Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Local Housing Allowance

Monday 23 January 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government boosted the local housing allowance by almost 1 billion in 2020, taking it to the 30th percentile of rents.
  • For those with a shortfall in local housing allowance, discretionary housing payments are available.
  • The Minister stated that the issue of local housing allowance should be considered in the context of overall cost of living support payments announced last year and in the autumn statement.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Stephen Timms Lab East Ham
Housing Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question arises from the real-terms reductions in local housing allowance rates, which have a significant impact on low-income households' ability to afford rent.

Question

What assessment has been made of the impact of real-terms reductions in local housing allowance rates on families?

Answer from Mel Stride

In 2020, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, the Government boosted the local housing allowance by almost £1 billion, taking it to the 30th percentile of rents. For those where there is a shortfall, the discretionary housing payments arrangements are available. We should all be mindful of the expense of the support for housing, which is running at £30 billion a year, and is projected to rise to £50 billion in 2050.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The assessment of the impact on families was not directly addressed; instead, emphasis was placed on overall funding increases and discretionary housing payments.

How: Changing Subject To Overall Housing Expense

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Q2 Stephen Timms Lab East Ham
Housing
Context

Rightmove reported that London rents increased by over 16% last year, while local housing allowances have been frozen since 2020, creating a significant gap for those relying on such support.

Question

Will Ministers look again in the Budget at the level of local housing allowance for the coming financial year?

Answer from Mel Stride

The right hon. Gentleman makes a perfectly valid point, but he needs to see this issue in the round. My fellow Ministers have outlined at some length the cost of living support payments that were made available last year and that were announced in the autumn statement and will be available from April onwards. I have already mentioned discretionary housing payments, with £1.6 billion of support since 2011. There is also the household support fund, which gained an extra £1 billion for 2023-24.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific request to review local housing allowance levels was not directly addressed; instead, alternative measures were discussed.

How: Changing Subject To Cost Of Living Support Payments

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