Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the impact of residential development on the (a) rental prices of residential properties in (i) Greater Manchester and (ii) Stockport, (b) ability of local residents to continue to rent in those areas and (c) local housing allowance rates.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of residential development on rental prices in Greater Manchester and Stockport. In the long run we need to build more homes to tackle affordability. This is why we are bringing forward an ambitious near £20 billion investment to underpin the Government's long-term housing strategy.

In April 2020 we increased Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to the 30th percentile of local rents, costing nearly £1 billion and providing 1.5 million claimants with around £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received. For some people this increase may have been more, for example in the Central Greater Manchester Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA) the 3 bedroom LHA rate increased by over £1500 per year and in Southern Greater Manchester BRMA, which covers Stockport, the increase was over £870 per year. LHA rates have been maintained at their increased levels in 2021/22 and will remain at those levels for 2022/23.