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MP under fire
HIGH PEAK Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Andrew Bingham has reacted furiously over MP Tom Levitt's claims to have initiated a review of the Local Reference Rents (LRR) that are hitting people in the Glossop area.
Some residents found themselves losing up to 30 a week in benefits after a review took Glossop out of High Peak and linked them to Tameside, Rochdale and Oldham, where rents are lower.
Mr Levitt has welcomed an announcement that the Rent Service will begin its summer review of the agency's local boundaries this week, three months earlier than scheduled.
This, he claimed, was as a direct result of his intervention with James Purnell, the Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions.
"This is real progress," said Mr Levitt. "I am grateful to the Secretary of State for responding to my appeal to rethink the decision to lump Glossop in with Rochdale and Oldham.
"That was at the heart of the catastrophic fall in Housing Benefit which some Glossop residents have experienced in recent weeks.
"I am confident that by the summer holidays we will have substantially reversed this decision.
"For anyone whose Housing Benefit has already been reduced, but which goes up again after the review, I shall be seeking compensation for the difference in the two levels that they have had to suffer."
The announcement came as Rent Service officials met with representatives of High Peak Borough Council, after a request for such a meeting by the council was previously turned down.
Responding to Mr Levitt's comments, Cllr Bingham said the issue had first been raised by his Conservative colleagues in Glossop.
"At this stage it seemed that Mr Levitt was oblivious to the problem," he claimed.
"We then opened a dialogue with The Rent Service to try and get the LRRs revisited. In ensuing discussions, they accepted our point that there may be a case to answer for change, and agreed not only to undertake a review, but do so as a priority towards the end of April.
"Following these and other discussions, I received an e-mail on April 4 from the Deputy Chief Executive confirming that they would commence this review 'within a month'.
"The Rent Service, at my request then agreed to visit High Peak Borough Council to give an informal briefing to officers with an invite to myself to attend. I then invited representatives of all political groups on the council to also attend this briefing. This took place on April 22.
"The Deputy Chief Executive came to that meeting in person and repeated his agreement to an immediate review and a provisional timetable was agreed."
Cllr Bingham added: "We worked extremely hard to achieve this early review and it is particularly galling when at the 11th hour, with much of the work done, Mr Levitt tries to claim the credit."
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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