Lord Freud Unveils Housing Benefit Shake-Up for Disabled

The Government has unveiled plans to shake up housing benefit for disabled people. Ministers believe the current system is outdated and will be too costly in the long-term. Launching a consultation paper, junior work and pensions minister Lord Freud said: "In the face of rising expenditure in this area, it is important to find the right balance between protecting reasonable rents and providing effective expenditure control for the taxpayer. Consequently, any changes will need to be cost neutral overall." He said many supported housing tenants who lived in properties owned by not-for-profit bodies had housing benefit based under "more generous rules". Read more on 24dash.