Housing Benefit (Wales)

Debate between Clive Betts and Steve Webb

Thursday 1st May 2014 Westminster Hall

[Steve Webb]

No—I have only one and a quarter minutes left. Why did we not hear about the 13,000 people in Wales living in overcrowded social sector accommodation? Where was their voice in the debate? What about the people living in overcrowded private sector accommodation, or the 90,000 people on housing waiting lists?

There is a whole set of unmet housing need while we have people under-occupying social rented accommodation —through no fault of their own, so it is not a criticism of them, but it is a fact. The hon. Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies) said that when people’s kids grow up, they should go on being able to live in a big family house, but what about the people who would love a big family house, but cannot get it because it is under-occupied? We have to help people with the transition, but that is why substantial additional DHPs have been found.

Finally, on the specific issue of adapted accommodation. We would have loved it had we been able to write a law in Whitehall that said, “This is adapted; this isn’t. Here is how we define it in an Act of Parliament or a statutory instrument. We will have a blanket exemption.” That would have been great. We looked hard, but we could not think of a national and consistent way of defining what it was. We therefore found the money instead—£25 million across Great Britain, which was our estimate of the cost of buying out the impact on substantially adapted properties. No one in the country living in a substantially adapted property who goes to a local authority should be turned away because there is not the money for DHP. We have given the local authorities the money, and that should not need to happen.

There is lots more that I would love to say, but I am constrained by time. I hope that I have been able to give some responses to the questions asked by the Chairman of the Committee.

[Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)]

I will ask the Chairman of the Select Committee to respond briefly to this debate and then to introduce the second debate, which is on the Work programme in Wales. While that is happening, will hon. Members who want to speak in that debate indicate that to me? It will be helpful in apportioning the time.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Clive Betts and Steve Webb

Monday 24th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Steve Webb]

The hon. Lady is very knowledgeable about these matters, and she will know that local authorities make their decisions on a case-by-case basis. Clearly, they do not have to include income from DLA, but they are free to do so. If she believes that her local authority should not have done so in an individual case, she should make representations to it.

[Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab)]

Following on from that question, the Minister must know that in assessing entitlement to income-related benefits, entitlement to disability benefits is not taken into account. The one exception to that policy is discretionary housing payments. It is specifically in the guidance that local authorities can take them into account and means-test them in the way that he described. Will he change and reissue the guidance, so that this one area where disability payments are means-tested is removed from the scene?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Clive Betts and Steve Webb

Monday 20th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Steve Webb]

My hon. Friend is right: we cannot build a building on an uneven foundation. That is why we had to get state pension reform right with a single, simple, predictable state pension. That makes private saving and automatic enrolment far more effective, and I am grateful for his support for that principle.

[Mr Clive Betts (Sheffield South East) (Lab)]

10. What assessment he has made of the preparedness of the universal credit IT delivery system.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Clive Betts and Steve Webb

Monday 11th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Betts]

This question was raised with me by my constituent, Mr Leonard Jolicoeur. He asked whether it is true that someone who is of pensionable age when the new single-tier pension comes in and who has a small occupational pension and therefore does not receive pension credit will get the existing state pension, but that someone who is in exactly the same financial circumstances and becomes of pensionable age after the single-tier pension comes in will get the new single-tier pension, which is some £40 a week more. What can the Minister say to persuade my constituent that it is fair or reasonable for somebody who is in exactly the same financial circumstances as his neighbour to get £40 a week more than him?

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Steve Webb)]

That is not what would happen. People who have contracted out into an occupational pension, such as his constituent, currently get money off their state pension, which is called a contracted-out deduction. That will remain part of the single-tier proposition. Therefore, somebody such as his constituent who has contracted out would not get the £144. There is no cliff edge. There would be a deduction for past contracting out in both cases.