S1/2019: 2019-20 Discretionary Housing Payments government contribution for English and Welsh local authorities (Revised)
Updated 27 November 2019
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2019
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Who should read
All Housing Benefit staff. Officers preparing claims for Discretionary Housing Payments
Action
For information
Revisions
We have included a further column at Annex Awith the overall expenditure limit for each local authority. You will also find a new paragraph providing further information about the column. we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Guidance Manual
The information in this circular does not affect the content of the HB Guidance Manual.
Queries
See our Housing Benefit subsidy circular page if you want extra copies of this circular and copies of previous circulars.
For allocation of the government contribution towards DHPs contact:
Email: housing.benefitenquiries@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
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housing.correspondenceandpqs@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Introduction
1. This circular provides details of the government contribution and overall expenditure limit for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) for 2019-20 for English and Welsh local authorities (LAs).
Background
2. Since 2011-12, additional DHP government contribution funding has been made available to assist with the transition of claimants into the welfare entitlement that resulted from the Housing Benefit (HB) welfare reforms.
3. As set out at Summer Budget 2015, the overall DHP funding for England and Wales in 2019-20 will be £139.5 million.
4. In addition to the central government contribution, English and Welsh LAs are able to top up their DHP funding up to a maximum of two and a half times this figure using their own funds. For instance, an LA receiving £100,000 as DHP central government funding, could top up this amount with up to £150,000 of their own funds, giving them a maximum possible total expenditure of £250,000 – see Annex A.
5. The DHP government funding contribution comprises of funding for four separate areas of support:
- core funding
- Local Housing Allowance (LHA)
- Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS)
- benefit cap
6. The distribution of the DHP funding is based on the effect of each element on individual LAs.
Distribution of the government contribution for English and Welsh LAs
7. All four funding streams have been adjusted to take account of customers receiving housing support though Universal Credit (UC). This ensures that LAs who have larger UC caseloads continue to receive a fair allocation.
Core funding (£18 million)
8. We have retained the same methodology for distributing the funding as in 2018-19. This is based on the proportion of LA spend on HB using the published data for 2017-18.
9. An adjustment for UC is based on the relative proportion of claimants entitled to the housing support in UC compared to HB.
LHA (£27 million)
10. The same methodology that was used in 2018-19 has been applied when calculating the funding for 2019-20. This is based on the estimated reduction in HB entitlement for each LA from the freeze in LHA rates in 2018-19. The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) administrative data is used to estimate how housing support amounts would change if LHA rates were increased rather than frozen. The differences are then aggregated by LA and used in order to allocate the pot. An adjustment for UC is based on the UC housing caseload in the private rented sector (PRS) relative to the HB PRS case load.
RSRS (£40.5 million)
11. The reduction in funding as a result of the lower funding settlement agreed at Summer Budget 2015 has been applied this year to the RSRS funding stream. This has reduced from £54 million in 2018-19 to £40.5 million for 2019-20.
12. The RSRS funding allocation is based on the total reductions in HB from the RSRS using data published in May 2018. The pot is then allocated based on the LAs proportion of total RSRS reductions in HB. The UC adjustment is applied based on the working age social rented sector (SRS) caseloads in HB relative to the SRS UC housing caseload.
Benefit cap (£54 million)
13. The benefit cap funding is allocated based on the LAs proportion of the estimated total reduction in benefit under the lower benefit cap. Capped households are identified along with the amount of reduction applied to their benefit. This is then aggregated at LA level in order to allocate the pot. Published statistics provide the number of households capped in both HB and UC full service in each LA. A UC adjustment is made for live service using internal live service benefit centre management information.
