MINISTERS could slash housing benefit costs by £3 billion a year by moving all families with children on means-tested benefits into social housing, researchers say.

Much of the £32 billion currently spent by the government on housing support lines the pockets of private landlords, a report published today said.

New modelling by the Institute for Public Policy think tank found that moving these families would also reduce relative poverty by 200,000, while also helping to contain the ballooning cost of temporary accommodation.

The IPPR also recommended raising local housing allowance rates to the 30th percentile of rents and removing the household benefit cap from April. 

IPPR report author Henry Parkes said: “A safe, secure, and affordable home should be the foundation for every child’s future.

“Instead, too many families are trapped in a cycle of poverty and instability caused by unaffordable rents and insecure tenancies.

“Housing reform isn’t just a moral imperative — it’s an economic necessity.”