Housing Benefit – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether people with terminal illnesses will be excluded from the under-occupancy penalty.

Steve Webb: People with terminal illnesses will not be exempt from the under-occupancy charge.  We have trebled funding for discretionary housing payments to £155 million for 2013-14. Local authorities will be free to provide discretionary housing payments in cases where they believe that this is warranted.