Vol. 401 No. 1
31 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to the fact that persons paying differential rent from basic rates of unemployment assistance will be left with less disposable income than persons who are in private tenancy availing of the rent supplement under the supplementary welfare assistance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The responsibility for making and amending rent schemes for local authority dwellings was devolved to local authorities in August 1986. Local authorities were required by the Minister for the Environment to ensure that rent schemes adopted by them were based on certain broad principles. One of these was that the rent payable should be related to income and a smaller proportion of income should be required from low income households. It is a further requirement that provision should be included for the acceptance of a lower rent than that required under the terms of the scheme in exceptional cases, where payment of the normal rent would give rise to hardship.
Applicants for assistance under the supplementary welfare allowances scheme towards rent are required to meet the first £3.20 of the rent themselves. In determining the amount of supplement to be paid, the general practice of the health boards is to leave the client with an income, after payment of rent, equivalent to the basic supplementary welfare allowance rate appropriate to his family circumstances, less £3.20.
The health boards do not normally pay rent supplements to persons paying differential rents as it is open to the local authorities to invoke hardship clauses under the differential rent schemes so as to reduce the rents charged.
