Chamber and committees

The latest official figures show that there are around 285,300 dwellings owned and managed by local authorities that are considered to be normal letting stock. It is expected that all the households currently occupying these dwellings have either preserved rights, modernised rights, or are serving the five year qualifying period leading to modernised right to buy eligibility. The breakdown of data for these categories is currently not held centrally. The Scottish Government is however working with local authorities to explore the possibility of collecting this breakdown and improving the information in this area.

In addition to local authority tenants, registered social landlords have reported to the Scottish Housing Regulator that, as at 31 March 2010, 150,600 of their 265,400 tenancies qualify for either preserved or modernised right to buy. This figure can be broken down to show that 68,800 have preserved rights and 81,800 have modernised rights. The remainder are either exempt or are serving the qualifying period leading to modernised right to buy eligibility.

Rather than producing a final report, the Stakeholder Advisory Group will be asked to contribute on an ongoing basis to our assessment of the impact in Scotland of the proposed housing benefit changes and our engagement with the UK Government. We will use the evidence from our emerging assessment to seek to influence the reform agenda proposed by the UK Government, particularly where it adversely affects Scotland''s tenants.

Between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010, there were the following referrals to the Energy Assistance Package (EAP) for families with children:

Stage 2 (Benefits Advice)	2,421
Stage 3 (Insulation Measures)	828
Stage 4 (Heating and Insulation-Only -Measures)	1,349

Between 1 April 2010 and 27 September 2010, there were the following referrals for families with children:

Stage 2 (Benefits Advice)	1,171
Stage 3 (Insulation Measures)	399
Stage 4 (Heating and Insulation-Only Measures)	2,098

A further extension of EAP assistance to families was made by this Government in May 2010 as part of our strategy to better target the fuel poor. In its second year of operation, EAP assistance to families is now showing a higher run rate in the number of referrals, and in stages 3 and 4, as a proportion of EAP-eligible applicants.

The detailed information requested is currently being collated by the Department for Work and Pensions. I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 52018).

Further information is required from the Department of Work and Pensions to calculate the average difference in benefit. The Scottish Government is currently awaiting this further data and we will make the information available in due course.

The first tranche of housing benefit changes is due to be introduced in April 2011, with the second tranche due in April 2013.

There is currently an appeals procedure in place for individuals who are unhappy with the level of housing benefit they have been awarded. The Department for Work and Pensions has confirmed that there are no plans to change the current procedure of the appeal process.

I refer to the member to the answer to question S3W-37166 on 8 November 2010, which includes the average level of housing benefit in the private rented sector.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Information on the impact of the benefit changes is available on the Department for Work and Pensions website at:

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/local-authority-staff/housing-benefit/claims-processing/local-housing-allowance/impact-of-changes.shtml.

The following information has been provided by the Department of Work and Pensions.

Number of Housing Benefit Recipients and Average Weekly Award, by Tenure and Local Authority - July 2010

Local Authority	Social Rented Sector
	Recipients	Average Award
Aberdeen City	14,000	57.69
Aberdeenshire	8,850	56.36
Angus	6,650	49.62
Argyll and Bute	4,770	57.18
Clackmannanshire	4,430	60.40
Dumfries and Galloway	9,000	57.51
Dundee City	14,700	63.64
East Ayrshire	10,480	52.32
East Dunbartonshire	3,330	62.98
East Lothian	5,500	51.30
East Renfrewshire	2,920	61.15
Edinburgh, City of	27,510	81.58
Eilean Siar	1,230	57.77
Falkirk	11,420	53.98
Fife	24,690	60.51
Glasgow City	77,060	65.07
Highland	12,950	60.03
Inverclyde	7,380	63.15
Midlothian	4,950	54.69
Moray	4,120	45.45
North Ayrshire	12,420	56.89
North Lanarkshire	29,030	51.34
Orkney Islands	710	54.23
Perth and Kinross	6,260	59.53
Renfrewshire	14,130	61.58
Scottish Borders	6,490	56.18
Shetland Islands	940	52.73
South Ayrshire	7,300	56.88
South Lanarkshire	22,190	56.77
Stirling	4,780	62.10
West Dunbartonshire	10,850	59.49
West Lothian	12,150	57.36
Scotland	383,160	60.54

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

2. Average awards are shown as pounds per week and rounded to the nearest penny.

3. Breakdown by tenure does not include recipients with unknown tenure type.

Source: Single Housing Benefit Extract 100% individual level data (SHBE).