Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Local Housing Allowance Rates

Monday 13 April 2026 · 3 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 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Caroline Voaden questioned the impact of local housing allowance freezes on housing affordability in South Devon.
  • The Minister responded that the government spends 34 billion annually on housing support through social security.
  • The Minister emphasized the Chancellor's investment of 39 billion to build social housing to address housing needs.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Caroline Voaden Lib Dem South Devon
Housing Benefits & Welfare
Context

The local housing allowance has been frozen for years, causing a significant gap between the allowance and actual rental costs in South Devon. A family of four receives only £840 per month while average rent is over £1,100 for a three-bedroom home.

Question

Years of freezes to local housing allowance by successive Governments mean that it goes nowhere near covering the cost of social housing, let alone renting privately. In my constituency, the average rent for a three-bedroom home can be well over £1,100 a month, but a family of four will receive only £840 a month. Poor and temporary housing is a key driver of child poverty, so it is really important that we resolve that. Will the Minister commit to working with the Department for Work and Pensions to unfreeze local housing allowance so that we can lift children out of deep poverty?

Answer from Alison McGovern

We obviously keep the local housing allowance under review along with the DWP. If we want to prevent homelessness, we need to build homes and ensure that people can afford them. That is why the Chancellor's investment of £39 billion to build the social housing that we need is a crucial part of ensuring that families can get housed properly in this country in the future.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Commitment to unfreeze local housing allowance

How: We Keep It Under Review, Focus On Building Homes

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Q2 Caroline Voaden Lib Dem South Devon
Housing Benefits & Welfare Children & Families
Context

The local housing allowance has been frozen for years, causing a significant gap between the allowance and actual rental costs in South Devon. A family of four receives only £840 per month while average rent is over £1,100 for a three-bedroom home.

Question

Years of freezes to local housing allowance by successive Governments mean that it goes nowhere near covering the cost of social housing, let alone renting privately. In my constituency, the average rent for a three-bedroom home can be well over £1,100 a month, but a family of four will receive only £840 a month. Poor and temporary housing is a key driver of child poverty, so it is really important that we resolve that. Will the Minister commit to working with the Department for Work and Pensions to unfreeze local housing allowance so that we can lift children out of deep poverty?

Answer from Alison McGovern

In my previous role and in my current role I have worked very closely across MHCLG and DWP to see the interactions between poverty and homelessness, as I said. We spend £34 billion annually on housing support through social security, including £12 billion on the private rented sector. As part of the child poverty strategy, we have lifted the two-child limit, which will help families—particularly larger families—to stay in homes. We are helping parents with childcare costs, we have brought in the fair repayment rate so that people do not need to get into unnecessary debt, and we have increased the standard allowance of universal credit above inflation for the first time in as long as anyone can remember. Those are big steps to help family income, and we should all be proud of them.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Commitment to unfreeze local housing allowance

How: Big Steps Taken

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Q3 Neil Duncan-Jordan Lab Poole
Housing Benefits & Welfare
Context

The gap between average rents and wages in Poole is among the widest in the country. Freezing the local housing allowance has clearly made that position worse.

Question

The gap between average rents and wages in Poole is among the widest in the country. Freezing the local housing allowance has clearly made that position worse. Will the Minister outline when the freeze will end and when we will see the allowance increase to reflect the actual housing costs that people face?

Answer from Alison McGovern

We obviously keep the local housing allowance under review along with the DWP. If we want to prevent homelessness, we need to build homes and ensure that people can afford them. That is why the Chancellor's investment of £39 billion to build the social housing that we need is a crucial part of ensuring that families can get housed properly in this country in the future.

Partly answered

Not addressed: When freeze will end and when allowance will reflect actual costs

How: We Keep It Under Review, Focus On Building Homes

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