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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of reductions to discretionary housing payment on the numbers of people in Birmingham at risk of falling into rent arrears in 2022-23.

The Department has not made a specific assessment of the impact of reductions to discretionary housing payments on the number of people in Birmingham at risk of falling into rent arrears but we monitor general financial resilience of tenants through English Housing Survey data, DWP welfare data and homelessness data.

Whilst three quarters of private renters find no difficulties in keeping up with their rent, we understand that affordability may be an issue for some and that they may require additional support.

Discretionary Housing Payments are available to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the Housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011, the government has provided almost £1.5 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities.

In addition to the central government contribution, of £100 million for 2022/23, English and Welsh local authorities can top up Discretionary Housing Payment funding up to a maximum of two and a half times this figure using their own funds.

We anticipate local authorities will continue to use their discretion to make informed judgements about relative priorities and needs in their area to ensure that the most vulnerable are supported and the funding is targeted effectively.

In April 2020 the Government boosted investment in the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) by nearly £1 billion, providing 1.5 million claimants with around £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received. We maintained LHA rates at their increased levels in 2021/22 and rates will remain at those levels for 2022/23, so that everyone who benefitted from the increase will continue to do so.

From April, the Government is also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund. This brings the total funding for this support to £1 billion.