Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2014, Official Report, column 318W, on housing benefit: social rented housing, how many housing benefit social sector tenants have been (a) given exempt status because they reached state pension credit age and (b) allowed to keep an extra bedroom because they are (i) registered foster carers who have fostered a child during the last 52 weeks and (ii) parents of armed forces' personnel who have been deployed on operations.

In response to your question above please see the following:

a) – The information relating to the numbers reaching state pension credit age who are no longer subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy is not available.

We can say that there are estimated to be 700,000 housing benefit tenants who are state pension credit age and have one or more spare bedrooms.

b) i) - Information relating to registered foster carers is not available.

b) ii) – Information relating to parents of armed forces' personnel is not available.