Oral Answers to Questions

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Monday 30th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. He will be aware that we are looking at making changes to the use class orders, through the national planning policy framework, to allow for greater flexibility. We have a good opportunity to allow some commercial properties to be more easily converted to homes, and I hope that will help with the ever-present pressures on housing in this country.

[Grahame M. Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

8. What assessment he has made of the potential effects on lower-income households of his planned localisation of and changes to council tax benefit.

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

On 19 December my Department published an impact assessment setting out the Government’s assessment of the impacts of the reform of council tax support.

[Grahame M. Morris]

The Secretary of State has told councillors that they have a “moral duty” to freeze council tax this year, but at the same time he plans a cut of £500 million, or 10%, to council tax benefit for the poorest, so that the only people to face rising council tax bills next year in constituencies such as mine will be the most deprived and the working poor. Why is he balancing the books on the backs of the poorest?

[Andrew Stunell]

The hon. Gentleman’s original question referred to localisation and changes in level. I hope that he accepts that the localisation part of the proposal is absolutely right and fully consistent with what this Government are doing. The changes in level are necessary to tackle the deficit; they are part of the Government’s deficit reduction programme. I would remind him that the bill for council tax benefit has gone from £2 billion a year, in 1997, to £4 billion a year. That is largely a product of the rampant rises in council tax during the 13 years of Labour Government, so it seems absolutely right that we should tackle the deficit in this way.