Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the impact of house price increases in the centre of York on the broad market rental area boundaries to determine if the York boundary should change.

Broad rental market areas are not determined by house prices. They are determined in accordance with requirements laid out in legislation. Each must contain a variety of property types and tenures, sufficient privately rented accommodation and access to facilities for health, education, recreation, banking and shopping.

Rent Officers at the Valuation Office Agency have responsibility for setting broad rental market area boundaries in England. Where rent officers decide that a boundary should be moved, they must carry out a review, consulting with affected local authorities among others, and submit a recommendation to the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions to make a decision.