Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Cunningham Excerpts

Monday 25th November 2013 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of trends in rent arrears in social housing.

[Ian Mearns (Gateshead) (Lab)]

12. What recent assessment he has made of trends in rent arrears in social housing.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Stephen Williams)]

Housing association arrears at the end of 2011-12 were 4.8% in England—an improvement on performance in the previous year, when they were 5.1 %.

[Alex Cunningham]

Tristar Homes, which serves people in my Stockton North constituency, has 1,725 tenants classed as under-occupying their current property. Two thirds of those tenants have accrued rent arrears, many for the first time, and 85% are seeing their debt grow. What is the Minister’s estimate of the total arrears nationally in the first year of the bedroom tax—in other words, the spare room subsidy—as a direct result of it and the assault on some of the poorest people in our community? How much does he believe the measure will save his Government?

[Stephen Williams]

My information about Tristar is that the figures the hon. Gentleman quotes are a significant reduction on earlier in the year—that is the information the Department has. On financial savings, it is far too early to say. The Department for Work and Pensions will undertake a review in the early part of next year.