| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Vulnerable Households (Pathfinder Areas)
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many vulnerable households in the private sector in pathfinder areas have (a) accrued arrears, (b) been served a notice of possession and (c) been evicted. [80361]
Mr. Plaskitt: Four per cent. of claimants in the pathfinder areas have accrued arrears of eight weeks or more, and payment of their benefit has transferred to their landlord. A further 12 per cent. of claimants have had payment of their benefit transferred to their landlord on the grounds of vulnerability or that they are unlikely to pay.
Information on the level of arrears accrued by vulnerable claimants is not available as the nine local housing allowance (LHA) pathfinders have each interpreted the LHA vulnerability safeguards according to local circumstances and operational practices.
Information on the numbers of tenants in the pathfinder areas who have been served a notice seeking possession and/or who have been evicted is also not available. However, evidence from the interviews with local authority and voluntary sector stakeholders, undertaken as part of the evaluation in the pathfinder areas, has not indicated that there has been any noticeable rise in levels of possessions or evictions due to the introduction of the LHA.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of local housing allowance on vulnerable tenants in private rented schemes in pathfinder areas. [80362]
Mr. Plaskitt: The impact of the local housing allowance (LHA) on vulnerable tenants in private rented accommodation is a key theme of the evaluation. The working of the vulnerability safeguards have been examined at the six, 15 month and final stages of the evaluation. The six and 15 month stages have been reported upon and published and copies are available in the Library. The reporting of the final evaluation has now commenced.
The findings to date suggest that the safeguards have been applied appropriately to the various local conditions of the pathfinders and are generally working well. Consequently, very few problems have been identified by the welfare and advice agencies that are also included in the evaluation or in the research undertaken by the CAB and Shelter.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to give vulnerable (a) housing benefit and (b) local housing allowance claimants in the private sector the choice of direct payments to landlords. [80363]
Mr. Plaskitt: One of the key principles of the local housing allowance is to encourage personal responsibility, which is why local housing allowance will be paid to the tenant wherever possible.
In the local housing allowance pathfinders there are safeguards in place to enable a local authority to identify when payment should be made to the landlord, rather than the tenant. These safeguards have worked well, and we shall continue to review them as we develop the details of the scheme for national roll out.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received in respect of the local housing allowance vulnerability procedures; and if he will make a statement. [80364]
Mr. Plaskitt: The Government outlined their proposals for extending the local housing allowance in the Green Paper “A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work” on Tuesday 24 January 2006. As part of the consultation process, and in informal discussions, representations have been received on all aspects of the local housing allowance scheme, including the vulnerability procedures. These comments will be considered as the details of the scheme are developed for national roll out.
The findings to
date from the evaluation of the local housing allowance suggest that
the safeguards have
been applied appropriately to the various local conditions of the
Pathfinders and are generally working well. Consequently, very few
problems have been identified by the welfare and advice agencies
that
are also included in the evaluation or in the research undertaken by the
CAB and
Shelter.
| Index | Home Page |