S2/2019: 2019-20 Housing Benefit administration subsidy arrangements for English, Scottish and Welsh local authorities
Updated 27 November 2019
Applies to England and Wales
© Crown copyright 2019
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-subsidy-circulars-2019/s22019-2019-20-housing-benefit-administration-subsidy-arrangements-for-english-scottish-and-welsh-local-authorities
Who should read
All Housing Benefit managers and staff in England, Scotland and Wales. Officers preparing subsidy claims and estimates.
Action
For information
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 technical content queries of this circular, contact:
Email: lafunding.enquiries@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
For queries about 2019-20 HB administration subsidy payment arrangements, contact:
Email: hb.nonsubsidy@dwp.gsi.gov.uk or
Tel: Martin Spencer on 01253 331671
For distribution of this circular, contact:
housing.correspondenceandpqs@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Introduction
1. This circular contains final details of the distribution of the 2019-20 Housing Benefit (HB) administration subsidy.
2. Provision for the 2019-20 HB administration subsidy arrangements will be made by an Amendment Order to the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998, which will be subject to consultation with the Local Authority Associations (LAAs) prior to being laid in Parliament.
3. LAAs and local authority (LA) representatives have been consulted regarding the distribution methodology.
Background
4. Following the abolition of Council Tax Benefit (CTB) and the introduction of Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) in April 2013, the funding baseline for HB/CTB has remained disaggregated. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for allocating the HB element to LAs and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Devolved Administrations are responsible for distributing the LCTS element to their respective LAs.
5. The 2019-20 HB administration subsidy allocation by country is:
- English LAs - £167.690 million
- Scottish LAs - £18.822 million
- Welsh LAs - £9.597 million
6. This funding is calculated by applying a flat rate efficiency saving reduction (applied after Universal Credit reductions are deducted) to the 2019-20 HB administration subsidy, which is consistent with DWP’s baseline funding.
Universal Credit rollout
7. The 2019-20 HB administration subsidy funding takes into account the estimated volume of HB claimants moving to Universal Credit. Universal Credit reductions of £9.785 million have been applied to the total amount of the 2019-20 HB administration subsidy for Great Britain. This is in addition to the £17.194 million deducted from the baseline in 2018-19 which was a cumulative Universal Credit reduction value up to, and including, 2018-19.
8. Universal Credit reductions are profiled across a number of financial years. The 2019-20 Universal Credit reductions continue to reflect current polices announced up to the Autumn Budget 2018.
Distribution methodology
9. This funding is a contribution to the cost of administering HB. DWP, in consultation with the LA Funding Group which consists of LA Chief Finance Officers and LAA representatives, decided to change the methodology for allocating HB administration subsidy from 2019-20.
10. The new methodology uses the latest available HB caseload and Universal Credit housing element caseload volumes. This combined total is used to determine the proportion of core HB administration subsidy allocated to each LA, irrespective of where the LA is on the Universal Credit rollout schedule.
11. The Universal Credit reductions have been calculated based on the amount of HB working-age caseload moving to Universal Credit. Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) data and Universal Credit data have been used to determine the expected change in workloads due to Universal Credit in 2019-20.
12. A flat rate percentage reduction has then been applied across all LA allocations, in line with the departmental efficiency reduction.
13. The new methodology will be phased in over three years with a transitional arrangement applied through this period. This is to prevent LAs experiencing a large change in their allocation relative to the 2018-19 methodology.
14. Allocations are rounded to the nearest pound.
2019-20 national funding
15. The table below details the total national funding level available for 2019-20 compared to 2018-19.
| HB administration subsidy | 2018-19 (£million, rounded) | 2019-20 (£million, rounded) |
|---|---|---|
| HB administration subsidy allocation (previous year) | 235.938 | 216.807 |
| Less adjustment for Universal Credit | -5.894 | -9.785 |
| Less departmental efficiency reduction | -13.237 | -10.913 |
| HB administration subsidy funding level | 216.807 | 196.109 |
Payment of administration subsidy
16. Payments of HB administration subsidy will be made in 12 monthly instalments beginning in April 2019. The overall subsidy available to support HB administration costs is cash-limited and so there is no provision for any adjustments to be made to individual LA allocations.
