BBC finds firms exploiting UK housing benefit system

A BBC Panorama investigation has found private companies are exploiting the UK's supported exempt accommodation system, using vulnerable residents as "cash cows" to generate large profits from taxpayer-funded housing benefits while failing to provide required support. The system, designed for people with additional needs like former prisoners and domestic abuse survivors, paid £410m in Birmingham alone last year. Investigators found vulnerable people left with little support, evidence of "ghost tenants" fraudulently claiming benefits, and one provider writing off £1.8m in questionable payments. The government has passed legislation to strengthen regulation, but it remains stuck in consultations. Birmingham council leader Roger Harmer called the situation "a scandal," while residents like Alysha described the neglect as "shameful."