The watchdog also raised concerns about the decision to uprate local housing allowance - which covers private accommodation - by the CPI rate of inflation rather than pegging it to average rent rises in an area.

BBC: Block of flats

In April, the government introduced the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) which established national rules about what type of accommodation is appropriate and how much rent can be paid to landlords.

BBC: Woman given ?12k a month for home