FRESH concerns over Oxford’s homes crisis were raised last night after it emerged Oxford City Council had paid one family almost £190,000 in housing benefit.

The family received £189,694.30 from the council between January 2004 and September 2009, a Freedom of Information request showed.

In the five years, they have lived in a six-bedroom and an eight- bedroom house, but are currently living in a seven-bedroom semi-detached property in East Oxford.

Meanwhile, the city council also told the Oxford Mail the largest amount of weekly housing benefit it was paying out was £521 to a different family over the last 12 months.

City council deputy leader Ed Turner blamed the Government, and said the problem was exacerbated by a severe shortage of social housing in the area.

He said: “We administer housing benefit from the Government based on strict national guidelines. We don’t have any discretion in the way it’s implemented.

“Clearly, the shortage of housing means a lot of people who would like to live in social housing have to live in the private rented sector because there is not enough social housing to go around.

“The Government is concerned about the cost of housing benefit and they are capping it from April to the five-bedroom level, so you won’t get any more cases quite like this — in any event, this is an exceptional case because the family is unusually large.”

Opposition councillors criticised the council for failing to buy or build new properties.

There are more than 4,600 households on the council’s housing waiting lists and housing associations only build about 250 new affordable homes each year.

Green Party councillor Mary Jane Sareva called on the council to take advantage of lower property prices to buy more houses.

She criticised the national policy under which council tenants can buy their own homes, and criticised the city council for failing to buy or build new properties.

Mr Turner said the council had recently received several million pounds of Government money to convert temporary accommodation into new homes.

There are also plans in the pipeline for the city council to build its own homes in more than 20 years on land at Rose Hill.

John Green, of Oxford City Council’s tenants panel, said: “This is an extreme case. We need about a million homes across the country.”

Gerry Webb, 64, of Nightingale Avenue, Blackbird Leys and chairman of Blackbird Leys Parish Council, said: “The Government needs to look at its priorities and provide more social housing because you have got private landlords charging what they like. £189,000 is obscene. It’s criminal.”

Jim Saunders, manager of the Agnes Smith Advice Centre, in Blackbird Leys Road, said: “If there is a genuine need then I see no problem with it.”

The council said 22 per cent of homes in the city were socially rented, compared to the South East average of 10.5 per cent.

Frank Webster, of Finders Keepers in Banbury Road, Oxford, said there had been a noticeable increase in applicants on housing benefits since September 2008.

Do you know the family involved? Call our newsdesk on 01865 425500 or email newsdesk@nqo.com