Quote:
Originally Posted by nomadking
The rent could be just £1/week and somebody could still NOT be eligible for Housing Benefit. The AMOUNT of rent has NO bearing on whether a claim is successful or not. Rents could double overnight and the number of people eligible to claim would NOT CHANGE. As far as Housing benefits are concerned, limits WERE imposed by Rent Officers.
Housing Benefits costs ARE GOING down.
Should all public borrowing have been stopped? 
People complain enough about "austerity". Just imagine the cuts required to have zero borrowing. Public spending budgets for 2010/11 Would have been set by March 2010, ie UNDER LABOUR. |
I'm not interested in the political side of this debate, just facts and figures.
Housing Benefit expenditure has increased under this Government:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2...eople-claiming
The actual amount of rent must be used when determining a HB claim. The actual amount of rents for properties is also relevant in deciding average rents etc as the Rent Officer and HB staff use this data for benefit restriction purposes.
My mention that Government borrowing has increased overall under this coalition was to counter the illusion that this Government likes to make regarding their borrowing and debt repayment records- this ties in with their false claim that, despite cuts that have hurt many people, the benefits bill has risen. They have failed on these electoral promises.