Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that rules relating to under-occupancy do not affect households in which couples have to sleep in separate rooms due to medical appliances.

Justin Tomlinson

The High Court and Court of Appeal have accepted that disability, including situations where medical equipment is being used, does not necessarily prevent couples from being able to share a bedroom. Because of this administering a blanket exemption would be extremely difficult.

In addition, an enhanced package of Discretionary Housing Payment funding (£870 million over 5 years) will enable Local Authorities to provide support to the most vulnerable claimants.