Boroughs with the highest proportion of claims were East London's Hackney (41.9 per cent) and Tower Hamlets (38.1 per cent), more than twice the national average of 17.6 per cent.
More than half of struggling first-time home buyers getting help from parentsLondon (23.2 per cent), the North East (21.8 per cent) and Scotland (19.3 per cent) were the highest-claiming regions of the average £81.03 a week support, according to figures compiled for the Department of Work and Pensions.
Almost half of claims were from households where people also claimed unemployment benefits, with claims rising by almost a quarter of a million from November to May during the recession.
Theresa May, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said the annual cost of Housing Benefti had risen by £2.7 billion since 1997
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