Housing Costs (Reformed Welfare System)

Actually, there is a need to ensure that people are appropriately housed and that they move, but ...

I personally think that it would be harsh to go around evicting everybody who is under-occupying ...

The hon. Gentleman should acknowledge that the proposals from the late Malcolm Wicks involved inc...

I thank the hon. Lady for that intervention, but my reading of all the documents, including those...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who is being generous in giving way. Does he also recognise ...

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. The scheme for working out how much space people need and...

The fundamental problem with this whole policy—I think the hon. Gentleman is taking this position...

From a sedentary position, the Minister says, “£1 million a day”, which is about the order of mag...

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that when the bedroom tax was introduced, 19,000 people in his consti...

In my constituency, I was aware of a family of four living in a one-bedroom flat who wanted to tr...

I am not familiar with Birmingham, Yardley, but I wonder whether the fact that the lists were so ...

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. Social landlords have had a relatively simplistic approac...

rose—

Order. I appreciate that there is a feeling the House is not very busy and that the whole afterno...

I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in this debate. It was very well opened by my...

We have found in the west midlands that private landlords are often willing to take people on hou...

It is true that solutions can be found. Sadly, no one seems to have found them yet in my part of ...

I grateful to my colleague on the Work and Pensions Committee for giving way. I met my key local ...

That is a valid point. It is something that we all encounter locally when we talk to housing prov...

Order. Before the hon. Lady addresses any further points. She may have been able to count, but sh...

I will finish by saying that I think this is a most urgent issue. I do not usually quote from Con...

It is a pleasure to take part in this debate. I am sorry that I missed the first couple of minute...

indicated assent.

She did. I know from Ministry of Justice figures that warrants for evictions for public sector re...

rose—

I had better sit down and shut up, otherwise I will get the stare from Madam Deputy Speaker, whic...

Hon. Members agree that there are serious problems when payments of housing benefit rise so high....

That is not just the case in my hon. Friend’s city. In Oldham in my constituency, 2,048 people ar...

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention.

In Scotland, the priority given to people who ...

I refer the hon. Lady to the answer that the then housing Minister, the late Malcolm Wicks, gave ...

It is interesting that the flat-rate housing allowance for the private rented sector should be ra...

I begin by congratulating the Select Committee, in particular the Chair, on an excellent and extr...

I am aware of the proposal to transfer housing benefit money to local authorities with a view to ...

That, of course, is the great conundrum. I hope to come on to demonstrate to the hon. Gentleman h...

I will try to respond to the points raised in the debate but I will also endeavour to stick to yo...

While I can appreciate there may be problems on the bedroom tax, would it be possible for the Gov...

That is an interesting point. Let me take it away and see whether it is possible to do that in th...

I think the Minister accepts that the Liberal Democrats believe there should be automatic exempti...

No, I do not, and I just remind the hon. Gentleman that the Liberal Democrats agreed to this poli...

I should like to draw the Minister’s attention to the numbers provided by the Office for Budget R...

I am not resiling from the numbers. Welfare spending has gone up over this Parliament, but it has...

I tried to intervene on the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) to ask her whether La...

The Opposition clearly do not have a sensible policy. I will comment on this briefly, because I w...

On a point of clarification, were those overall numbers that the Minister was quoting to the Hous...

Those were 1.4 million one-bedroom properties across the social rented sector, with 130,000 new l...

I know that the Minister is very busy in his Department and in the Forest of Dean, but I was wond...

I will have to stick to praising Newark and Sherwood Homes, and to allow my hon. Friend to retain...