By Vivienne Russell | 22 November 2013
Chancellor George Osborne should use the upcoming Autumn Statement to increase the Discretionary Housing Payment fund, according to the Chartered Institute of Housing.
The fund allows councils to top up Housing Benefit to help people affected by the ‘bedroom tax’ and benefit cap. In other cases, it pays for the start-up costs of a tenancy for people who are struggling to find the money themselves.
In its submission to the Treasury, ahead of the December 5 Autumn Statement, the CIH said the chancellor should commit £250m to DHP funding in 2014/15 and also in 2015/16.
‘Increasing funding for Discretionary Housing Payments would help support the people who have been affected most severely by welfare reform and support the transition to Universal Credit,’ said CIH chief executive Grainia Long.
The submission included a call to lift the local authority borrowing cap by £7bn to allow councils to build more new homes. Local enterprise partnerships should also be encouraged to plan for housing growth.
Long said: ‘Local authorities would be able to contribute much more to meeting our national [housing] supply challenge if government would only give them the tools. Local economic partnerships will be critical in driving forward growth at local level and should look to ensure their plans fully capture the economic leverage offered by housing.’
The CIH submission also called for action to improve housing standards in the private rented sector through targeting the tax allowances enjoyed by private landlords.
‘If landlords who committed to a higher level of standards benefited from an enhanced allowance, while those who did not saw their allowances stay the same or even reduce, quality should begin to rise,’ the institute said.
