星空传媒

The minister for work and pensions attributes his lifelong interest in low pay and poverty to his father, who was a milkman. "My dad was always having to scrimp, always having difficulty making ends meet. The unfairness and injustice of people living their lives like that was a driving force," he says.

After a stint at the Low Pay Unit, where he played a major role in lobbying for the minimum wage, Pond is now driving forward housing benefit policy at the Department for Work and Pensions. His gentle manner, markedly different from the upfront oratory that characterised his predecessor Malcolm Wicks, belies the fact that he is overseeing two of the government's most controversial policies: the introduction of direct housing benefit payment 鈥� the biggest overhaul of the system since it began in 1988 鈥� and the consultation on docking benefit as a punishment for antisocial behaviour.

Pond launched the first of the experimental direct payment schemes in Blackpool in November; another began in Lewisham last month and two more went live on Monday, in Coventry and Teignbridge, Devon. Private sector tenants are paid a flat rate, based on local average rents, pay their rent themselves and pocket the difference.

It has not been entirely popular. Critics have raised concerns that the poorest tenants could be faced with a choice between paying rent and buying essentials, or that landlords could up their rents to meet the benefit.

Pond promises that the pilots will be very closely monitored. But one private landlord in Blackpool has already begun to turn the system to his advantage: George Ferard has distributed leaflets to council tenants, telling them they will get to keep 拢40 of their benefit a month if they leave their council homes and move into homes he plans to buy. Surprisingly, though, Ferard opposes the new system. He says it is unfair that it is not open to council tenants and thinks it will encourage people to move into the pathfinder areas in search of extra cash 鈥� bad news for landlords like him who also own properties bordering pathfinder areas.

Pond dismisses Ferard's actions as "a propaganda campaign to undermine reform", which Ferard denies. Pond wrote to MPs last month to explain his view that tenants will get more choice and become responsible for their own rent. He feels the notion that tenants will forsake the security of their council tenancies for a little extra money is "far removed from reality".

The idea behind the reform is to make tenants responsible for their rent and to make it easier for unemployed people to move house to take a job, as they will know in advance how much benefit they'll get. It fits in with the government's drive for a flexible, mobile workforce. The changes could also make the UK's overall benefit costs more predictable, but Pond denies that the change was motivated by this: "In the six months I've been doing this, I haven't had people from the Treasury or Downing Street saying: 'By the way, you will keep an eye on the overall bill, won't you?'"

To social housing 鈥� and beyond
Pond is now turning his attention to testing a similar idea in the social sector. There is speculation that a pilot will be under way in time for the next general election, but he refuses to name a date. "We are working on the design at the moment, but I think we will have to think carefully about when we begin," he says. "We recognise the social sector is very different from the private sector. There [is] a higher proportion of people living in such accommodation who are vulnerable."

A version for homeowners could also take shape in the more distant future, says Pond. Currently, homeowners can only get help with mortgage payments if they become unemployed. Pond believes a simplified, flat rate paid directly could work for them too and that aligning support like this could make sense if the UK moves towards a more European-style tenure mix with less reliance on owner-occupation.

A fitting punishment?
Pond is also overseeing the consultation on docking housing benefit from antisocial tenants. There has been widespread opposition to this proposal, particularly from the voluntary sector, but Pond is adamant that the plans have not been shelved.

As former director of the Low Pay Unit, a poverty charity, one might expect Pond to be reticent about sanctions, but he agrees wholeheartedly with the principle. "If there is any reticence, it's about whether this is a measure that can be effective and that carries with it a broad level of support," he says. "What saddens me is I feel some of the bodies have perhaps failed to be the voice of the tenant. In terms of reform, they have become the landlords' champions."

His lobbying days aren't over yet. As our meeting ends, he is heading off to meet the mother of one of the victims of the 1989 Marchioness riverboat disaster, with whom he campaigned for a public inquiry into the sinking. Clearly, he is a man of principle; whether he can persuade the housing sector to support his stands on the thorny issues of benefit-docking and direct payment, however, remains to be seen.