Annex A: 2019-20 DHP government contribution LA allocations
| Local authority | 2019-20 total allocation | Overall limit (x2.5) |
|---|---|---|
| Adur | £120,093 | £300,231 |
| Allerdale | £228,217 | £ 570,544 |
| Amber Valley | £176,403 | £441,008 |
| Arun | £285,587 | £713,967 |
| Ashfield | £243,980 | £609,951 |
| Ashford | £278,091 | £695,227 |
| Aylesbury Vale | £302,207 | £755,516 |
| Babergh | £106,148 | £265,371 |
| Barking and Dagenham | £856,893 | £2,142,233 |
| Barnet | £1,717,419 | £4,293,548 |
| Barnsley | £578,089 | £1,445,223 |
| Barrow-in-Furness | £110,355 | £275,887 |
| Basildon | £433,792 | £1,084,479 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | £334,791 | £836,978 |
| Bassetlaw | £176,500 | £441,249 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | £291,288 | £728,221 |
| Bedford | £316,172 | £790,431 |
| Bexley | £520,970 | £1,302,425 |
| Birmingham | £4,281,017 | £10,702,542 |
| Blaby | £80,146 | £200,364 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | £366,033 | £915,083 |
| Blackpool | £379,507 | £948,767 |
| Blaenau Gwent / Blaenau Gwent | £218,394 | £545,986 |
| Bolsover | £150,695 | £376,737 |
| Bolton | £768,884 | £1,922,210 |
| Boston | £110,747 | £276,868 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | £847,253 | £2,118,132 |
| Bracknell Forest | £184,357 | £460,892 |
| Bradford | £1,177,095 | £2,942,739 |
| Braintree | £236,373 | £590,932 |
| Breckland | £209,923 | £524,808 |
| Brent | £2,140,219 | £5,350,548 |
| Brentwood | £90,569 | £226,423 |
| Bridgend / Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr | £365,158 | £912,896 |
| Brighton and Hove | £827,062 | £2,067,655 |
| Bristol, City of | £1,158,306 | £2,895,765 |
| Broadland | £104,901 | £262,253 |
| Bromley | £628,202 | £1,570,506 |
| Bromsgrove | £89,660 | £224,150 |
| Broxbourne | £313,173 | £782,933 |
| Broxtowe | £120,809 | £302,023 |
| Burnley | £238,007 | £595,017 |
| Bury | £315,865 | £789,662 |
| Caerphilly / Caerffili | £493,012 | £1,232,531 |
| Calderdale | £435,382 | £1,088,455 |
| Cambridge | £201,673 | £504,184 |
| Camden | £871,859 | £2,179,648 |
| Cannock Chase | £141,262 | £353,154 |
| Canterbury | £255,382 | £638,456 |
| Cardiff / Caerdydd | £1,152,996 | £2,882,490 |
| Carlisle | £178,751 | £446,878 |
| Carmarthenshire / Sir Gaerfyrddin | £386,739 | £966,847 |
| Castle Point | £187,905 | £469,762 |
| Central Bedfordshire | £364,510 | £911,276 |
| Ceredigion / Ceredigion | £286,908 | £717,271 |
| Charnwood | £209,989 | £524,971 |
| Chelmsford | £259,962 | £649,904 |
| Cheltenham | £164,545 | £411,363 |
| Cherwell | £249,848 | £624,619 |
| Cheshire East | £457,711 | £1,144,277 |
| Cheshire West and Chester | £610,905 | £1,527,263 |
| Chesterfield | £189,696 | £474,241 |
| Chichester | £178,227 | £445,569 |
| Chiltern | £103,579 | £258,948 |
| Chorley | £151,335 | £378,338 |
| City of London | £18,156 | £45,390 |
| Colchester | £324,348 | £810,871 |
| Conwy / Conwy | £200,626 | £501,564 |
| Copeland | £189,487 | £473,717 |
| Corby | £161,568 | £403,919 |
| Cornwall | £972,059 | £2,430,147 |
| Cotswold | £92,049 | £230,122 |
| County Durham | £1,170,046 | £2,925,115 |
| Coventry | £1,154,066 | £2,885,165 |
| Craven | £119,050 | £297,624 |
| Crawley | £297,009 | £742,523 |
| Croydon | £1,740,407 | £4,351,016 |
| Dacorum | £369,409 | £923,523 |
| Darlington | £199,553 | £498,884 |
| Dartford | £176,813 | £442,032 |
| Daventry | £122,836 | £307,090 |
| Denbighshire / Sir Ddinbych | £197,587 | £493,967 |
