Work and Pensions Committee - Second Report
Changes to Housing Benefit announced in the June 2010 Budget

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Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 15 December 2010.

Contents

Terms of Reference

Summary

1 Introduction

Structure of the report

Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance

The June 2010 changes

The Government's impact assessment

2 Housing Benefit costs

The Government's objectives for reform

Possible reasons for rises in Housing Benefit costs

3 Potential for rent shortfalls

Estimating LHA losses

Impact of setting LHA rates at 30^th percentile of market rents

Impact of the maximum 4-bedroom rate and the maximum weekly caps

Change of up-rating mechanism from RPI to CPI

Differences by region and local authority

London

4 Impact on different household types

Impact on large families

Impact on disabled people

Impact on older people

Impact on young people

Overcrowding

5 Potential risk of evictions and homelessness

Estimated number likely to be pushed into severe housing difficulty

Estimates of number of households who may have to move

Estimates of costs of homelessness

The impact on local authorities

The impact on community cohesion

6 Transitional arrangements and Discretionary Housing Payments

Increase in Discretionary Housing Payments

Transitional arrangements

7 The Private Rental Sector and responses to the proposed reforms

Adjustment and substitution

The accessibility of the Private Rental Market to LHA claimants

Willingness of landlords to accept lower rents

Direct payments to landlords

8 Addressing barriers to work in the Housing Benefit system

Comparison between Low-Income Working Households and Housing Benefit recipients in the private rental sector

Access to employment

10% Housing Benefit cut for recipients on Jobseeker's Allowance

The claimant perspective

The effectiveness of sanctions

The provider perspective

The underlying purpose of Housing Benefit

Conclusion

List of conclusions and recommendations

Formal Minutes

Witnesses

List of printed written evidence

List of additional written evidence

List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament

Oral and Written Evidence
20 October 2010
3 November 2010
Written Evidence
Additional Written Evidence (unprinted)

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Prepared 22 December 2010