Local Housing Allowance: Temporary Accommodation
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of not increasing Local Housing Allowance rates in 2025-26 on the number of households requiring temporary accommodation.
Answered by Sir Stephen Timms
The Government recognises that homelessness levels are too high and there are a range of contributing factors. We will look carefully at these issues as we develop our strategy for ending homelessness.
When reviewing the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), the Secretary of State considered a range of factors, including the private rental situation, the Government’s goals and missions, and the wider fiscal context and engaged with MHCLG.
DWP currently spends around £30bn annually on housing support and the April 2024 increase to LHA costs approximately £7bn over 5 years.
For those who need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs.
As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233m compared to this year (2024/25). The increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings the total spend to nearly a billion pounds in 2025/26.
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