London Tenant Federation Briefing

HOUSING BENEFIT REFORM UPDATE - June '03

.The government set out proposals for housing benefit reform in Oct 2002 in the Department for Work and Pension's (DWP) 'Building Choice and Responsibility: a radical agenda for Housing Benefit'. Ten 'pathfinder schemes' were set up across the country in which a flat rate, standard local housing allowance is paid to private tenants of similar sized properties, regardless of the actual rent of the property. A number of national organisations including Shelter and the Child Poverty Action Group were critical of the proposed changes.

In his budget statement on April 9th, Gordon Brown welcomed the 10 pathfinder schemes and said that it made sense to roll out such a scheme nation wide. He also said that a similar reform should be extended to the social sector 'when the conditions are right'. Initially the government seemed to be suggesting that this would be after rent restructuring was complete, but we understand that it is now looking for authorities what would undertake a 'pathfinder' scheme in the social housing sector.
The announcement means that the government is pushing ahead with the extension of the scheme without public assessment of the results of the pathfinder schemes. There has still been no suggestion that tenants will be involved in debate about its extension to the social sector. So much for government promises of tenants' opportunity to be involved in all levels of decision-making about our homes.
Housing benefit and anti-social behaviour

On May 20th the Guardian reported that ministers are to press ahead with plans for a nationwide scheme to dock housing benefit from anti-social tenants. The DWP has issued a consultation paper that proposes a change in law to make housing benefit conditional on the socially responsible behaviour of claimants.
The paper sets out two scenarios in which housing benefit may be cut - first, following court convictions for anti-social behaviour, or secondly, following a separate local authority administrative process. Press reports suggest that the DWP will consider whether some form of mechanism - possibly a national register of offenders, would be needed to ensure that an anti-social neighbour could not simply move to a different council to avoid having benefits docked.

Critics have said that the proposals breach human rights law and are more cumbersome than the simple alternative of fining persistent offenders. Housing associations have said such that a punitive initiative was misguided. The National Housing Federation policy leader John Bryant said: "The scheme fails to recognise that anti-social behaviour is a complex issue with many causes."
Consultation ends in August '03

• Housing Benefit Reform