Evictions and Out-of-Area Rehousing of Council Tenants affected by Welfare Reform
Dear Suffolk County Council,
I am seeking information about the potential impact of central government welfare reform policies on eviction rates and geographical displacement of households with council housing tenancies. My information request relates to three welfare reform policies:
- Under-Occupancy (also known as Removal of Spare Room Subsidy / Bedroom Tax)
- The Benefit Cap
- Universal Credit roll-out
I understand that under Section 16 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 there is a duty to assist and advise the requester. I would appreciate your advice if you think my request needs any clarification in order to get the information that I am looking for, or if it would exceed the cost limit in its present form.
1. Please provide an annual breakdown since April 2010 of the total number of unique council tenancies - including the total number of people recorded as living in them - that have been evicted due to the non-payment of rent arrears.
2. For each year of this annual breakdown since April 2013, please disclose how many of these evicted households - including the total number of people recorded as living in them - had at some point been affected by:
a. Under-occupancy
b. Under-occupancy and the Benefit Cap
c. Under-occupancy and the Benefit Cap and Universal Credit roll-out
3. How many of the evicted households affected by a, b, or c - including the total number of people recorded as living in them - went on to make a successful homelessness application to the local authority?
4. Of these successful homeless applications, please disclose how many households - including the total number of people recorded as living in them - were placed in temporary accommodation in a different local authority area and disclose the destination local authority area in each case.
Yours faithfully,
Alexandra Silverlock
INFORMATION REQUEST RESPONSE
Thank you for your request for information, reference number 15857. Please quote this in any future correspondence you may have with us.
Please find attached a copy of our response to the information you requested.
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If you are dissatisfied with the way your request has been handled, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Under Regulation 11(2), internal review requests should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of this letter and should be sent to: Information Management Services, Constantine House, Constantine Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 2DH or, alternatively, by email at [email address].
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
Becky
Performance and Information Management
Suffolk County Council
Constantine House
Constantine Road
Ipswich
IP1 2DH
Tel: 01473 265960
Fax: 01473 216843
Email: [email address]
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