Welfare Reform and Work Bill

Labour MPs have withdrawn their amendment to exclude supported housing from the government’s social rent reduction.

At the Public Bill Committee yesterday, the MPs withdrew their amendment to the Welfare Reform and Work Bill due to lack of government support.

The bill, which is currently being scrutinised by the committee, would force social landlords to reduce their rents by 1% over four years

Housing groups, which had supported the Labour amendment, will now focus their attentions on getting it introduced in the House of Lords.

The rent reduction would have a much larger impact on supported housing than general needs housing because it is more expensive to run and manage, meaning it charges higher rents.

One large national provider of supported housing has already said the change would mean a loss of 104 schemes, removing 1,969 support spaces, including 228 spaces for domestic violence victims.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) has said it is “likely to lead to many of these schemes being dropped, and future development plans being abandoned, leaving the people who depend on them with nowhere else to go”.

The amendment, tabled by Labour MPs Emily Thornberry and Neil Coyle, would have introduced an exception for ‘specified accommodation’ – a definition of supported housing brought in last year to protect against the benefit cap and Universal Credit.

Shailesh Vara, Department for Work and Pensions minister, said the government would not accept Labour’s amendment.

MPs often withdraw amendments to bills in the Public Bill Committee if opposed by the government because the government has a majority on the committee.

In the immediate aftermath of the rent cut, government officials told Inside Housing “specialised supported housing” would likely be excluded, raising landlords’ hopes of an wide-spread exception.

However, it has since emerged very few properties are included in this definition, with early estimates suggesting just 10,000 properties would be protected.

The Labour Party has said it will oppose the Welfare Reform and Work Bill “line by cruel line”.

Summary of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill 2015-16

A Bill to make provision about reports on progress towards full employment and the apprenticeships target; to make provision about reports on the effect of certain support for troubled families; to make provision about social mobility; to make provision about the benefit cap; to make provision about social security and tax credits; to make provision for loans for mortgage interest; and to make provision about social housing rents.

Once a bill has completed all the parliamentary stages in both Houses, it is ready to receive royal assent. This is when the Queen formally agrees to make the bill into an Act of Parliament (law).

There is no set time period between the conclusion of consideration of amendments/ping pong and royal assent.

What happens at royal assent?

When royal assent has been given, an announcement is made in both Houses – by the Lord Speaker in the Lords and the Speaker in the Commons.

At prorogation (the formal end to a parliamentary session), Black Rod interrupts the proceedings of the Commons and summons MPs to the Lords chamber to hear the Lords commissioners announce royal assent for the bills passed towards the end of the session which had not received royal assent earlier in the year.