Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he made an assessment of the potential merits of removing the under-occupancy penalty during the preparation of the Spring Budget.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made.

The removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) policy applies to claims for housing support where the claimant is living in the social rented sector in a property that is considered to have more bedrooms than the household requires.

The policy helps encourage mobility within the social rented sector to make better use of the existing social housing stock and strengthens work-incentives.

There are no plans to abolish this policy and easements are available to support disabled people and carers, the families of disabled children, foster carers, parents who adopt, parents of service personnel and people who have suffered a bereavement. The deduction does not apply to pensioners in receipt of Housing Benefit.

For individuals who may require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) may be available. DHP payments are entirely at the discretion of the local authority and since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the amount of deductions made under the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy to (a) Housing Benefit and (b) Universal Credit claimants in each year since 2013.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) sufficient to produce such an estimate can be found on Stat-Xplore. Stat-Xplore includes the mean of RSRS reduction, the number subject to the RSRS and the number of spare rooms for both Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Housing Element Claimants.

Stat-Xplore can be found here.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of the removal of the spare bedroom subsidy on levels of spending on (a) housing benefit and (b) discretionary housing payments in Wales in each year since April 2013.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has not made an assessment of the full impact of the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy on levels of spending on Housing Benefit (HB). We estimate that the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) policy, between May 2013 and February 2023, has seen deductions from Housing Benefit (HB) expenditure in Wales of £190 million. This is broken down for each financial year below:

*These years do not include the full 12 months. 2013/14 excludes April 2013 as there is no data for this month. 2022/23 excludes March 2023 as this data is not yet available.

This estimate is based on those households with the RSRS deduction applied. For a full impact assessment, the behavioural impact of the policy would need to be considered, for example where households with a spare bedroom have moved to a right-sized property.

As asked for the total RSRS deductions are for Housing Benefit only, and do not include deductions for those in receipt of the Universal Credit Housing Element (UCHE). Over the time period shown there has been migration of cases from HB to UCHE, and the majority of new claims for housing support for those of working age will be for UCHE since its introduction.

The impact of the RSRS on Discretionary Housing Payment spending has not been fully assessed. DHP funding has historically been distributed using four funding streams based on DWPs best measures of housing need, these are Local expenditure on Housing Benefit (HB)/Universal Credit Housing Element (UCHE), Local Housing Allowance (LHA) shortfalls, RSRS deductions and Benefit Cap deductions. Although the funding is distributed using this broad methodology, local authorities spend according to their own criteria. As part of annual returns LAs include a breakdown of their expenditure by measure including RSRS, though DHP stats include this breakdown only at national level.

The overall RSRS expenditure reported to DWP by Welsh Local Authorities between April 2013 and March 2022 has been over £30 million. This is broken down for each financial year below:

* Monitoring returns were not provided by all local authorities; for those that did, not all could provide the detailed breakdown

This table shows the expenditure of Welsh LAs on DHPS in respect to RSRS, not what DWP provide to Welsh LAs as a contribution of funding DHPs. DHP statistics are available online:

Discretionary Housing Payments statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a review of the under-occupancy penalty.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

There are no plans to review the Removal of the Spare Room policy.

The policy applies to claims for housing support where the claimant is living in the social rented sector in a property that is deemed too large for their needs. The policy aims to strengthen work incentives and seeks to encourage greater mobility within the social rented sector.

There are easements to the policy which allow for the provision of an additional bedroom in certain circumstances, such as to support the needs of disabled people. Pensioners in receipt of Housing Benefit are exempt from the policy.

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available for those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011 we have provided nearly £1.6 billion in funding to local authorities for DHPs.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many households in England are affected by the under-occupancy charge for (1) one extra bedroom, or (2) more than one extra bedroom; and what assessment they have made of the financial impact of these deductions on those households.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

For the latest data available, related to September 2022, 286,149 households were subject to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) for 1 extra bedroom, and 63,759 for 2 or more extra bedrooms. This data is available on Stat-Xplore.

For 2021/22, a total of £434m worth of deductions were made for RSRS in Great Britain. This includes households on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit. No wider assessment has been made.

The RSRS policy applies to claims for housing support - either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit - where the claimant is living in the social rented sector in a property that is deemed too large for their needs.

The policy helps encourage mobility within the social rented sector to make better use of the existing social housing stock and strengthens work-incentives. An additional bedroom is allowed in certain circumstances such as for disabled people and carers, foster carers, and parents of service personnel. Additionally, those in receipt of pension age housing benefit are exempt.

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP’s) are available for those who need additional support with housing costs. Since 2011 we have provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP’s to local authorities.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the (a) financial and (b) mental health impacts on families of the removal of the spare room subsidy during the cost of living crisis; and if he will make it his policy to abolish that penalty.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made.

The removal of the spare room subsidy policy applies to claims for housing support where the claimant is living in the social rented sector in a property that is deemed too large for their needs. The policy aims to strengthen work incentives and seeks to encourage greater mobility within the social rented sector.

There are no plans to abolish the policy, and certain easements are available which allow for the provision of an additional bedroom in certain circumstances, such as to support the needs of disabled people.

