Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with housing associations on reducing or removing Government control over rent setting.

In order to control the housing benefit bill, the Government is reducing social housing rents by 1% per annum over the coming four years to 2019-20. The Government has constant and on-going dialogue with the sector and lenders. We will consider rent setting policy from 2020 at future fiscal events.