6. Help with housing costs

The government has focused particularly on Housing Benefit as a means of cutting public spending.

The Housing Benefit bill has increased massively over recent years, but unions point out that this is as a result of the Right-to-Buy policy, introduced in the 1980’s under Thatcher and reinvigorated under the coalition government, and the failure by successive governments to build enough affordable housing.

The Tory-led coalition government has capped Housing Benefit at a fixed level based on property size; raised the age for those entitled only to the single room rate from 25 to 35; reduced the calculation that is used to work out the rate of Local Housing Allowance (see page 78); capped total benefits and introduced the hated “bedroom tax” or spare room subsidy (see page 19).

Local councils have been responsible for paying Housing Benefit, but this is gradually being abolished and will be paid instead as part of Universal Credit. The new benefit began in October 2013 for some new claims but is now massively behind schedule (see Chapter 1). (If you are getting Housing Benefit while you’re waiting for your benefits to be transferred to Universal Credit, you can choose whether to appeal against a Housing Benefit decision or ask for it to be looked at again. However, once your benefits are transferred to Universal Credit, you will be covered by new appeal rules).