Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made a recent evaluation of the effectiveness of the under-occupation deduction policy for social rented housing.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not recently evaluated the effectiveness of the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy.
Information on the number of households subjected to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy, by nations and regions, is available on Stat-Xplore via the Housing Benefit and Universal Credit official statistics (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). The information can be found in the Households on Universal Credit dataset, and the Housing Benefit – Data from April 2018 dataset, and are currently available to August 2025.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest, and if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department will publish (a) national and (b) regional breakdowns of under-occupied social rented housing.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has not recently evaluated the effectiveness of the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy.
Information on the number of households subjected to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy, by nations and regions, is available on Stat-Xplore via the Housing Benefit and Universal Credit official statistics (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/). The information can be found in the Households on Universal Credit dataset, and the Housing Benefit – Data from April 2018 dataset, and are currently available to August 2025.
Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest, and if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the eligibility criteria for benefits and trends in the level of housing costs on (a) social isolation and (b) loneliness amongst (i) older and (ii) low-income residents living in (1) almshouses and (2) charitable housing.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We acknowledge the vital part that almshouses play in providing much needed low-cost affordable housing. Residents pay a weekly maintenance contribution which is usually much lower than the market rate, which can be paid for through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.
It is the responsibility of the local authority to determine whether housing costs meet the definition to be paid for through Housing Benefit. This will depend on the type of landlord and whether the resident is being provided with care, support or supervision.
The level of housing support which the resident will receive is determined by whether the almshouse is privately owned or managed by a social landlord.
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) applies to residents living in the private rented sector who are in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. LHA determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
Claimants in receipt of housing support living in the social rented sector have their eligible rent paid in full, unless the level of housing support is reduced because of their income or savings, contributions from non-dependants, or limited by the benefit cap or the removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS).
For those who require further support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities for low-income renters who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).
DWP systems do not include almshouses as a specific residency type and therefore we cannot identify them in our data.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
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 impact of the levels of housing costs on the ability of working-age residents in almshouse accommodation in rural areas to remain (a) in employment and (b) financially independent.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We acknowledge the vital part that almshouses play in providing much needed low-cost affordable housing. Residents pay a weekly maintenance contribution which is usually much lower than the market rate, which can be paid for through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.
It is the responsibility of the local authority to determine whether housing costs meet the definition to be paid for through Housing Benefit. This will depend on the type of landlord and whether the resident is being provided with care, support or supervision.
The level of housing support which the resident will receive is determined by whether the almshouse is privately owned or managed by a social landlord.
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) applies to residents living in the private rented sector who are in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. LHA determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
Claimants in receipt of housing support living in the social rented sector have their eligible rent paid in full, unless the level of housing support is reduced because of their income or savings, contributions from non-dependants, or limited by the benefit cap or the removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS).
For those who require further support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities for low-income renters who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).
DWP systems do not include almshouses as a specific residency type and therefore we cannot identify them in our data.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the (a) under-occupancy charge and (b) Local Housing Allowance on residents in almshouse accommodation who are in (i) low-paid and (ii) part-time employment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We acknowledge the vital part that almshouses play in providing much needed low-cost affordable housing. Residents pay a weekly maintenance contribution which is usually much lower than the market rate, which can be paid for through Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.
It is the responsibility of the local authority to determine whether housing costs meet the definition to be paid for through Housing Benefit. This will depend on the type of landlord and whether the resident is being provided with care, support or supervision.
The level of housing support which the resident will receive is determined by whether the almshouse is privately owned or managed by a social landlord.
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) applies to residents living in the private rented sector who are in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit. LHA determines the maximum housing support for tenants in the private rented sector. Households in similar circumstances living in the same area are entitled to the same maximum rent allowance, regardless of the contractual rent paid. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
Claimants in receipt of housing support living in the social rented sector have their eligible rent paid in full, unless the level of housing support is reduced because of their income or savings, contributions from non-dependants, or limited by the benefit cap or the removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS).
For those who require further support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities for low-income renters who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. From April 2026 DHPs for England will be incorporated into the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF).
DWP systems do not include almshouses as a specific residency type and therefore we cannot identify them in our data.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the proposal to retrofit solar panels and heat pumps in the Warm Homes Plan will apply to Housing Association properties.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our vision is for every household in Britain to have the opportunity to benefit from clean energy technology in their home.
Housing association tenants and low-income households are already having these technologies installed through the Warm Homes: Social Housing fund and Local Grant schemes. The Warm Homes Plan will ensure low-income and fuel poor households, including those in housing association properties in the social rented sector, will benefit from an investment of around £5 billion to 2030 in measures including solar panels and heat pumps.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households are claiming housing benefits, either housing benefit or the housing element of Universal credit, in each Broad Market Rental Area (a) in total, (b) in the private rented sector and (c) in the social rented sector.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the number of households receiving the Universal Credit (UC) Housing Element in the Private Rented Sector by Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA) is available on Stat-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/).
Information on Housing Benefit (HB) caseload is available on Stat-Xplore disaggregated by Local Authority, but not by BRMA.
Housing support for social rented sector households claiming either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit is not determined within BRMAs. BRMAs only apply to housing support in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were affected by the under-occupancy charge in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Department for Work and Pensions administrative data on the number of people affected by the under-occupancy charge, formally known as the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS), in Housing Benefit and Universal Credit, is shown in the table below. The figures represent the position as of August for each year from 2020 to 2025.
This information is publicly available through the DWP’s Stat-Xplore service at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
| Aug-20 | Aug-21 | Aug-22 | Aug-23 | Aug-24 | Aug-25 |
RSRS HB Caseload | 260,395 | 229,360 | 201,132 | 176,891 | 150,165 | 40,136 |
RSRS UCHE Caseload | 230,495 | 265,743 | 283,078 | 303,872 | 333,692 | 427,268 |
RSRS HB and UCHE Caseload | 490,890 | 495,103 | 484,210 | 480,763 | 483,857 | 467,404 |
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on how many bedrooms should be provided to benefit claimants with children.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There is support through the social security system for low-income households renting in the private or social rented sector which is paid to those in receipt of either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.
The number of bedrooms required to calculate housing support is determined using a size criterion. The criterion takes account of the number of people in a household and their ages. These size criterions provide a bedroom for a couple, a single person aged 16 or over, two children of the same sex under the age of 16, two children of the same or opposite sexes under the age of 10 and a sole or remaining child. There are exceptional circumstances where support for an additional room can be awarded.
The latest guidance to local authorities was issued following changes to the size criterion in 2017 Housing Benefit Circular: A3/2017. The criteria has not changed since.
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that (a) homeless people, (b) people in temporary accommodation and (c) other people who are eligible for, but are not in receipt of, the housing element of Universal Credit are able to confirm their entitlement to those benefits when (i) undertaking affordability checks and (ii) signing a tenancy agreement.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to ensuring that vulnerable adults and those with temporary accommodation are adequately supported in securing and managing their benefit. We offer a variety of support for these customers, much of which is tailored to customer’s individual needs.
As part of the process of claiming Universal Credit, we ask the claimant to provide details of the type of accommodation they currently live in, and will either:
.
In addition to above, we offer a holistic case management approach where our agents are expected to offer advice and support on a case-by-case basis. We continue to review and iterate our services to optimise the claimant experience.