Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an estimate of the cost of uprating Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of market rents across England and place that estimate in the Library.

In April 2020 the Government boosted investment in the Local Housing Allowance by nearly £1 billion and rates have been maintained at their increased level in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

The latest estimated cost of increasing LHA rates to the 30^th percentile, made in preparations for Autumn Budget, was up to £700m for the financial year 2023-24. This is based on the new LHA rates coming into effect in April 2023. The estimate for the policy covered Great Britain as the LHA applies across Great Britain.

This estimate was produced before the Autumn Statement was finalised and therefore is not on the same basis as the policy costings published alongside the statement. The costing has not been quality assured to the standard of an agreed policy and is based on assumptions that were still being developed at the time.