Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households with a disabled family member are subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy.

Caroline Dinenage: As of May 2017, there were 414 thousand households in Great Britain who had a deduction made from their Housing Benefit due to the removal of the spare room subsidy. Of these, there were 278 thousand where the claimant or partner was receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP)or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

Housing Benefit: Supported Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Roger Godsiff:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether housing benefit recipients living in supported housing due to mental health problems will be subject to the benefit cap.

Caroline Nokes: People receiving a range of disability benefits including Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or who receive the support component of Employment and Support Allowance, are exempt from the benefit cap. The benefit cap does apply to claimants living in specified accommodation if they do not meet the criteria for an exemption but any Housing Benefit they receive will not be taken into account when determining whether the cap should be applied

Universal Credit – Parliamentary Written Answer

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the draft Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment and Working Age Benefits (Claims and Payments) Regulations 2012, when his Department plans to provide a definition in law of the term vulnerable tenant for the purposes of determining eligibility for direct payments to landlords of the housing element of universal credit.

Steve Webb: We are not seeking to provide a definition in law of 'vulnerable tenants’ for the purposes of administering UC. Any attempt to do so would risk some people with needs failing outside of any definitions and thus not receiving the help that they may need. We accept that for a minority of claimants alternative payment arrangements may be required and this may include the payment of their housing costs (rent) direct to the landlord. This alternative payment arrangement will be considered on a case by case basis and assessed on their individual merits, and would be time-limited and delivered in conjunction with appropriate budgeting support to ensure claimants make a successful transition over time to monthly budgeting wherever possible.

Disabled Vent Anger at 'Sham' Welfare Consultation

A report, based on consultation responses to the Government's Disability Living Allowance (DLA) reforms, has claimed the Government "misled" MPs and peers over the "hostility" to disability benefit reforms. The damning report - written by disabled people themselves - has labeled the DLA reforms as "disastrous" for sick and disabled people. It will be presented to Parliament today (10 January) amid anger that the views of disabled people have been ignored. Only seven per cent of organisations that took part in the consultation were fully in support of plans to replace DLA with a Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the report claims. Read more and download a copy of the report from the Ekklesia website.