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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the viability of women's refuges of the Government's proposals to end a woman’s entitlement to (a) housing benefit and (b) the housing element of universal credit when in refuge and instead to devolve that funding to local authorities.

The government has not proposed to end entitlement to housing benefit or the housing element of universal credit to any individual in refuge. The short-term supported housing funding model will instead ensure that the housing costs for people living in refuges and other forms of short-term supported housing will be met by a grant fund administered by local authorities.

The same amount of funding as would have been available through Housing Benefit in 2020/21 will be made available as grant instead, and will directly fund bed spaces. Everyone who would be eligible under the current system to have their housing costs met by housing benefit will continue to have their housing costs met through the short-term funding model.

We are continuing to listen to the sector and are considering feedback through the current consultation which closed on 23 January, which includes sector comments on the effect of the model on the number of and services women’s refuges in England.