Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-07-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the reduction in council housing rents on new council housing and the existing stock.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Our decision on social rent reductions was based on the need to put welfare spending on a sustainable footing, whilst protecting the most vulnerable. The housing benefit bill for the social sector in England rose by a quarter over ten years, reaching £13.2 billion in 2014/15. We believe that local authorities and private registered providers will be able to find and make efficiencies to accommodate the new rent settlement. The Government remains committed to delivering 400,000 affordable housing starts by 2021.