| Derby | £525,737 | £1,314,344 |
| Derbyshire Dales | £78,209 | £195,521 |
| Doncaster | £676,011 | £1,690,028 |
| Dorset | £553,455 | £1,383,637 |
| Dover | £219,417 | £548,543 |
| Dudley | £700,012 | £1,750,030 |
| Ealing | £2,053,076 | £5,132,689 |
| East Cambridgeshire | £99,821 | £249,553 |
| East Devon | £177,988 | £444,971 |
| East Hampshire | £125,493 | £313,732 |
| East Hertfordshire | £206,686 | £516,716 |
| East Lindsey | £257,202 | £643,005 |
| East Northamptonshire | £107,145 | £267,863 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | £421,146 | £1,052,866 |
| East Staffordshire | £174,629 | £436,571 |
| East Suffolk | £428,798 | £ 1,071,996 |
| Eastbourne | £315,028 | £787,571 |
| Eastleigh | £180,427 | £451,068 |
| Eden | £150,684 | £376,710 |
| Elmbridge | £215,643 | £539,108 |
| Enfield | £2,249,300 | £5,623,251 |
| Epping Forest | £239,633 | £599,084 |
| Epsom and Ewell | £136,763 | £341,907 |
| Erewash | £186,537 | £466,341 |
| Exeter | £174,340 | £435,849 |
| Fareham | £111,138 | £277,845 |
| Fenland | £176,766 | £441,915 |
| Flintshire / Sir y Fflint | £286,264 | £715,659 |
| Forest of Dean | £104,055 | £260,137 |
| Fylde | £75,094 | £187,735 |
| Gateshead | £525,393 | £1,313,484 |
| Gedling | £149,034 | £372,586 |
| Gloucester | £275,934 | £689,836 |
| Gosport | £156,595 | £391,489 |
| Gravesham | £221,412 | £553,529 |
| Great Yarmouth | £265,455 | £663,638 |
| Greenwich | £860,486 | £2,151,215 |
| Guildford | £201,084 | £502,709 |
| Gwynedd / Gwynedd | £694,585 | £1,736,462 |
| Hackney | £1,772,360 | £4,430,901 |
| Halton | £469,587 | £1,173,967 |
| Hambleton | £93,654 | £234,135 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £816,060 | £2,040,151 |
| Harborough | £56,732 | £141,831 |
| Haringey | £1,563,947 | £3,909,867 |
| Harlow | £240,387 | £600,967 |
| Harrogate | £182,385 | £455,962 |
| Harrow | £843,634 | £2,109,084 |
| Hart | £107,393 | £268,482 |
| Hartlepool | £360,723 | £901,806 |
| Hastings | £328,868 | £822,169 |
| Havant | £211,904 | £529,760 |
| Havering | £566,060 | £1,415,150 |
| Herefordshire, County of | £252,491 | £631,227 |
| Hertsmere | £262,410 | £656,025 |
| High Peak | £110,633 | £276,583 |
| Hillingdon | £837,223 | £2,093,059 |
| Hinckley and Bosworth | £110,444 | £276,109 |
| Horsham | £158,228 | £395,571 |
| Hounslow | £1,106,402 | £2,766,005 |
| Huntingdonshire | £224,854 | £562,134 |
| Hyndburn | £179,061 | £447,652 |
| Ipswich | £283,033 | £707,582 |
| Isle of Anglesey / Ynys Môn | £143,208 | £358,019 |
| Isle of Wight | £281,475 | £703,687 |
| Isles of Scilly | £217 | £542 |
| Islington | £925,825 | £2,314,561 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | £798,967 | £1,997,418 |
| Kettering | £150,485 | £376,212 |
| King’s Lynn and West Norfolk | £251,481 | £628,703 |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of | £801,265 | £2,003,162 |
| Kingston upon Thames | £417,668 | £1,044,170 |
| Kirklees | £656,185 | £1,640,462 |
| Knowsley | £588,883 | £1,472,208 |
| Lambeth | £1,337,808 | £3,344,520 |
| Lancaster | £276,255 | £690,638 |
| Leeds | £1,847,615 | £4,619,039 |
| Leicester | £869,657 | £2,174,143 |
| Lewes | £209,143 | £522,858 |
| Lewisham | £1,291,543 | £3,228,858 |
| Lichfield | £108,751 | £271,877 |
| Lincoln | £178,674 | £446,684 |
| Liverpool | £1,714,181 | £4,285,454 |
| Luton | £716,961 | £1,792,402 |
| Maidstone | £302,510 | £756,276 |
| Maldon | £73,534 | £183,836 |
| Malvern Hills | £104,864 | £262,160 |
| Manchester | £2,192,166 | £5,480,415 |
