Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Hepburn Excerpts

Monday 10th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Williams]

Some people may think that it beggars belief that a former Housing Minister can say that, given that in the 13 years for which his party was in office, with a rather different economic inheritance, the number of social and affordable homes fell by 420,000. This will be probably the first Government in my lifetime to leave more affordable homes in stock at the end of a five-year Parliament than there were before it.

[Mr Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow) (Lab)]

13. What recent representations he has received on reform of council tax benefit; and if he will make a statement.

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

Local council tax support schemes are a matter for local authorities. An independent review of schemes will be carried out within three years, as set out in legislation.

[Mr Hepburn]

The changes to council tax benefit that the Government have brought in are every bit as cruel as the evil bedroom tax and Thatcher’s poll tax. My local citizens advice bureau tells me that its new referrals to food banks have gone up from two a month to 10 a week. When will the Government stop attacking the poor?

[Kris Hopkins]

One way in which we can get people to stop using food banks is to get them into a job, and this Government have delivered 1.8 million jobs for those individuals.