Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households there are in the private rented sector in receipt of universal credit with the housing element in payment; of those households, how many and what proportion have rents which exceed the local housing allowance (LHA); and what the median gap is between the rent and the LHA, for each broad rental market area in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales, for the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information is in the provided attachment. Government spends around £30bn annually on housing support. In addition, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased from April 2024 to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This will mean 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (UC) will gain on average around £800 a year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024-25. This is at a cost of £7bn over five years.
The Secretary of State has committed to review LHA rates annually. That review includes consideration of current rents, as well as the broader fiscal context. LHA rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas: instead it ensures that claimants in similar circumstances and area are treated the same.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in the private rented sector are in receipt of the housing element of Universal Credit; of those households, how many have rents which exceed the local housing allowance rate; and what is the median gap between the rent and the local housing allowance broken down by the number of children in the household in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales, for the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are unable to provide a breakdown of estimates as providing this information will take us over the resource requirement for this PQ due to data quality issues.
Government spends around £30bn annually on housing support. In addition, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased from April 2024 to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This will mean 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (UC) will gain on average around £800 a year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024-25. This is at a cost of £7bn over five years.
The Secretary of State has committed to review LHA rates annually. That review includes consideration of current rents, as well as the broader fiscal context. LHA rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas: instead it ensures that claimants in similar circumstances and area are treated the same.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in receipt of universal credit in the private rented sector with the housing element in payment have one or more members with limited capability for work and/or for work-related activity; of those households, how many and what proportion have rents that exceed the local housing allowance (LHA) rate; and what the median gap is between the rent and the LHA in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales, in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information is in the provided attachment. Government spends around £30bn annually on housing support. In addition, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased from April 2024 to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This will mean 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (UC) will gain on average around £800 a year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024-25. This is at a cost of £7bn over five years.
The Secretary of State has committed to review LHA rates annually. That review includes consideration of current rents, as well as the broader fiscal context. LHA rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas: instead it ensures that claimants in similar circumstances and area are treated the same.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in the private rented sector there are in receipt of housing benefit in payment; of those households, how many and what proportion have rents which exceed the local housing allowance (LHA) rate; and what the median gap is between the rent and the LHA rate, for each broad rental market area in (a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales, in the most recent period for which data is available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information is in the provided attachment. Government spends around £30bn annually on housing support. In addition, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased from April 2024 to the 30th percentile of local market rents. This will mean 1.6 million private renters in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (UC) will gain on average around £800 a year in additional help towards their rental costs in 2024-25. This is at a cost of £7bn over five years.
The Secretary of State has committed to review LHA rates annually. That review includes consideration of current rents, as well as the broader fiscal context. LHA rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas: instead it ensures that claimants in similar circumstances and area are treated the same.
For those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs and require additional support Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 the Government has provided nearly £1.7 billion to local authorities for households who need additional support with their housing costs.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on the number of asylum seekers that were affected by (a) mould and (b) other damp conditions in (i) social housing, (ii) the private rented sector and (iii) hotel accommodation in the last 12 months.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Home Office ensures that all asylum accommodation is safe, habitable, fit for purpose and meets all regulatory requirements.
Home Office accommodation providers are required to visit each property at least monthly, and assurance that contractual requirements are met is tested by the Home Office Contract Assurance Team, which inspects properties and undertakes other assurance activities on an intelligence-led basis.
All asylum seekers have access to a 24/7 Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help, where any concerns regarding accommodation standards can be raised. Issues will then be investigated and addressed in accordance with strict contractual target timeframes.
The information you have requested is not held in a readily reportable format and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) local authority, (b) housing association and (c) private tenants on actions they can take to help reduce levels of damp in their homes.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is committed to halving the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030, building on the strong progress already made in improving the standards of rented homes since 2010. We are clear that everyone deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure. We will bring the private rented sector under the scope of a Decent Homes Standard for the first time and have introduced Awaab’s Law, which will require social landlords to address hazards within a fixed time period.
The English Housing Survey sets out levels of overcrowding and damp and mould in rented homes and details of the findings are available online.
Our consolidated damp and mould guidance, developed with the Department for Health and Social Care covers the impacts of damp and mould on health, and sets out how all landlords in the private and rented sectors should address damp and mould.
