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Housing Benefit: Expenditure

Volume 497: debated on Wednesday 14 October 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what percentage of the expenditure of her Department and its predecessors on housing benefit was related to (a) social tenants and (b) private tenants in each year since 1997; (292356)

(2) how much has been spent on housing benefit for (a) private tenants and (b) social tenants in each year since 1997.

The information is in the following table.

Housing benefit expenditure on social and private tenants (£ million and as a percentage of the total expenditure)

£ million

Percentage

Social tenants

Private tenants

Social tenants

Private tenants

1997-98

7,740

3,437

69

31

1998-99

7,885

3,180

71

29

1999-2000

8,098

2,966

73

27

2000-01

8,311

2,851

74

26

2001-02

8,768

2,827

76

24

2002-03

9,615

3,040

76

24

2003-04

9,326

3,028

75

25

2004-05

9,813

3,361

74

26

2005-06

10,222

3,723

73

27

2006-07

10,716

4,143

72

28

2007-08

11,239

4,513

71

29

Notes:

1. Expenditure figures are in millions of pounds, in cash terms.

2. Figures include all housing benefit expenditure, whether funded by DWP and its predecessors, or by local authorities.

3. Figures include expenditure on discretionary housing payments.

Source:

Local authority subsidy returns and housing benefit administrative data.