Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of local housing allowance rates in (a) the London Borough of Lewisham, (b) London and (c) England.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum financial support available for renters in the private rented sector. In response to COVID-19, this Department has increased LHA rates to the 30^th percentile of local market rents from April for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants, giving additional financial support for private renters.

All LHA rates are now at the 30^th percentile including those in the London Borough of Lewisham, with the exception of 15 LHA rates in Central and Inner London where the national maximum caps continue to apply. The national caps have also been increased and are now based on the Outer London LHA rate plus 20%.