Oral Answers to Questions

Meg Hillier Excerpts

Monday 21st October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Pamela Nash (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab)]

14. What assessment he has made of the availability of smaller properties for people affected by the under-occupancy penalty.

[Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

18. What assessment he has made of the availability of smaller properties for people affected by the under-occupancy penalty.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)]

The Department and the Homes and Communities Agency publish information annually on the number of social rented properties by size, and during the year the number of properties available for letting will vary.

[Stephen Williams]

Clearly, the implementation of this policy will take a while, and each tenant must weigh up their own circumstances and consider how they adapt. As I said previously, I expect local authorities to work with all housing providers in an area, including the private sector—in my constituency more people rent in the private sector than in the public sector—and consider the best use of stock and what assistance is most appropriate for the individual.

[Meg Hillier]

In Hackney, 3,581 households are affected by the bedroom tax, and since April only 70 have been helped into smaller accommodation. The scale of the problem is such that to meet demand we need just under 2,000 one-bedroom properties, and just over 1,200 two- bedroom properties. The Minister may say that we should look at other solutions, but what solutions does he suggest for a borough such as Hackney?

[Stephen Williams]

I do not have information for the hon. Lady’s constituency, but across London 78% of people on housing benefit are unaffected by these changes, and many of the balance will be affected only by one bedroom. As I said, I expect local authorities, including Hackney, to look across all housing providers in the area and consider best use of the stock. The hon. Lady’s constituency and mine are not utterly dissimilar, and there may be people living in overcrowded accommodation in the private sector who could move into houses that are freed up in the social sector. Then everyone would be better off.