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 potential merits of a review of the under-occupancy penalty.

There are no plans to review the Removal of the Spare Room policy.

The policy applies to claims for housing support where the claimant is living in the social rented sector in a property that is deemed too large for their needs. The policy aims to strengthen work incentives and seeks to encourage greater mobility within the social rented sector.

There are easements to the policy which allow for the provision of an additional bedroom in certain circumstances, such as to support the needs of disabled people. Pensioners in receipt of Housing Benefit are exempt from the policy.

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.