Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the local housing allowance for under 35 year olds to access available accommodation options.

For those under 35, the shared accommodation rate (SAR) of Local Housing Allowance applies to those living on their own and renting privately. However, there are certain exemptions which allow claimants to receive the higher one-bedroom rate instead of the SAR. These include those in receipt of the severe disability premium, care leavers up to the age of 22 and those over 25 who have spent at least three months in a homeless hostel.

As announced on 3 March, we will be extending the exemption for care leavers and former residents of homeless hostels to all qualifying under 25 year olds from June 2021. This will bring forward the planned implementation of these previously announced changed by over 2 years.

More broadly, in April 2020 LHA rates were raised, including all SARs, to the 30^th percentile of local rents and are being maintained in cash terms for 2021/22.