The Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) has published research on the Government's proposed changes to Housing Benefit, in light of data recently released by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Its analysis suggests three plausible scenarios for the possible numbers of claimants and the impact this could have on Housing Benefit expenditure over the Spending Review period.
Jim Vine, the Head of Programme (UK Housing Policy and Practice) at BSHF, said:
"This highlights the impact of claimant numbers on Housing Benefit expenditure. Government forecasts for the number of claimants are entirely reasonable but if they are not correct it could have a greater impact on Housing Benefit expenditure than all the proposed changes put together.
"The Government should place greater emphasis on reducing the number of households that need to claim Housing Benefit to be able to afford their housing costs, rather than focusing exclusively on controlling the amount of benefit received by households."
BSHF has recently published a comprehensive analysis of Housing Benefit and the UK's other forms of support with housing costs. Support with Housing Costs: Developing a Simplified and Sustainable System looks at Housing Benefit within the wider context and presents options for reform.