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1715285

registered interest
date	01/05/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Local Housing Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has plans to distinguish between (a) studio and (b) one bedroom apartments in Local Housing Allowance rates.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Kemptown
tabling member printed	Lloyd Russell-Moyle
uin	24510
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2024 answer text <p>A one-bedroom rate for the calculation of Local Housing Allowance is defined as accommodation where the tenant has the exclusive use of only one bedroom and exclusive use of a kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet and a room suitable for living in. This includes studio apartments. There are no plans to change this definition.</p><p> </p><p>Housing support is calculated according to the number of bedrooms a person needs based on the size of their household.</p><p> </p><p>The maximum housing costs support is the lower of the actual rent and service charges or the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 13/05/2024 16:31:46 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4615 label Biography information for Lloyd Russell-Moyle

1681317

registered interest
date	10/01/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Local Housing Allowance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for annually indexing Local Housing Allowance to rent levels.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford
uin	HL1407
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2024 answer text <p>The Secretary of State (SoS) has recently completed his review of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for 2024/25. As announced by the Chancellor in the recent Autumn Statement, from April 2024 the Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This ensures 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit, or the Housing Element of Universal Credit will gain, on average, nearly £800 per year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25. This is a significant investment of £7bn over five years.</p><p>The SoS has committed to reviewing LHA rates annually, usually in the Autumn. The rates for 2025/26 have not yet been reviewed.</p><p>The department works closely with stakeholders, jobcentres, and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 23/01/2024 11:42:18 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	4922 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford

1679338

registered interest
date	05/01/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Local Housing Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is his planned timetable for announcing local housing allowance rates for 2025; and if he will launch a consultation on the level of those rates.
tabling member constituency	Hayes and Harlington
tabling member printed	John McDonnell
uin	7738
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2024 answer text <p>The Secretary of State (SoS) has recently completed his review of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for 2024/25. As announced by the Chancellor in the recent Autumn Statement, from April 2024 the Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This ensures 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit, or the Housing Element of Universal Credit will gain, on average, nearly £800 per year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024/25. This is a significant investment of £7bn over five years.</p><p>The SoS has committed to reviewing LHA rates annually, usually in the Autumn. The rates for 2025/26 have not yet been reviewed.</p><p>The department works closely with stakeholders, jobcentres, and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 15/01/2024 16:37:12 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	178 label Biography information for John McDonnell

1674989

registered interest
date	04/12/2023
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Local Housing Allowance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of ending the freeze in Local Housing Allowance rates before April 2024.
tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford
uin	HL809
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/12/2023 answer text <p>As announced by the Chancellor in the recent Autumn Statement, the Government will be investing £1.2 billion in 24/25 increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This is a significant investment of over £7 billion over the next five years.</p><p> </p><p>Secondary legislation is required for this increase, which will be laid in January and will come into force by 31st January 2024. This allows the Department for Work and Pensions and local authorities sufficient time to implement the rates from April 2024 and ensure claimants are paid accurately. Increases to other benefits also apply from April 2024 onwards.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>Since October 2021, Government has provided over £2 billion to local authorities in England via the Household Support Fund (HSF) for them to provide discretionary support with the cost of essentials to those most in need. As with all government spending in England, the HSF has led to consequential increases in Barnett funding, which the Devolved Administrations can spend at their discretion.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 12/12/2023 13:43:21 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	4922 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford

1674087

registered interest
date	29/11/2023
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Local Housing Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the refreezing of Local Housing Allowance after 2025 on low income renters.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
uin	4569
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2023 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has completed his review of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for 2024/25. As announced by the Chancellor in the recent Autumn Statement, from April 2024 the Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This results in a significant investment of £7bn over five years and ensures 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.</p><p> </p><p>The Secretary of State has committed to reviewing LHA rates annually and the rates for 2025/26 have not yet been reviewed.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 04/12/2023 16:25:37 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1672255

registered interest
date	22/11/2023
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Local Housing Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of increasing the local housing allowance to the 50th percentile of local market rents.
tabling member constituency	Hayes and Harlington
tabling member printed	John McDonnell
uin	3080
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2023 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has committed to review LHA rates annually and has just completed his review for 2024/25 rates. From April 2024 we are investing £1.2 billion increasing Local Housing Allowance 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.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 27/11/2023 16:09:38 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	178 label Biography information for John McDonnell

1671551

registered interest
date	20/11/2023
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Local Housing Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	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.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	2616
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2023 answer text <p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 27/11/2023 16:47:20 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1671552

registered interest
date	20/11/2023
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Local Housing Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Local Housing Allowance for enabling access to housing for claimants who are (a) disabled and (b) not disabled.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	2617
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2023 answer text <p>Local Housing Allowance policy is reviewed annually by the Secretary of State.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the Autumn Statement, from April 2024 the Government will be investing £1.2 billion increasing 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. 50% of households receiving housing support have one disabled person in the household.</p><p> </p><p>The LHA policy does also allow for an additional room to support the needs of disabled people who meet the qualifying criteria. This applies where, by virtue of their disability, a member of the household is not able to share a bedroom or requires and receives overnight care on a regular basis from a non-resident carer.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 27/11/2023 16:51:05 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1669746

registered interest
date	13/11/2023
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Local Housing Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of annually increasing Local Housing Allowance at a rate greater than or equal to the rate of inflation.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Ian Byrne
uin	1768
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2023 answer text <p>Local Housing Allowance policy is reviewed annually by the Secretary of State, and its impact is monitored regularly. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt the outcome of this review.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>LHA rates were boosted by almost £1 billion in 2020, this significant investment has been kept annually to maintain rates.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 20/11/2023 14:34:08 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4831 label Biography information for Ian Byrne

1662873

registered interest
date	13/10/2023
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Local Housing Allowance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of the freeze on Local Housing Allowance since April 2020 on the discretionary income of claimants of the housing element of Universal Credit.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne East
tabling member printed	Mr Nicholas Brown
uin	200727
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2023 answer text <p>The department works closely with stakeholders, jobcentres and local authorities to understand the impact of its policies. The Local Housing Allowance (LHA) policy is kept under regular review and rates are reviewed annually by the Secretary of State.</p><p> </p><p>LHA determines the maximum housing support for tenants claiming the housing element of Universal Credit in the private rented sector. It ensures that claimants 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.</p><p> </p><p>In 2020 we spent almost £1 billion increasing LHA rates to the 30th percentile of market rents. This significant investment has been maintained ensuring that everyone who benefited continues to do so. Over 2022/23 and 2023/24 the Government is providing support in excess of £94 billion to help households with the rising cost of living.</p><p> </p><p>The 30<sup>th</sup> percentile levels of local market weekly rents for the Tyneside Broad Rental Market Area for each year from 2020 can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-housing-allowance-lha-rates" target="_blank">here.</a> The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) publish 30<sup>th</sup> percentile rental data alongside weekly LHA rates. This is not available as a monthly equivalent for Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 200875 question first answered 20/10/2023 11:31:35 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	523 label Biography information for Mr Nicholas Brown