A HOUSING ALLOWANCE FOR THE UK - PRECONDITIONS FOR AN INCOME-RELATED HOUSING SUBSIDY

This paper complements the policy focus of Kemp (1994) who addresses the options for housing benefit reform in the UK. By using as general a framework as possible to consider the basic choices, if is apparent that a move to an ex ante form of allowance, can, under most circumstances, be considered to be beneficial-provided that complementary policies evolve alongside changes to personal housing subsidies. It is also clear that levels of support, the degree of progressivity and of targeting cannot be fully answered with theorising by economists. There are fundamental issues concerning just at what level adequate social security provision should be in a modern economy. Personal housing subsidies are vital to low-income housing consumption and are the core of the UK's housing finance system. It is all the more important, therefore, that the vast resources spent on housing allowances are on schemes which are generally considered efficient and fair.