Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
the adequacy of the Housing Benefit subsidy for temporary
accommodation; and whether they have plans to provide further
support to local authorities in providing emergency and temporary
accommodation.
(LD)
I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order
Paper and declare my interest as a vice-president of the Local
Government Association.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work
and Pensions () (Con)
My Lords, the Government recognise the challenges that local
authorities face in responding to the increased demand for
temporary housing. Our priority is to support claimants and keep
people in their homes. From April, we are investing £1.2 billion
to increase the local housing allowance, benefiting 1.6 million
claimants and helping to prevent homelessness. In England, our
£1.2 billion investment in the local authority housing fund
provides capital funding directly to councils to build new homes.
Additionally, our £2 billion investment over three years tackles
homelessness and rough sleeping.
(LD)
I thank the noble Viscount for his Answer. What my Question was
really getting at was whether there has been an assessment of the
adequacy of what is being allocated. Is it enough and is it going
to the right places? Stark evidence from the Local Government
Association, London Councils and the District Councils’ Network
would say that clearly it is not. A survey by the DCN, which was
published just today, shows that housing benefit subsidy covers
just 38% of district councils’ temporary accommodation costs. Can
the Minister explain why the housing benefit subsidy for families
and councils using temporary accommodation has been frozen since
2011, despite rising costs and dwindling supply? Does he agree
that much has changed in that time, and it is time that the rate
changed too?
(Con)
The subject that the noble Baroness has raised is to do with
temporary housing, and we appreciate that these remain difficult
times and that local authorities are subject to many pressures.
We will continue to review the situation with housing benefit
subsidy rates, but perhaps I can help the noble Baroness by
saying that, following the Autumn Statement back in 2023, the
Government announced additional funding of £120 million to help
councils address in particular the Ukraine situation and
homelessness pressures looking ahead to 2024-25. Today, I am
pleased to say that it has been announced that England’s share of
the £120 million is £109 million, which is to be paid via the
homelessness prevention grant top-up for the year 2024-25.
(Lab)
My Lords, the undersupply of social housing has meant that
spending on temporary accommodation has increased by a staggering
62% over the last five years. Yesterday, Shelter and the National
Housing Federation published new research by the CEBR on the
economic impact of building social housing. It showed the massive
economic and social benefits of building 90,000 new social rented
homes and found that delivering social housing at this scale
would save nearly £250 million a year on the benefits budget,
result in £4.5 billion in housing benefit savings and save local
authorities £245 million a year on homelessness services. What
action can the Government take to urgently improve delivery of
social housing and reverse this vicious cycle?
(Con)
The noble Baroness is right that building more houses and finding
more houses, including social housing but also in the private
rented sector and for homeowners, is incredibly important. We
remain committed to our target of delivering 300,000 homes a year
in England. We also recognise that the planning system can be
complex. The levelling up White Paper marked an important moment,
making clear the scale of our ambition to address the
inequalities for communities right across the country, which I
think was the gist of the noble Baroness’s question.
(Con)
My Lords, I also declare my interest as a vice-president of the
Local Government Association. Research by the Local Government
Association confirms that government could save £780 in housing
benefit for every social home that is built. Will my noble friend
the Minister explore the option of making the 100% retention of
right-to-buy receipts permanent, so that local authorities have
the fiscal powers necessary to build the next generation of
social housing?
(Con)
Indeed, and my noble friend has much experience in this field
from her long experience in local government. I will certainly
take that back: I cannot give any guarantees right now at the
Dispatch Box.
The
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his commitment to trying to
make headway on this issue. We are all aware of the terrible
strains that local authorities are under because of temporary
accommodation being necessary and, of course, we also know that
the reason is that incomes are just not meeting housing needs.
Have the Government assessed the recent proposal from the Joseph
Rowntree Foundation and the Trussell Trust for what they call an
essentials guarantee? This would guarantee that universal credit
was enough to cover the essentials—rent—which would therefore
reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation,
creating a virtuous cycle that would reduce the budget strain on
local councils.
(Con)
Yes, I am very aware of the “essentials” argument that often
comes up in this Chamber. I do not have any answer for the most
reverend Primate except to say that we note the questions that
are put on that point. I shall go a little further, because he
started by mentioning housing pressures. The £1.2 billion local
housing fund enables councils in England to obtain better-quality
temporary accommodation for those owed a homelessness duty. That
is our way of making sure that there is some progress on
homes.
(Lab)
My Lords, unaccountably, I am not a vice-president of the Local
Government Association—no one has asked me to become one, but who
knows?
A number of issues come into play here, but, basically, councils
are probably going to spend heading for £2 billion on temporary
accommodation this year. They have to pay up front to procure the
accommodation, and then they can get back some but not all of
it—and increasingly not all of it—from central government. The
reality is that they are paying the price for the fact that we do
not have a functioning housing system, and the Government,
despite being in power for quite a long time, have an ambition
but, so far, seem not to have the will to solve that problem. I
am guessing that the Minister and the DWP are going to DLUHC
Ministers and saying, “What are you going to do to solve this
problem?” What answer are they getting?
(Con)
We have already taken some actions, and the noble Baroness will
know that on 24 January this year the Government announced
additional measures for local authorities in England worth £600
million. This includes £500 million of new funding for councils
with responsibility for adult and children’s social care,
distributed through the social care grant. Taking into account
this new funding, local government in England will see an
increase in core spending power of up to £4.5 billion next
year.
(Con)
My Lords, is the Minister aware that if you look at any high
street in the country, you will see many empty flats above shops,
particularly above national multiples? Is he aware that, in
Norfolk, Freebridge housing association has done an absolutely
sterling job in leasing such flats and then renting them out as
temporary accommodation, and to permanent tenants as well? Can he
tell the House what more can be done to make the most of this
underused resource?
(Con)
Absolutely. Although I do not have a particular answer to the
noble Lord’s question, I have certainly been reading about some
innovative programmes to reinvigorate properties and give them
different uses, not only in high streets but in more central
areas. This is just the sort of creative thinking that is
required to produce more housing, which of course then leads to
people moving out of poverty.
(LD)
My Lords, I have relevant interests in this issue. Does the noble
Lord agree that it is not just the excessive cost of temporary
accommodation that we should be thinking about but the huge
disruption to family life and children’s education when they have
to move into temporary housing? At the heart of it is the huge
loss of social housing; in my own council, there are 20,000 fewer
houses for social rent than there were 20 years ago. The
Government’s proposals will not address this huge issue. When are
they going to up their game to provide the social housing that is
desperately needed?
(Con)
Again, I can say that quite a lot of action is going on this
field. The noble Baroness started off by talking about families,
and we know that children—who have been a theme of today’s
questions—can be affected by living in temporary housing,
particularly poor-quality housing. The £1.2 billion local
authority housing fund enables councils in England to obtain
better-quality temporary accommodation for those owed a duty to
be found a home. We want children in particular to grow in a safe
and secure home and are committed to a strong welfare system to
support those most in need.
