“Tenants forced into food bank dependence” – George to Press Government Ministers on Housing Support.  

West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly MP Andrew George will tomorrow lead a Parliamentary debate on housing cost poverty, where he’ll call on Government Ministers to remove the growing gap between housing benefit support and private rent levels.  

Mr George will contrast the level of Government funding, which leaves thousands of families in destitution, and Government-funded loopholes which reward second homeowners.  

Over 8,000 households in the St Ives constituency rent privately (almost one in five households according to the House of Commons Library). The number of private renters locally and nationally is growing, at a time when availability of social housing remains limited. Despite the growing reliance on the private rented sector, Local Housing Allowance – which is paid to eligible renters as part of Universal Credit – has been frozen since 2024 despite continuing increases in rents.  

Research suggests average private rents in Cornwall are now between 26% and 38% higher than Local Housing Allowance levels. As a result, many households are being forced to make up substantial shortfalls from already stretched incomes.  

Andrew George MP said:  

“It’s shocking that during the last decade, more than £500million of taxpayers’ money has been doled out to wealthy second homeowners in Cornwall alone through a tax loophole, whilst local families struggling in insecure private rental homes are being driven into destitution.”  

“Housing professionals recommended that housing should not exceed 30% of household income to avoid falling into poverty. But many constituents who come to me can find their rent alone amounts to more than 80% of their income. They work hard to stay afloat but are finding that an ever-greater share of their income is being swallowed up by housing costs.  

“For many people, housing support simply isn’t keeping pace with reality. Renters are being left to bridge an increasingly large gap between the help available and the rent they have to pay.  

“I hope that Ministers will explain if the Government has made any assessment of the impact of freezing Local Housing Allowance rates, and whether the current system is delivering fair support in areas such as West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly where housing pressures and costs are particularly acute.” 

 

NOTES:

A House of Commons Library briefing on this subject can be found here: Local Housing Allowance: Help with rent for private tenants – House of Commons Library 

House of Commons Library data on Home Ownership and Renting, by constituency, can be found here: Constituency data: Home ownership and renting (Census 2021, 2022) – House of Commons Library 

House of Commons Library data on Universal Credit Claimants, can be found here: Constituency data: Universal Credit claimants – House of Commons Library