Welfare Reform Bill

The amendment would end the shared room rate at the age of 21 rather than at 25, as at present. It is a compromise that we hope reflects the debate held in Committee, which I read with great interest. I tabled the amendment for several reasons. It maintains the shared room rate principle that seems so important to the Government, but for a more restricted age range. Twenty-one better reflects the age of maturity, or majority. When I was a kid, the saying was that at 21, we got the key of the door. The amendment attempts to reflect that reality. More seriously, by the time most young people reach 21, they have had a period of training and many will have had significant periods of employment. They will have made a contribution to society and that should be reflected in the way we treat them in the benefits system by the provision of full housing benefit. That would help them to achieve independence and the stable accommodation necessary for them to fulfil their life’s ambition. A number of issues in the Committee debate were of great interest to me. The first was the supply of shared accommodation, a subject that took up much time during the debate, which surprised me. Several Members talked about the recommendation in the Barker housing review for a much larger supply of social rented accommodation, as well as the need to increase the overall building of houses and the impact of buy-to-let on the provision of additional accommodation in the private rented sector. Some of those things are being achieved, but no one, either in the Committee debates or Ministers in other debates or in answer to questions, has suggested any specific plans to increase the amount of shared accommodation that will be necessary for young people if the single room rate is maintained. That is important as it is widely recognised that there is scarcity in some parts of the country; indeed, shared accommodation is almost non-existent in many areas. I welcome the previous extension of the definitions of single room rent and shared room rate and the further changes proposed in the Bill, but part of the reason for widening those definitions was the hope of increasing supply of that type of accommodation. However, research conducted after the first widening in 2001 showed clearly that it had no impact on young people’s ability to access accommodation. Similarly, research on the pathfinders project found no appreciable difference in either the supply or quality of accommodation, so the changes did not help. There have been negative features. It is becoming increasingly clear that many landlords are reluctant to rent to people on housing benefit, which particularly applies to young people and to those on the more restricted shared room rate suggested in the Bill. Not only is their housing benefit restricted but their jobseeker’s allowance and income support is paid at a lower rate, which makes them an even less attractive proposition to landlords. It has been noted that there has been a decline in the number of houses in multiple occupation. It is clear that whatever the reasons are—I am sure they are complex—the number of units of shared accommodation offered by landlords in the future is likely to continue to decline. Neither the Bill nor outside factors are doing anything to increase the supply of such accommodation. Indeed, the solutions are long term, as Barker proposed, but if we are to address the problems faced by young people we need shorter-term solutions.