Housing Costs: Government Support Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Victoria Collins
Main Page: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)Department Debates - View all Victoria Collins's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing Costs: Government Support
Victoria Collins Excerpts(2 days ago)
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Andrew George
Indeed. I thank the hon. Member, my constituency neighbour, for those remarks. Certainly, the Minister will be aware, because he understands these matters very well, that in places of particularly high housing costs—places such as Cornwall, but not just Cornwall—where scarcity of private rented accommodation makes it difficult for local families to find anything affordable, the gap between local housing allowance and the actual rent levels is particularly stark.
Victoria Collins (Harpenden and Berkhamsted) (LD)
I thank my hon. Friend so much for securing this debate. I have the example of Annette, who is in her 70s and cares for her son. She has been forced to move twice when landlords have sold up, and she fears that she cannot afford the next rise. My hon. Friend talks about the costs. Citizens Advice locally highlights the fact that the frozen local housing allowance is now 20% to 25% lower than local rents, and record levels of people are at risk of homelessness. Does he agree that that reiterates the case? The Government must look at unfreezing local housing allowance and linking it to local rent?
Andrew George
My hon. Friend anticipates what I shall go on to say. One of my main messages concerns the impact of the 2024 housing allowance freeze; the Government will not be surprised by that—I gave the Minister advance notice of my questions. The allowance is supposed to be set at the 30th percentile—in other words, 30% of properties available on the market should be below the housing allowance. However, certainly in places like Cornwall, we are talking about it being the minus-30th percentile, effectively, because in areas like mine the local housing allowance is 30% below the lowest-cost available rental property in the marketplace. The 30% is relevant, but sadly not in the way that is required.