A powerful House of Commons committee is being urged to shy away from forcing the government to swiftly introduce fundamental housing benefit reforms
Housing professionals are keen to support the government's policy to look at rent reform and measures to simplify housing benefit administration.

They warned Parliament's social security committee against making recommendations for fundamental reform as part of the inquiry into housing benefit.

But in a series of terse exchanges committee members demanded to know why experts were against introducing so-called shopping incentives, outlined in last week's housing Green Paper, sooner.

Tory member Edward Leigh said: "I make no apology for the fact that I am an enthusiast for policy in this direction."

He accused the Local Government Association, giving evidence to the inquiry, of opposing it because it took control away from councils and placed it in the hands of tenants. "I don't want you just to dismiss this," he said.

LGA housing executive member Pete Challis countered: "The shopping incentive is an illusion. It's an illusion for council tenants in London that they are able to shop around."

He added: "The reality for many people in the capital is that they get one property, they are told that if they don't take that property they won't get anything."

Camden council's chief benefits officer Lesley Piggot said there was little evidence that the theory could work. "Landlords don't have to take housing benefit clamaints. To assume that claimants shop around just is not right."

Labour MP Gareth Thomas suggested shopping incentives could be a way of "combating inflation within the system".

But Chartered Institute of Housing policy officer Sam Lister insisted: "There is no point in messing around with tax credits or shopping incentives - those are long term reforms - if it still takes six months to process a claim."

Source

Housing Today