Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-03-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to prevent married couples from fraudulently claiming council and housing tax-related benefit available only for single people.

Steve Webb

There are no social security benefits relating to housing costs or council tax that are available only to single people. There is a reduction of 25% in the council tax payable available to those who live alone, but the administration of this is a matter for local authorities.

Generally, suspicions that claimants may be living together as if they were married or in a civil partnership without informing the relevant benefit payer come from various sources, including members of the public and members of staff. The Department currently does not investigate cases that only involve housing benefit as these are a matter for local authorities.

Council tax benefit ceased to exist on 1 April 2013 and has been replaced by the local council tax reduction (LCTR) scheme, the administration of which is a matter for local authorities.