Housing cash ‘will not be cut for those in most need’
BENEFIT CAP WILL NOT HIT EVERYONE, SAYS PM
Political Editor HOUSING benefits for vulnerable people will not be cut, Prime Minister Theresa May has pledged.
It follows a campaign by Newcastle East MP Nick Brown, who has called on the Government to drop plans to cap housing benefit for people such as military veterans or the elderly.
Mrs May told the Commons the Government would publish full details of its proposals next week.
She added: “But I can also say today that as part of our response to the review, we will not apply the local housing allowance cap to supported housing.
“Indeed, we will not be implementing it in the wider social rented sector, and the full details will be made available when we publish our response to the consultation.”
She was speaking shortly before Labour was due to lead an opposition day debate on the issue, in which it was due to call on the Government to rule out cuts to supported housing and instead adopt a new “supported housing allowance” to safeguard the accommodation. Funding for supported housing, where vulnerable people get support such as a warden, was threatened by changes to the benefit system designed to prevent landlords charging extortionate rents at taxpayers’ expense. A system called the Local Housing Allowance already limits how much housing benefit can go to people renting privately. The Government is extending this to people in social housing, such as those renting from their council or a housing association. But the change could have meant that supported accommodation, which provides specialist help to people, was set to be included in the cap for the first time. Supported housing can have extra costs, such as employing security staff or operating CCTV cameras, and providers say it’s not possible to keep rents down to the same level as the charge for an ordinary home. Mr Brown led a Commons debate highlighting warnings from housing providers such as the Byker Community Trust that it was impossible to provide continue providing their services on the funding available under the Government’s proposals.
Ministers announced last year that supported housing would be exempt from the cap until 2019, and said it was reviewing what would happen after that.
But speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions, Mrs May appeared to confirm that the payments will be excluded.
Shadow housing minister John Healey said: “Once again, Labour is winning the arguments and making the running on Government policy.
“Ahead of our opposition day debate later today, the Government has given ground, but the devil will be in the detail, and the funding.
“Labour will continue to press the Government to protect the long-term future and funding of supported housing.”
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, wrote on Twitter: “The PM’s decision to remove the LHA (local housing allowance) cap for all social housing is great news. Things really are beginning to change.”
Local housing allowance has many of the same rules as housing benefit, but there are some extra rules that limit the amount of help people can get for a private rented home.
Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse said: “This cap would have hit the most vulnerable in our society, including the homeless and victims of domestic violence living in shelters.
“It is right that the Government has U-turned on this cruel and heartless policy.”
He said the Government should now reverse a decision to scrap housing benefit for 18-21s.