Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she made of the potential merits of suspending the under-occupancy charge during the covid-19 outbreak.

No assessment has been made.

The policy already allows for the provision of an additional bedroom in certain circumstances, such as to support the needs of disabled people, as well as exempting households in receipt of pension age Housing Benefit.

If a claimant’s ability to mitigate any shortfall between their housing support and rent has changed as a result of Covid-19, Discretionary Housing Payments can be considered by their local authority. We have allocated a further £140 million for Discretionary Housing Payments for 2021/22 in England and Wales.