Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of uprating Local Housing Allowance for residents in Surrey Heath constituency.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are reviewed annually in the Autumn and as part of that decision, the impact of local rental market is considered.

In April 2024, LHA was increased to the 30^th percentile of local market rents, including in the Surrey Heath constituency, costing an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25 and approximately £7bn over 5 years.

For those who face shortfalls in meeting their housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities.