65595

registered interest
date	02/07/2014
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effects of the introduction of the under-occupancy penalty on (a) the total housing benefit bill, (b) overcrowding, (c) homelessness and (d) housing mobility.
tabling member constituency	Kettering
tabling member printed	Mr Philip Hollobone
uin	203739
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p> </p><p /> <p>(a) The housing benefit bill was expected to rise above £25 billion in 2014/15 (£15 billion for the social rented sector alone) prior to the introduction of the removal of the spare room subsidy.</p><p> </p><p>The Department estimated the policy would achieve savings of £490 million in 2013/14, £525 million in 2014/15 and £560 million in 2015/16.</p><p> </p><p>(b) to (d)</p><p> </p><p>The policy to remove the spare room subsidy introduces not only parity of treatment between the private and social rented sectors, but encourages more effective use of social housing stock. It has reduced the number of households who under-occupy their properties, which has freed up larger homes for those currently on the social housing waiting list who are living in overcrowded conditions. It also encourages social providers to take account of local needs and demographic trends when allocating properties and developing their building programmes. Levels of homelessness acceptances in England have reduced 7 per cent in the last quarter compared to the same period in the previous year. This is 65 per cent lower than the peak in 2003.</p><p>The effects of the policy are being monitored and evaluated over a two-year period from April 2013. Initial findings will be published before recess and the final report in late 2015.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 07/07/2014 16:14:44 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	1537 label Biography information for Mr Philip Hollobone