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Written question asked by David Lepper (Labour) on Wednesday, 28 March 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 April 2001. It was answered by Angela Eagle (Labour) on Monday, 9 April 2001 on behalf of the Department of Social Security.

Dept of Social Security

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his Answer of 23rd March 2001 at 365 c370W, on single room rent, what representations he has received concerning the impact of the single room rent in Brighton and Hove; what assessment he has undertaken of the likely impact of the proposed new young person's rent regulations in Brighton and Hove; and what consideration was given in drafting the proposed new young person's rent regulations to the submission sent to him by the honourable Member for Brighton Pavillion on behalf of various agencies in Brighton and Hove.
Answer

Mr. Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 23 March 2001, Official Report, column 370W on single room rent, what representations he has received concerning the impact of the single room rent in Brighton and Hove; what assessment he has undertaken of the likely impact of the proposed new young person's rent regulations in Brighton and Hove; and what consideration was given in drafting the proposed new young person's rent regulations to the submission sent to him by the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavillion on behalf of various agencies in Brighton and Hove. [156647] Angela Eagle: I am aware of my hon. Friend's representations on behalf of Brighton and Hove to the effect that the current rules were too restrictive and that they should be eased. We gave full consideration to these representations as we did to others. The new rules from July this year are therefore designed to better reflect what the market generally has to offer on a national basis. Moreover, local authorities will have the discretion to provide additional support in individual cases under the new arrangements for Discretionary Housing Payments, which will also apply from July. We are considering how best to monitor their operation. Our objectives for the single room rent are to ensure that young people have access to accommodation so that they can concentrate on finding work, balanced against our aim of making sure that the benefit system does not provide out of work young adults with better housing than their working peers could afford. We made these objectives clear, including the option of broadening the definition of the single room rent, in our Housing Green Paper "Quality and Choice: A decent home for all" on which we consulted widely.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
156647; 366 c483-4W
Session
2000-01
Subjects
Benefits rules Housing benefit Young people Regulation Rented housing Rents Brighton
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk