Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department has spent on enhanced housing benefit in each year since 2010.

We interpret ‘enhanced housing benefit’ as Housing Benefit payable for exempt accommodation (a category of specified accommodation in Housing Benefit regulations). The time series information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

The estimated annual cost to the benefits system for all accommodation costs associated with supported housing in 2023 is £4.1 billion per year; estimated at just over 10% of total housing support (AME); of which £2.72 billion is for Specified Accommodation through Housing Benefit.