Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has for Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in the next Spending Review; whether she has plans to allocate additional funding to (a) mitigate the effect of the four-year freeze to LHA and (b) support renters facing financial difficulties as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

In response to Covid-19 we increased Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to the 30^th percentile of local rents, providing additional financial support for private renters. This significant investment of almost £1 billion, ensures over 1 million households will see an increase, on average, of £600 per year.

For renters whose circumstances mean they may require more support, Discretionary Housing Payments are also available. We have already provided £180m in Discretionary Housing Payment funding to local authorities to support vulnerable claimants with housing costs in the private and social rented sector in England and Wales for 2020/21. This includes an extra £40m announced at the spending round.