House of Commons – Jan. 27, 2016 – 177

I beg to move, That this House believes that the Government’s planned cuts to housing benefit support for vulnerable people in specialist housing, including the elderly and people who are homeless, disabled or fleeing domestic violence, risk leading to the widespread closure of this accommodation;

notes the concern from charities, housing associations, councils and others across the country about the severe effect of these cuts;

further notes that supported housing has already suffered as a result of Government spending cuts and policy decisions;

notes that the planned changes will apply to all new tenancies from April 2016;

notes the clear evidence that the Government’s proposal to mitigate these cuts with discretionary housing payments will not work;

and calls on the Government to urgently exempt supported housing from these housing benefit cuts and to consult fully with supported housing providers to safeguard this essential accommodation.