Local Housing Allowance: Wales
(asked on 23rd September 2021) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of local housing allowance rates in Wales.
Answered by
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No such assessment has been made.
In April 2020 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were increased to the 30th percentile of local rents. This investment of nearly £1 billion provided 1.5 million claimants with an average of £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received.
We have maintained Local Housing Allowance rates at the same cash level for 2021/22. For example, the two-bedroom LHA rate in the North West Wales Broad Rental Market Area increased by over £50 a month.
For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments are available. Since 2011 we have provided over £1 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments funding. We have allocated a further £140 million for Discretionary Housing Payments for 2021/22 in England and Wales.