Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what impact assessment he has made of the Government's proposal to limit housing benefit for claimants in the social housing sector to local housing allowance rates from 2018.

This policy is still under development and full impact and equality impact assessments will be undertaken in due course.

This measure is not being introduced until April 2018 and only then where new tenancies have been taken out or existing tenancies renewed from 1 April 2016.