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 adequacy of existing levels of funding for the Housing Support Fund.

The Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England this financial year.

In England this is being delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. It is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.

Over £2.1bn in support has to date been allocated to Authorities in England since the scheme’s inception in October 2021, providing millions of awards to households in need with the cost of essentials.

Local Authorities have the ties and local knowledge to best determine how this support should be provided to their local communities, and they have the discretion to design their own local schemes and manage their funds to best meet local need, within the parameters of the grant determination and guidance for the fund.

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.