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Housing Benefit (Local Housing Allowance and Information Sharing) Amendment Regulations 2007

My Lords, I understand the point. I think that the evaluation of the pilots indicated that housing benefit claimants are not always universally welcomed by landlords, but I think that I am right in saying that the evaluation of local housing in the pathfinders produced no evidence of a further restriction on private sector landlords, but I shall write to the noble Lord to clarify that. I hope that I have addressed the points raised. The local housing allowance that we will introduce next year, for which this package of regulations provides, will be based on the fundamental principles of choice, fairness and responsibility. Thousands of customers have benefited from the local housing allowance in the pathfinder areas and we want to extend those benefits to housing benefit customers nationwide. This is a positive step in modernising housing benefit and I look forward to national rollout building on the clear successes of the pathfinders.