| Mansfield | £204,189 | £510,472 |
| Medway | £644,210 | £1,610,525 |
| Melton | £49,395 | £123,487 |
| Mendip | £187,867 | £469,669 |
| Merthyr Tydfil / Merthyr Tudful | £169,956 | £424,890 |
| Merton | £549,093 | £1,372,734 |
| Mid Devon | £104,927 | £262,318 |
| Mid Suffolk | £94,602 | £236,506 |
| Mid Sussex | £184,425 | £461,062 |
| Middlesbrough | £577,412 | £1,443,529 |
| Milton Keynes | £634,612 | £1,586,529 |
| Mole Valley | £91,363 | £228,407 |
| Monmouthshire / Sir Fynwy | £116,265 | £290,662 |
| Neath Port Talbot / Castell-nedd Port Talbot | £421,335 | £1,053,339 |
| New Forest | £263,617 | £659,041 |
| Newark and Sherwood | £158,123 | £395,308 |
| Newcastle-upon-Tyne | £932,043 | £2,330,106 |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | £176,954 | £442,992 |
| Newham | £1,816,118 | £4,540,294 |
| Newport / Casnewydd | £453,012 | £1,132,531 |
| North Devon | £157,730 | £394,325 |
| North East Derbyshire | £177,997 | £444,992 |
| North East Lincolnshire | £352,556 | £881,391 |
| North Hertfordshire | £209,419 | £523,546 |
| North Kesteven | £113,943 | £284,859 |
| North Lincolnshire | £312,342 | £780,854 |
| North Norfolk | £143,216 | £358,041 |
| North Somerset | £362,462 | £906,155 |
| North Tyneside | £449,390 | £1,123,475 |
| North Warwickshire | £76,325 | £190,811 |
| North West Leicestershire | £126,679 | £316,698 |
| Northampton | £437,027 | £1,092,568 |
| Northumberland | £542,894 | £1,357,235 |
| Norwich | £397,458 | £993,645 |
| Nottingham | £995,734 | £2,489,336 |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | £252,351 | £630,877 |
| Oadby and Wigston | £62,959 | £157,398 |
| Oldham | £638,046 | £1,959,115 |
| Oxford | £336,825 | £842,061 |
| Pembrokeshire / Sir Benfro | £236,825 | £592,063 |
| Pendle | £154,018 | £385,044 |
| Peterborough | £498,584 | £1,246,461 |
| Plymouth | £572,147 | £1,430,368 |
| Portsmouth | £617,464 | £1,543,660 |
| Powys / Powys | £551,676 | £1,379,189 |
| Preston | £327,109 | £817,771 |
| Reading | £550,022 | £1,375,055 |
| Redbridge | £910,299 | £2,275,747 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | £389,757 | £974,393 |
| Redditch | £121,588 | £303,971 |
| Reigate and Banstead | £258,903 | £647,256 |
| Rhondda, Cynon, Taff / Rhondda, Cynon, Taf | £552,087 | £1,380,217 |
| Ribble Valley | £37,716 | £94,289 |
| Richmond upon Thames | £378,165 | £945,413 |
| Richmondshire | £125,560 | £313,900 |
| Rochdale | £569,568 | £1,423,920 |
| Rochford | £117,088 | £292,720 |
| Rossendale | £90,598 | £226,496 |
| Rother | £170,744 | £426,860 |
| Rotherham | £643,316 | £1,608,290 |
| Rugby | £152,661 | £381,652 |
| Runnymede | £150,145 | £375,363 |
| Rushcliffe | £107,321 | £268,301 |
| Rushmoor | £214,996 | £537,491 |
| Rutland | £30,188 | £75,470 |
| Ryedale | £207,413 | £518,532 |
| Salford | £845,773 | £2,114,431 |
| Sandwell | £1,092,488 | £2,731,220 |
| Scarborough | £227,169 | £567,922 |
| Sedgemoor | £255,944 | £639,859 |
| Sefton | £659,531 | £1,648,828 |
| Selby | £101,625 | £254,064 |
| Sevenoaks | £164,643 | £411,606 |
| Sheffield | £1,141,374 | £2,853,436 |
| Shepway | £269,822 | £674,555 |
| Shropshire | £413,601 | £1,034,004 |
| Slough | £650,504 | £1,626,259 |
| Solihull | £329,996 | £824,990 |
| Somerset West and Taunton | £328,871 | £822,177 |
| South Bucks | £87,621 | £219,054 |
| South Cambridgeshire | £147,388 | £368,470 |
| South Derbyshire | £114,360 | £285,900 |
| South Gloucestershire | £370,613 | £926,533 |
| South Hams | £111,951 | £279,877 |
| South Holland | £111,842 | £279,606 |
