The UK’s public spending on housing benefit, which helps low-income families with housing costs, is out of control, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Paul Johnson notes that the government spent £22 billion a year on the benefit, double what it was in the early 2000s. Alongside soaring housing prices and collapsing rates of home ownership among young people, it’s yet another sign that the UK housing sector needs a major shakeup.
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