Welfare Reform Bill

My Lords, it is rather interesting to look at the actual rates. If you take two people, each with their own shared accommodation rate of housing benefit, that covers or exceeds the two-bedroom rate in 60 per cent of localities. We are not talking about a dramatic cut in much of the country. Indeed, if three or four people choose to share a house, taking their own shared accommodation rates, the amount of money that they get would cover the rate for three or four-bedroom properties in 90 per cent of localities. We are not talking about a hugely draconian cut in that context. If we look at the amendment itself, it is not altogether obvious what rate of housing costs the noble Baronesses are proposing should be paid during the 52-week period of exemption. Since the amendment applies to new claims only, perhaps it seeks to ensure that new claimants have their full contractual rent met for the first 52 weeks, rather than being paid the local housing allowance. If it is the latter, we covered those points in Committee. We debated whether the current 13-week exemption from rent restrictions for claimants who could afford their rent when they first took on that commitment should be extended to 52 weeks. I need to make clear that rent can be met in full for up to 13 weeks for those who could afford their rent when they first took on the tenancy and have not been in receipt of housing benefit in the past year. This means that those claimants who experience a short spell of unemployment are not forced to move, and it gives others time to consider their housing options. Around 40 per cent of JSA claimants aged between 25 and 49 have been claiming for less than three months, and around 60 per cent for less than six months. For completeness, I should add that there is a 12-month protection for people who have recently been bereaved. As I said at the time, most claims for housing benefit are for short periods. The 13-week exemption protects a person’s ability to pay their rent during that time. Half of jobseeker’s allowance claimants aged between 18 and 24 have been claiming for less than 13 weeks and less than 5 per cent have been claiming for more than 52 weeks. We already know that more than a third of those who claim housing benefit choose shared accommodation. These are people who could be in either separate-bedroom accommodation or shared accommodation and choose the shared accommodation rate. Of the people who are not on HB, 40 per cent of 25 to 34 year-olds share. I am excluding students from this. This is not a form of housing that is unusual or imposed on people; it is an absolutely normal form of housing. I accept that there is real concern about the impact of the shared accommodation rate and particularly about the availability of accommodation. I said in Committee that the market will not remain static and that I believe it will respond in time to the increased demand for this type of accommodation. The feedback that I had from officials following their recent meeting with a Methodist housing association suggests that this is already happening. The association is already converting some of its property into shared accommodation. I am also reassured by meetings that I have had with stakeholders that a number of support organisations are helping to match tenants to shared accommodation. Following wider discussions with stakeholders and within the coalition, we agreed to introduce two further exemptions for the new age group. These exemptions will help those moving on from specialist homeless hostels to try to reduce the likelihood of them returning to a life of rough sleeping. We also want to ensure that these changes do not pose a risk to the public, which is why we provide an exemption for the small number of ex-offenders most likely to pose a risk. The most vulnerable, about whom several noble Lords have expressed concern, will be exempt because they are entitled to a severe disability premium. For others, however, it would be difficult to draw up exemptions and include all those we thought could not share without opening the exemption so widely as to be untargeted and costly. We estimate that 18 per cent of those affected have a disability premium, but a discretionary housing payment can be considered by the local authority if it considers that an individual’s circumstances warrant assistance. We are looking at how this exemption will apply in universal credit and we will come back on that. The noble Baronesses, Lady Lister and Lady Hayter, raised the issue of the non-resident parent. Making double provision for two homes would be an unreasonable use of taxpayers’ money. Around 10,000 such parents in shared accommodation have some contact with their children. That contact is not always overnight, so that figure would be smaller. It would be very difficult to police any kind of defined exemption here. The noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, lives in a different world from me if she thinks that she can get the children to do the washing up. The noble Baroness’s amendment would provide protection to those who might arguably be in a better position to meet any shortfall, particularly if they had been in work. It would also seem unfair to those aged 25. The amendment would halve the savings we need to generate from this measure, which would then need to be found elsewhere. There really is only one option, which is to apply the shared accommodation rate within universal credit as intended. Given the short duration of most claims, I do not believe that the amendment is necessary. We are committed to looking at the impacts of these changes and have commissioned an independent review and monitoring of extending the shared accommodation rate. This extensive evaluation will allow us to assess the long-term impacts on the under-35s and the availability of shared accommodation. As with all new policies, we shall continue to listen to any feedback that we receive on how this is working. I will not take this away for further consideration in this formal context, but I will of course be happy to sit down with her and discuss how her figures work outside that formal context. I hope that, in view of what I have said, the noble Baroness will be able to withdraw her amendment.