You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Scottish government appeals to Westminster over housing benefit freeze
The Scottish housing minister has urged the UK government to “do the right thing” and reverse its decision to freeze Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates and cut Universal Credit.
In a letter to secretary of state for work and pensions Thérèse Coffey, Scotland’s housing minister Kevin Stewart said the freeze on housing benefit “makes no rational sense” and will “arbitrarily penalise some renters based on geography”.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, the government increased LHA rates – which determine how much housing benefit private renters can claim – to cover the cheapest third of rents in a given area. Universal Credit was also boosted by £20 per week.
However the government’s most recent Spending Review indicated that the £20 boost to Universal Credit would be reversed and LHA rates would be frozen from the start of the next financial year.
READ MORE
Mr Stewart said in his letter that restoring LHA rates to cover the cheapest third of rates, as was the government’s policy before LHA rates were originally frozen in 2016, “has a positive impact on homelessness and poverty”.
“If we look back to the UK government’s initial decision to restore LHA rates, and the situation the country faced at that point, surely all of the reasons your government gave for bolstering the support available are as pertinent now?” he said.
Unlike housing, social security is not a devolved issue, meaning benefits in Scotland are largely in line with the rest of the UK.
Earlier this year a number of housing association bodies, including the G15 and PlaceShapers, also wrote a letter to Ms Coffey urging her to maintain the boost to Universal Credit after March.
They said housing associations were seeing an increase in rent arrears, alongside “growing numbers of people seeking support with meeting essential needs, like accessing food and paying for heating”.
A recent study by Peabody revealed that two-thirds of its 10,914 tenants on Universal Credit were currently in arrears.
The Department for Work and Pensions has been approached for comment.