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available for those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011 we have provided nearly £1.6 billion in funding to local authorities for DHPs.

We are doing more to help households who may be struggling. The government announced substantial cost of living support for 2023/24 in the Autumn Statement. This is intended to provide stability and certainty for households and includes Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable, meaning around 8 million households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Payments in 2023/24. Benefits and state pensions will also be uprated by 10.1% in 2023-24.

For those who need additional support the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable a further extension to the Household Support Fund in England over the 2023/24 financial year. In England, this scheme will be backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities will use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding. Local Authorities are expected to support households in the most need, and in particular those who may not be eligible for the other support government has recently made available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment has he made of the effectiveness of the under-occupancy penalty; and what steps he is taking to help ensure that penalty does not contribute to household poverty.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made.

The removal of the spare room subsidy policy applies to claims for housing support where the claimant is living in the social rented sector in a property that is deemed too large for their needs. The policy aims to strengthen work incentives and seeks to encourage greater mobility within the social rented sector.

The policy allows for the provision of an additional bedroom in certain circumstances such as to support the needs of disabled people and carers.

For those who require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. DHPs can be paid to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011 we have provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP’s to local authorities.

In November 2022 at Autumn Budget the Chancellor announced a significant package of cost of living support for the most vulnerable claimants for 2023/24, meaning around 8 million households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Payments in 2023/24. We are also continuing to provide support to all households through the Energy Price Guarantee which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24. The benefit cap will also be uprated by 10.1% in 2023-24.

In addition, to protect the most vulnerable, working-age and disability benefits will be increased in line with inflation for 2023-24.

The government is also extending the Household Support Fund providing an additional £1bn to help with the cost of household essentials, for the 2023-24 financial year, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding for this support to £2.5 billion. In England this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of households in receipt of the spare room subsidy are in employment as of 8 November 2022.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the under-occupancy penalty on those receiving housing benefit payments in the context of the cost of living crisis.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

For 2021/22, a total of £434m worth of deductions were made for the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) in Great Britain. This includes households on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit. No wider assessment has been made.

The RSRS policy allows for the provision of an additional bedroom in certain circumstances such as disabled people and carers, foster carers, and parents of service personnel. Additionally, those in receipt of pension age housing benefit are exempt.

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP’s) are available for those who need additional support with housing costs. Since 2011 we have provided almost £1.5billion in DHP’s to local authorities.

The Government announced over £37bn of cost of living support earlier this year which includes an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. This is in addition to the energy bill support announced in September.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households are subject to the under-occupancy penalty on the basis of under-occupying one bedroom in (a) Newport East constituency and (b) Wales.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The latest available data on households subject to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy can be found on Stat-Xplore.

The relevant data sets are ‘Housing Benefit - Data from April 2018’ - which can be filtered by ‘Number of Spare Rooms’ and ‘Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies’ - and ‘Households on Universal Credit’ - which can be filtered by ‘Number of Spare Bedrooms’ and ‘Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies’.

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households are subject to the under-occupancy penalty on the basis of under-occupying two bedrooms or more in (a) Newport East constituency and (b) Wales.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The latest available data on households subject to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy can be found on Stat-Xplore.

The relevant data sets are ‘Housing Benefit - Data from April 2018’ - which can be filtered by ‘Number of Spare Rooms’ and ‘Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies’ - and ‘Households on Universal Credit’ - which can be filtered by ‘Number of Spare Bedrooms’ and ‘Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies’.

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many households are currently affected by the under-occupancy charge with deductions for (1) one extra bedroom, or (2) more than one extra bedroom; and what assessment they have made of the impact of these deductions given the increased cost of living.

Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott

The removal of the spare room subsidy is an important tool to make better use of the existing social housing stock, enable mobility within the social rented sector and contain growing housing support expenditure. It also aligns the size criteria rules used in the private rented sector in the social sector.

The policy allows for the provision of an additional bedroom to support disabled people and carers, the families of disabled children, foster carers, parents who adopt, parents of service personnel, and people who have suffered a bereavement. Additionally, those in receipt of pension age housing benefit are exempt.

Those who need additional support with their housing costs can seek assistance from their local authority via the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHPs) scheme. Since 2011 the Government has provided almost £1.5 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.

The number of Households affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy is set out in the table below.

Households with a reduction due to the removal of the spare room subsidy, Great Britain, February 2022

Notes:

i. Figures are from Stat-Xplore and are rounded to the nearest hundred.

ii. Includes Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Housing Element. Universal Credit data for February is provisional and will be within two per cent of revised figures in future releases.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the number of people downsizing as a result of the bedroom tax.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

No recent estimate has been made. The final report into the evaluation of the removal of the spare room subsidy policy published in December 2015 found that up to eight per cent of those affected by the policy had downsized.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much revenue the spare room subsidy has accrued since its introduction.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The RSRS is not a revenue but a reduction in benefits to encourage movement of claimants over-occupying a property into a property of a suitable size.

Between its introduction in April 2013 and March 2021, reductions in Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Housing Element from the RSRS totalled £2.8 billion.

Found: big for their needs: see the Library briefing paper Impact of the under -occupation deduction from Housing