Prime Minister: LHA cap will no longer apply to supported housing
Following calls from the housing sector, The Prime Minister today announced that the Local Housing Allowance cap would no longer apply to supported housing as was previously planned. This comes as welcome news across the housing industry after several months of dialogue with the Government about the impact of the proposals.
L&Q added its voice to the NHF Starts at Home campaign which lobbied the Government to review their proposals to apply the LHA cap to supported housing. The announcement today means tenants in 4,800 of L&Q supported housing units are now protected from a loss of more than a million pounds in reduced benefits.
On October 10th Peter Aldous MP led a Westminster Hall debate to raise his concerns about long term funding if the cap was applied. He was joined by an unprecedented number of MPs for such a debate, all of whom demonstrated the importance of a sustainable funding model. Marcus Jones MP, Minister for Local Government, responded in the debate and said the Government was listening and that a decision would be announced in the Autumn.
The Government will publish its full response to the supported housing consultation on Tuesday 31st October, which will include details of the future funding model.
Yvonne Arrowsmith, Chief Executive of L&Q Living, said:
“I am delighted to see the announcement made by the Prime Minister this afternoon that the cap will not be applied to supported housing. This is great news for the sector and is evidence that the Government is listening to the housing industry.
“The announcement demonstrates how seriously the Prime Minister takes housing, and that she is open to working with the housing sector to ensure everyone has a quality home they can afford.
“We look forward to working with Government on the long-term sustainable funding model for supported housing as well as tackling the housing crisis as a whole.”
To find out more about why supported housing is so important, watch our video here.