Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 724W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, for what reasons his Department has determined that a longer timeframe than one year is required to assess the effects of the under-occupancy penalty on rent arrears in the social rented sector.

Rent arrears can have multiple causes and levels tend to fluctuate over time. Analysis of monthly, quarterly or even a single year of arrears is insufficient to reliably remove these normal fluctuations, driven by both seasonal and general economic trends, and to determine whether and to what extent the removal of the spare room subsidy has impacted on rent arrears levels