LONDON, July 6 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:
* Residents in supported housing and temporary accommodation previouslyfaced a "cliff edge" loss of income when increasing their working hours
* Newchangestothewelfaresystemwhichencourage work and ensure it always payscome into force in October
* Measure to benefit around300,000 vulnerable claimants living in supported housing and temporary accommodation
More than300,000residents in supported housing and temporary accommodation will no longer face a drop in income whenincreasing their working hours, under new rules laid in Parliament today[Monday 6 July].
The systeminherited by this Governmentleft vulnerablepeople in supported housinghavingto choose betweenstayingout of work, or risk losingtheirhousing support, because the work allowance was higher forUniversal Credit than it was for Housing Benefit.
The less generousrules forHousingBenefitcreateda cliff edge that trapped peopleon benefitsrather than supporting them into work. Some landlords even discouraged residents from taking jobs to protect their own rental income.
As part of theGovernment's commitment to move from a welfare state to a working state,the regulations change how Housing Benefit is calculated so it works in the same way as Universal Credit - a change that will incentivise work for 315,000 peoplewhen they come into force inOctober 2026.
Sir Stephen Timms, Minister for Social Security and Disability,said:
The system we inherited was actively pushing some ofthemost vulnerable residents away from work rather than towards it. These changes fix that - ensuring residents can keep more of what they earn, so that taking a job or increasing hoursalways pays better than benefits.
This announcement delivers on a commitment madein ourAutumnBudget, andforms part of the government's wider plan to reform the welfare system - tearing out the barriers that have trapped people in dependency.
We are replacingthatsystemwith onethat rewards workandensures people keep more of what they earn,whileprotectingthose who need it most.
Today's rules come alongsidepreviousstepstohelp people on disability benefits that want to work, into work.We have already rebalancedUniversal Creditto tacklethe perverse incentives thatdiscouraged workand introducedRight to Trylegislation,allowing sick or disabled people to try work without the immediate fear of reassessment.
These measures come alongside ourConnect to Workprogramme, whichdelivers tailored, personalised, local support that will help 300,000 people into work, and the deployment of 1000 Pathways to Work advisers to help those written off bythepreviousGovernment.
AdditionalInformation
* The Housing Benefit (Earned Income Disregards) Regulations 2026laid before parliament on 6thJuly 2026,come into force on 5 October 2026.
* Five new earned income disregards are being introduced for working-age Housing Benefit claimants in supported housing and temporary accommodation.
* Disregard values will beupdatedannually. No group is made worse off by this change; any variation in the immediate financial gain reflects how existing Universal Credit and Housing Benefit tapers alreadyoperate.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
