Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Gavin Shuker and Stephen Williams
Stephen Williams
There are several questions wrapped up in one there. The spare room subsidy is not a tax, although clearly there are a range of opinions on that issue. The housing benefit bill had reached £23 billion by the time Labour left office and that was an unaffordable forward commitment for any party, including the hon. Lady’s, which promised in its last manifesto to tackle overspending on housing benefit. All taxpayers would want to make sure that that money is spent wisely and not on subsidising spare bedrooms for people who do not need them.
Gavin Shuker (Luton South) (Lab/Co-op)
3. What assessment he has made of the effect on local authorities of recent changes in the proportion of local authority funding that comes from revenue support grants.