Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, regarding Housing Benefit, if she will make it her policy to commit a portion of benefit funding into social housing.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Housing support is delivered through Housing Benefit (HB) and the Housing Element of Universal Credit (UCHE). These are means tested benefits intended to help people pay their rental costs, including around two-thirds of households living in the social rented sector in England.
Registered providers of social housing use income from rents to manage and maintain their homes, as well as to deliver new homes. At Spending Review 2025, the Government announced a 10-year social housing rent settlement from 2026 at CPI + 1% for England, alongside a consultation to follow shortly on how to implement social housing rent convergence. This settlement will provide long-term certainty to enable providers to borrow and invest in new and existing homes.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential impact of increased availability of social housing on levels of demand for (a) housing benefit and (b) Universal Credit housing payments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My department has been supporting the development of a long-term housing strategy which the government intends to publish later this year.
At Spending Review 2025, the government announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment for England in a generation, confirming £39 billion for a successor to the Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. The programme will prioritise homes for social rent and will make more homes available for those who would otherwise struggle to afford private rents. The Government also announced a 10-year social housing rent settlement from 2026 at CPI + 1%, alongside a consultation on how to implement social housing rent convergence.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of Housing Benefit recipients live in (a) private rented accommodation and (b) social housing.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In 2023/24 financial year, 490,000 Housing Benefit claimants lived in private-rented accommodation. This accounted for 21% of all housing benefit claimants.
In 2023/24 financial year, 1.9 million Housing Benefit claimants lived in social housing. This accounted for 79% of all housing benefit claimants.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of (a) Housing Benefit and (b) the provision of social housing in each of the next ten years.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested on Housing Benefit (HB) expenditure over the next ten years is not readily available, and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. However, expenditure on HB for the years up to and including 2029/30 is available in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables.
The Department for Work and Pensions does not estimate the cost of provision of social housing.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with a disabled person in their household pay a spare room subsidy payment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Easements from RSRS deductions allow for the provision of an additional bedroom to support the needs of disabled people and families of disabled children such as where members of the household are unable to share a bedroom or where overnight care is required from a non-resident carer where they meet the qualifying criteria.
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
The information requested on how many people with a disabled person in their household pay a spare room subsidy payment is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
All DWP policies are kept under review and all decisions are taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing, and the challenging fiscal context. Data on number of people subject to RSRS is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has considered ending spare room subsidy payments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Easements from RSRS deductions allow for the provision of an additional bedroom to support the needs of disabled people and families of disabled children such as where members of the household are unable to share a bedroom or where overnight care is required from a non-resident carer where they meet the qualifying criteria.
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
The information requested on how many people with a disabled person in their household pay a spare room subsidy payment is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
All DWP policies are kept under review and all decisions are taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing, and the challenging fiscal context. Data on number of people subject to RSRS is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people pay spare room subsidy payments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Easements from RSRS deductions allow for the provision of an additional bedroom to support the needs of disabled people and families of disabled children such as where members of the household are unable to share a bedroom or where overnight care is required from a non-resident carer where they meet the qualifying criteria.
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
The information requested on how many people with a disabled person in their household pay a spare room subsidy payment is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
All DWP policies are kept under review and all decisions are taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing, and the challenging fiscal context. Data on number of people subject to RSRS is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
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 maintaining the level of Housing Benefit until 2026 on the affordability of housing for people on Housing Benefit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Both Housing Benefit and the housing element of Universal Credit provide support for renters in the private and social rented sectors.
The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for households claiming either benefit can receive if they are privately renting.
Ahead of Autumn Budget 2024, DWP Ministers looked at a range of factors when considering the LHA rates for 2025/26. This included rental data, the impacts of LHA rates, rate increases in April 2024, and the wider fiscal context. The April 2024 one-year LHA increase cost an additional £1.2bn in 2024/25 and approximately £7bn over 5 years.
We have also invested £1bn in funding for both the Household Support Fund (HSF) and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) (including Barnett impacts) for 2025/26 and the level of DHP funding has been maintained at current levels. DHPs are available from local authorities for those unable to meet a shortfall in their rent.
Any future decisions on LHA policy will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing and the challenging fiscal context.
Asked by: Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on the potential impact of the spare room subsidy on homelessness in Wales.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State has not had discussions with the Welsh Government specifically about the Removal Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) and homelessness in Wales. Housing is devolved to the Welsh Government and social security is reserved to the UK Government.
The causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and often complex, they interact dynamically making it very difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors.
The RSRS policy applies to claims for housing support where the household living in a social rented property with more bedrooms than their household’s bedroom entitlement.
Easements are available allowing 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. The deduction does not apply to pensioners in receipt of Housing Benefit.
Further, those unable to meet the shortfall in their rent can seek a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) from their local authority. DHPs can be paid to those in receipt of qualifying housing support who face a shortfall in meeting their rental housing costs.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of those affected by the under-occupancy charge, particularly where no alternative accommodation is offered, and what assessment they have made of the impact of that charge on regional poverty disparities, including child poverty.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No specific assessment has been made of households in the social rented sector affected by the Removal of Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) where alternative accommodation has not been offered, nor of the impact of the RSRS has on regional poverty disparities. The RSRS policy, sometimes known as the under-occupancy charge or bedroom tax, applies where the household is living in a social rented property with more bedrooms than the household’s bedroom entitlement.
Easements to the policy are available to support disabled people and carers, families of disabled children, foster carers, parents who adopt, parents of service personnel and people who have suffered a bereavement. Those unable to meet a shortfall in their rent due to a RSRS deduction can seek a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) from their local authority. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.