PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Barriers to Work: Supported Housing and Exempt Accommodation - 21 March 2022 (Commons/Commons Chamber)
Debate Detail
Contributions from Kerry McCarthy, are highlighted with a yellow border.
Kerry McCarthy
Bristol East
15:11:25
David Rutley
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
We are committed to tackling barriers to work for everybody, especially those in supported housing. Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support at people of all ages to help them to prepare for, get into and progress in work.
15:11:43
Kerry McCarthy
I welcomed the announcement made by the Minister for Housing, the right hon. Member for Pudsey (Stuart Andrew), towards the end of last week about regulation of supported housing—that is a very good move—but at present there are people in supported housing where there is an exemption from the housing benefit limit, so they could be paying hundreds of pounds a week in rent. My local DWP branch tells me that that is a real deterrent for them to come off housing benefit or universal credit and get into work. What is the Minister doing to address the problem?
Guy Opperman
The income taper in housing benefit ensures that claimants will always be financially better off working than not being in work. We believe that maintaining housing benefit in these cases has allowed claimants to continue to receive more tailored financial support for their housing costs than would currently be available through universal credit.
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