WIDER POLICIES
Scotland-Specific Housing Benefit Policy

Key concerns: 

Housing Benefit policy is the responsibility of the UK Government (the Department of Work and Pensions).  Scottish Executive policy is restricted to potentially lobbying the UK Government about issues of concern.

The Scottish Executive's main concerns relate to:

• The Single Room Rent restriction
• Non-dependent deductions

In the Homelessness Task Force's final report Homelessness: an action plan for prevention and effective response (2002) , it made a series of recommendations for the improvement of Housing Benefit which, inter alia, highlighted these concerns.  Subsequent Homelessness Task Force monitoring reports have tracked the progress on these issues.

The Single Room Rent restriction

The Single Room Rent restriction is a UK -wide policy that limits the amount of Housing Benefit that a single person under the age of 25 can claim (see UK Housing Benefit Policy section).

The Homelessness Task Force raised concerns about the level of rent for the private sector in both the single room rent arrangements and the rent restrictions more generally.  It suggested that the Scottish Executive monitor the situation and provide evidence of the problems. 

The Scottish Council for Single Homeless has also investigated the impact of the Single Room Rent restriction on young people, resulting in a report entitled Single room rent and the private rented sector.  It surveyed young people after the slightly more generous rules were introduced in 2001 (to include shared accommodation with a shared living room).   The survey concluded that no discernable difference had been made, confirmed anecdotal evidence that access is restricted by the rent restriction, and highlighted that young people have to pay substantial sums from their own limited resources to meet the rent.  The report also found that young people in particular face discrimination from landlords who know they receive too little Housing Benefit and other benefits to sustain a tenancy and are therefore less willing to lease their properties to this age group.

The non-dependent deduction

 The non-dependent deduction is a UK-wide policy that reduces the amount of Housing Benefit a claimant is eligible to if a child of the claimant who lives with that claimant is aged 18 or over (see UK Housing Benefit Policy section). 

The Homelessness Task Force recommended that the non-dependent deduction be reviewed in light of the way in which it can increase the risk of homelessness.  As yet, there has been no such review.

Housing Benefit for prisoners

The Homelessness Task Force recommended that local authorities be granted discretion to extend Housing Benefit entitlement for those going to prison beyond the current 13-week period.  This has been rejected by the DWP.

Page last modified on 30/06/2006 at 10:50