Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following recent findings by the Resolution Foundation regarding the affordability and quality of housing, what steps they are taking to (1) address, and (2) mitigate, those challenges.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Full details of the Government’s long-term plan for housing are available on gov.uk. This includes measures to increase the overall supply and availability of safe, warm and affordable homes. Boosting housing supply is key to affordability: we are on track to deliver our commitment to build one million homes this Parliament, are investing significant funding in affordable housing programmes through the £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme and £6 billion Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme, and we have helped over 876,000 households purchase a home since spring 2010 through Government backed schemes.
Housing quality is also central to this plan. We have seen a strong decrease in the number of non-decent homes since 2010. This government has introduced the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, including Awaab’s Law, and is applying the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time through the Renters (Reform) Bill, to ensure that all tenants benefit from homes that are safe and decent
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 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.
Asked by: Peter Gibson (Conservative - Darlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on housing benefits in the last financial year; and how much of that was spent on housing provided by (a) local authorities, (b) other social housing providers and (c) private sector landlords.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In 2022/23 the Department spent £28.97 billion on Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Housing Element combined.
£15.00 billion was spent on Housing Benefit and £13.97 billion was spent on Universal Credit Housing Element. The quoted Housing Benefit expenditure excludes expenditure funded by Local Authorities.
Housing Benefit expenditure by tenure in 2022/23:
Universal Credit Housing Element expenditure by tenure in 2022/23:
Asked by: David Linden (Scottish National Party - Glasgow East)
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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (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.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 (a) financial and (b) practical implications for Universal Credit claimants of 53 charging days for rent in 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit always converts weekly amounts to monthly sums using 52 weeks. The issue of there being 53 rent charging days in a year is relevant only for Universal Credit (UC) claimants who have their rent charged on a weekly basis and have 53 charging periods in a calendar year.
UC claimants in the Social Rented Sector are typically charged rent weekly every Monday and so in a typical year their 12 monthly UC payments will align with the 52 charging periods. Every six years, or five if including a leap year, they will have 53 charging periods. In 2024 there will be 53 of these periods with the 53rd rent payment occurring on the final day of the calendar year. 53 charging periods will not apply in all UC claims and some claimants will not have a 53 charging period year during the life of their benefit claim.
We have considered alternative options for those with weekly tenancies, but each have their own limitations and disadvantages for claimants. The matter occurs because weekly charging periods can never be accurately aligned with monthly periods. Tenants of social housing providers are used to managing varying outgoings every month depending on whether four or five rent payments are due – not just during a year in which there are 53 charging periods.
Discretionary Housing Payments can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011, the government has provided nearly £1.7 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities.
We do not have forecasts for this group for 2024. The most recent data from DWP’s statistical release platform Stat-Xplore is for August 2023 which shows that there were 1,664,104 Social Rented Sector households receiving housing support through UC, of which the department’s analysts estimate that approximately 1.4 million (85%) were charged weekly.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 number of Universal Credit claimants who will have 53 charging days for rent in 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit always converts weekly amounts to monthly sums using 52 weeks. The issue of there being 53 rent charging days in a year is relevant only for Universal Credit (UC) claimants who have their rent charged on a weekly basis and have 53 charging periods in a calendar year.
UC claimants in the Social Rented Sector are typically charged rent weekly every Monday and so in a typical year their 12 monthly UC payments will align with the 52 charging periods. Every six years, or five if including a leap year, they will have 53 charging periods. In 2024 there will be 53 of these periods with the 53rd rent payment occurring on the final day of the calendar year. 53 charging periods will not apply in all UC claims and some claimants will not have a 53 charging period year during the life of their benefit claim.
We have considered alternative options for those with weekly tenancies, but each have their own limitations and disadvantages for claimants. The matter occurs because weekly charging periods can never be accurately aligned with monthly periods. Tenants of social housing providers are used to managing varying outgoings every month depending on whether four or five rent payments are due – not just during a year in which there are 53 charging periods.
Discretionary Housing Payments can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011, the government has provided nearly £1.7 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities.
We do not have forecasts for this group for 2024. The most recent data from DWP’s statistical release platform Stat-Xplore is for August 2023 which shows that there were 1,664,104 Social Rented Sector households receiving housing support through UC, of which the department’s analysts estimate that approximately 1.4 million (85%) were charged weekly.
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, what assessment he has made of the impact of trends in rental costs on the ability of people eligible for the Local Housing Allowance to afford housing.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions reviews Local Housing Allowance annually and in doing so considers the impact of rental costs against the wider fiscal context.
In 2021/22 the Government spent almost £30 billion to support renters in both the private and social rented sector. This is forecast to rise to £31 billion in 2023/24.
As announced in the Autumn Statement, from April 2024 the Government will be investing £1.2 billion to increase Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This significant investment will ensure 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit will gain on average, nearly £800 per year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and need further support. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion in DHP funding to local authorities.
Overall, the Government is providing total support of over £104 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to help households and individuals with cost of living pressures.
Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that Universal Credit is sufficient to cover average (a) food, (b) housing and (c) energy costs.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Benefit rates and the Local Housing Allowance are reviewed annually by the Secretary of State.
In April 2023, State pensions and benefits, including Universal Credit, were up rated by 10.1%, in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index in the year to September 2022.
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.
For private renters, the Local Housing Allowance determines the maximum housing support for tenants. Local Housing Allowance rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. However, in 2020 the Government spent almost £1 billion increasing Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of market rents. This significant investment has been maintained, ensuring that everyone who benefited continues to do so.
The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has announced support to households to help with higher bills worth £94 billion across 2022-23 and 2023-24, one of the largest household support packages in Europe.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting people with autism from the under occupancy penalty on the grounds of their sensory needs.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) policy seeks to encourage greater mobility within the social rented sector.
There are no plans to review the policy, and there are easements which allow for the provision of an additional bedroom in certain circumstances, such as to support the needs of disabled people.
Where a member of the household is, by virtue of their disability, not able to share a bedroom and is in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit, they are entitled to claim for an additional bedroom. The same applies where someone requires and receives overnight care on a regular basis from a non-resident carer, providing they meet qualifying criteria.
Where additional support is required, 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.
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, what recent steps his Department is taking to help people financially in areas that are subject to high housing costs.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Households eligible for means-tested benefits can claim housing support towards their housing costs.
Claimants in receipt of housing support living in 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 private renters, the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum housing support for tenants. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
In 2020 we raised LHA rates to the 30th percentile. This was a significant investment of almost £1 billion. We have maintained the increase since then so that everyone who benefited from the increase continues to do so.
For those who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.6 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.
We recognise that rents are increasing. However, the challenging fiscal environment means that difficult decisions have been necessary to ensure support is targeted effectively. Overall, the government is providing total support of over £94bn over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living.