| South Kesteven | £204,057 | £510,143 |
| South Lakeland | £93,649 | £234,121 |
| South Norfolk | £152,468 | £381,169 |
| South Northamptonshire | £69,152 | £172,879 |
| South Oxfordshire | £186,006 | £465,015 |
| South Ribble | £131,879 | £329,698 |
| South Somerset | £232,768 | £581,920 |
| South Staffordshire | £115,406 | £288,516 |
| South Tyneside | £480,841 | £1,202,102 |
| Southampton | £671,833 | £1,679,583 |
| Southend-on-Sea | £513,031 | £1,282,577 |
| Southwark | £1,193,755 | £2,984,388 |
| Spelthorne | £234,682 | £586,706 |
| St Albans | £200,361 | £500,903 |
| St. Helens | £516,305 | £1,290,764 |
| Stafford | £135,904 | £339,761 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | £86,700 | £216,749 |
| Stevenage | £202,045 | £505,112 |
| Stockport | £404,433 | £1,011,082 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | £411,897 | £1,029,743 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £619,728 | £1,549,320 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | £173,086 | £432,716 |
| Stroud | £123,013 | £307,532 |
| Sunderland | £830,913 | £2,077,283 |
| Surrey Heath | £85,140 | £212,851 |
| Sutton | £463,784 | £1,159,459 |
| Swale | £349,841 | £874,603 |
| Swansea / Abertawe | £585,574 | £1,463,934 |
| Swindon | £443,053 | £1,107,632 |
| Tameside | £582,726 | £1,456,814 |
| Tamworth | £135,865 | £339,662 |
| Tandridge | £146,009 | £365,024 |
| Teignbridge | £194,014 | £485,035 |
| Telford and Wrekin | £481,676 | £1,204,191 |
| Tendring | £402,811 | £1,007,028 |
| Test Valley | £160,348 | £400,869 |
| Tewkesbury | £108,061 | £270,151 |
| Thanet | £395,901 | £989,752 |
| The Vale of Glamorgan / Bro Morgannwg | £239,742 | £599,355 |
| Three Rivers | £155,588 | £388,969 |
| Thurrock | £507,310 | £1,268,276 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | £208,883 | £522,2016 |
| Torbay | £395,285 | £988,212 |
| Torfaen / Tor-faen | £300,652 | £751,631 |
| Torridge | £93,085 | £232,712 |
| Tower Hamlets | £1,741,963 | £4,354,907 |
| Trafford | £427,026 | £1,067,566 |
| Tunbridge Wells | £163,575 | £408,938 |
| Uttlesford | £85,524 | £213,809 |
| Vale of White Horse | £189,692 | £474,230 |
| Wakefield | £849,842 | £2,124,604 |
| Walsall | £840,917 | £2,102,293 |
| Waltham Forest | £1,030,474 | £2,567,186 |
| Wandsworth | £1,097,573 | £2,743,932 |
| Warrington | £309,240 | £773,100 |
| Warwick | £160,835 | £402,088 |
| Watford | £258,700 | £646,751 |
| Waverley | £139,181 | £347,952 |
| Wealden | £208,032 | £520,079 |
| Wellingborough | £142,622 | £356, 556 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | £255,913 | £639,783 |
| West Berkshire | £239,943 | £599,857 |
| West Devon | £147,159 | £367,896 |
| West Lancashire | £200,628 | £501,570 |
| West Lindsey | £164,724 | £411,810 |
| West Oxfordshire | £141,634 | £354,086 |
| West Suffolk | £232,870 | £582,174 |
| Westminster | £1,078,174 | £2,695,436 |
| Wigan | £625,433 | £1,563,583 |
| Wiltshire | £659,105 | £1,647,763 |
| Winchester | £133,086 | £332,716 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £202,913 | £507,283 |
| Wirral | £732,041 | £1,830,102 |
| Woking | £162,457 | £406,143 |
| Wokingham | £184,648 | £461,620 |
| Wolverhampton | £829,412 | £2,073,531 |
| Worcester | £165,605 | £414,011 |
| Worthing | £189,871 | £474,677 |
| Wrexham / Wrecsam | £329,065 | £822,663 |
| Wychavon | £152,527 | £381,317 |
| Wycombe | £309,322 | £773,305 |
| Wyre | £125,778 | £314,444 |
| Wyre Forest | £176,328 | £440,819 |
| York | £210,097 | £525,242 |