Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed reduction in the maximum length of time for which housing benefit is payable for tenants travelling overseas on claimants required by their employers to work overseas for extended periods; and what exemptions he plans to put in place to protect claimants in such circumstances.

Justin Tomlinson

We are aligning treatment of temporary absences from Great Britain in housing benefit with the current treatment in Universal Credit.

We plan to make a number of easements for people in work, including for members of the armed forces, mariners and continental shelf workers.