When he expects to bring forward proposals to reform housing benefit. [79737]

We intend to publish a housing Green Paper later this year that will discuss options to reform housing benefit within the context of housing policy. Any fundamental reform would be a long-term project likely to take a number of years to progress. In the shorter term, we will continue to consider changes that make housing benefit fairer, better administered and more secure and that promote work incentives.

News of the Green Paper is very encouraging, especially in Pendle. At the beginning of the decade, my constituency spent about £1 million on housing benefit and, some nine years later, we are spending £9 million—which is a ninefold increase in less than a decade. I and many of my constituents are concerned about rogue landlords who pick up properties for a song—sometimes paying as little as £3,000 or £4,000. It is not unusual for landlords to achieve a yearly return on their capital investment of about 35 per cent, so huge sums of public money are being tipped into their pockets. I urge my hon. Friend to address that issue urgently and introduce proposals as rapidly as she can for a root and branch reform of the entire system.

I thank my hon. Friend for that observation. He is correct: there are some difficulties. I refer him to a consultation paper on the regulation of houses in multiple occupation that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government and Housing published recently. He must also be aware that the reform of housing benefit involves many complex issues and concerns the very roof over people's heads, so we must proceed carefully. The changes that we shall make will be for the better.