Mr Jim Cunningham:
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 time
frame than one year is required to assess the effects of the under-occupancy
penalty on rent arrears in the social rented sector.
Esther McVey:
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.
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