Tuesday, November 03, 2026
Labour’s freeze on housing benefit to increase poverty
The paper says that in an open letter to prime minister Andy Burnham groups, including the Trussell Trust, Generation Rent and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation say that maintaining the measure will “critically undermine” his commitment to end rough sleeping:
The formula used to calculate housing benefit levels – the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) – has been frozen since April 2024. The mechanism is designed to ensure benefit levels are in line with at least the lowest 30 per cent of rents in any local area.
But as market rents have continued to surge, the shortfall between LHA rates and affordable rent hit a record 23.3 per cent in October. This means a shortfall of around £200 a month for renters in London, and £100 a month for the rest of the UK.
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Private renters will be around £700 worse off per year by 2029 without action, figures from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation showed, pulling 50,000 into poverty for the first time.
Around 60,000 will also be forced into deep poverty, and 80,000 into very deep poverty, the research indicates.
In the UK, households are in poverty if their income after costs is below 60 per cent of the national average, falling to below 50 per cent for ‘deep poverty’ and below 40 per cent for ‘very deep poverty’.
The 19 signatories, also including Shelter and The Salvation Army, have urged Mr Burnham to reconsider the continued freeze, and spend the £1.7bn needed to end it, alongside the introduction of an inflation-linked rent cap to limit rising costs.
The letter says: “You have been clear that tackling homelessness is a top priority. These two steps would bring your vision within reach by tackling the cost of rent and ensuring that housing support for those who need it actually covers the cost of a home.”
This is not joined-up government.
