Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Rejected
Local authorities face increasing funding gaps for supported housing due to DWP regulations
Conclusion
The NAO investigation found that some local authorities face increasing gaps in funding for supported housing because of the way the DWP’s Housing Benefit regulations work. “Subsidy loss” is the gap in funding between how much rent a housing provider charges to a local authority and how much of it the local authority can claim back from DWP, in line with Housing Benefit rules which are set out in legislation. In some cases, local authorities cannot claim the full amount of rent back and must cover the remaining costs from their own budgets.48
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with any implied recommendation to directly address subsidy loss. While DWP will consider feedback from LAs and monitor the issue, it has no plans to explicitly address subsidy loss in the upcoming Act or consultation.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
6.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 6.2 DWP agrees that it should consider feedback from LAs on subsidy loss. As subsidy is not part of the scope of the Act there is no plan to ask an explicit question as part of the consultation, but DWP fully expect that some stakeholders will raise this issue in their responses, and it has previously received representations from LAs on this issue. 6.3 This is a complex area with a range of contributing factors many of which are not within DWP's control. DWP anticipate the Act may address some of the contributing factors and this will be monitored closely as part of the department’s continual review. The Housing Benefit subsidy rules and how these are administered are reflected in the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998.