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities wrote to all providers of social housing and to all local authority chief executives. In these letters he set out his expectation that providers go further than the letter of the Decent Homes Standard, and have particular regard to damp and mould, and that local authorities should take action to resolve poor housing conditions in their area.
As I set out in my answer to Question UIN 8866 on 17 January 2024, we are committed to reducing overcrowding by increasing the supply of affordable housing and enabling councils and other social landlords to make better use of their existing stock. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps his Department has taken to help improve the living conditions in (a) local authority, (b) housing association and (c) private housing.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is committed to halving the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030, building on the strong progress already made in improving the standards of rented homes since 2010. We are clear that everyone deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure. We will bring the private rented sector under the scope of a Decent Homes Standard for the first time and have introduced Awaab’s Law, which will require social landlords to address hazards within a fixed time period.
The English Housing Survey sets out levels of overcrowding and damp and mould in rented homes and details of the findings are available online.
Our consolidated damp and mould guidance, developed with the Department for Health and Social Care covers the impacts of damp and mould on health, and sets out how all landlords in the private and rented sectors should address damp and mould.
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities wrote to all providers of social housing and to all local authority chief executives. In these letters he set out his expectation that providers go further than the letter of the Decent Homes Standard, and have particular regard to damp and mould, and that local authorities should take action to resolve poor housing conditions in their area.
As I set out in my answer to Question UIN 8866 on 17 January 2024, we are committed to reducing overcrowding by increasing the supply of affordable housing and enabling councils and other social landlords to make better use of their existing stock. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of overcrowding on levels of (a) damp and (b) mould in homes.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is committed to halving the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030, building on the strong progress already made in improving the standards of rented homes since 2010. We are clear that everyone deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure. We will bring the private rented sector under the scope of a Decent Homes Standard for the first time and have introduced Awaab’s Law, which will require social landlords to address hazards within a fixed time period.
The English Housing Survey sets out levels of overcrowding and damp and mould in rented homes and details of the findings are available online.
Our consolidated damp and mould guidance, developed with the Department for Health and Social Care covers the impacts of damp and mould on health, and sets out how all landlords in the private and rented sectors should address damp and mould.
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities wrote to all providers of social housing and to all local authority chief executives. In these letters he set out his expectation that providers go further than the letter of the Decent Homes Standard, and have particular regard to damp and mould, and that local authorities should take action to resolve poor housing conditions in their area.
As I set out in my answer to Question UIN 8866 on 17 January 2024, we are committed to reducing overcrowding by increasing the supply of affordable housing and enabling councils and other social landlords to make better use of their existing stock. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the social housing sector on the links between the prevalence of (a) damp and (b) mould and overcrowding.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government is committed to halving the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030, building on the strong progress already made in improving the standards of rented homes since 2010. We are clear that everyone deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure. We will bring the private rented sector under the scope of a Decent Homes Standard for the first time and have introduced Awaab’s Law, which will require social landlords to address hazards within a fixed time period.
The English Housing Survey sets out levels of overcrowding and damp and mould in rented homes and details of the findings are available online.
Our consolidated damp and mould guidance, developed with the Department for Health and Social Care covers the impacts of damp and mould on health, and sets out how all landlords in the private and rented sectors should address damp and mould.
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities wrote to all providers of social housing and to all local authority chief executives. In these letters he set out his expectation that providers go further than the letter of the Decent Homes Standard, and have particular regard to damp and mould, and that local authorities should take action to resolve poor housing conditions in their area.
As I set out in my answer to Question UIN 8866 on 17 January 2024, we are committed to reducing overcrowding by increasing the supply of affordable housing and enabling councils and other social landlords to make better use of their existing stock. Our £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes for both rent and to buy right across the country.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will introduce a low interest deposit scheme for people seeking entry-level rental accommodation in the private sector.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government does not have plans to introduce a low interest deposit scheme for the private rented sector. Local authorities may offer deposit guarantee or bond schemes to people on low incomes or at risk of homelessness.
Councils can choose to use Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) or Homelessness Prevention Grant funding to provide rent deposits for people in financial difficulties.
Since 2011 the government has provided almost £1.7 billion in DHP funding to local authorities and is investing over £1 billion in the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years (2023-2025) including a £109 million top up for 2023/2024.