2019-20 Local authority allocations – England
| Local authority | Final 2019-20 DWP HB administration subsidy allocation (£) |
|---|---|
| Adur | 150,367 |
| Allerdale | 246,316 |
| Amber Valley | 290,209 |
| Arun | 396,049 |
| Ashfield | 374,829 |
| Ashford | 302,120 |
| Aylesbury Vale | 370,994 |
| Babergh | 172,792 |
| Barking and Dagenham | 917,155 |
| Barnet | 1,337,004 |
| Barnsley | 758,072 |
| Barrow-In-Furness | 199,946 |
| Basildon | 535,491 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | 369,600 |
| Bassetlaw | 285,538 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 383,364 |
| Bedford | 422,263 |
| Bexley | 629,218 |
| Birmingham | 4,642,157 |
| Blaby | 145,612 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 458,690 |
| Blackpool | 763,094 |
| Bolsover | 226,962 |
| Bolton | 986,694 |
| Boston | 199,986 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 1,102,050 |
| Bracknell Forest | 256,491 |
| Bradford | 1,676,907 |
| Braintree | 336,195 |
| Breckland | 312,349 |
| Brent | 1,646,812 |
| Brentwood | 123,017 |
| Brighton and Hove | 1,017,419 |
| Bristol | 1,557,960 |
| Broadland | 199,992 |
| Bromley | 781,742 |
| Bromsgrove | 148,430 |
| Broxbourne | 254,475 |
| Broxtowe | 236,440 |
| Burnley | 321,797 |
| Bury | 520,026 |
| Calderdale | 592,638 |
| Cambridge | 310,922 |
| Camden | 1,352,260 |
| Cannock Chase | 265,113 |
| Canterbury | 366,107 |
| Carlisle | 280,103 |
| Castle Point | 184,165 |
| Central Bedfordshire | 524,652 |
| Charnwood | 305,516 |
| Chelmsford | 351,735 |
| Cheltenham | 255,124 |
| Cherwell | 289,981 |
| Cheshire East | 736,687 |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 792,665 |
| Chesterfield | 362,417 |
| Chichester | 268,517 |
| Chiltern | 152,085 |
| Chorley | 233,629 |
| City of London | 55,236 |
| Colchester | 442,472 |
| Copeland | 189,395 |
| Corby | 214,239 |
| Cornwall | 1,712,514 |
| Cotswold | 163,937 |
| Coventry | 1,090,123 |
| Craven | 89,741 |
| Crawley | 386,890 |
| Croydon | 1,373,653 |
| Dacorum | 404,945 |
| Darlington | 370,311 |
| Dartford | 236,897 |
| Daventry | 131,685 |
| Derby | 791,272 |
| Derbyshire Dales | 128,248 |
| Doncaster | 947,638 |
| Dorset | 838,048 |
| Dover | 323,579 |
| Dudley | 890,787 |
| Durham | 1,927,717 |
| Ealing | 1,420,198 |
| East Cambridgeshire | 171,429 |
| East Devon | 283,006 |
| East Hampshire | 198,330 |
| East Hertfordshire | 274,163 |
| East Lindsey | 444,683 |
| East Northamptonshire | 169,121 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 734,897 |
| East Staffordshire | 264,845 |
| East Suffolk | 597,953 |
| Eastbourne | 359,653 |
| Eastleigh | 223,536 |
| Eden | 86,989 |
| Elmbridge | 256,694 |
| Enfield | 1,575,250 |
| Epping Forest | 290,901 |
| Epsom and Ewell | 133,441 |
| Erewash | 270,610 |
| Exeter | 345,472 |
| Fareham | 172,667 |
| Fenland | 277,475 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | 347,438 |
| Forest of Dean | 190,688 |
| Fylde | 184,049 |
| Gateshead | 786,987 |
| Gedling | 264,480 |
| Gloucester | 364,220 |
| Gosport | 264,558 |
| Gravesham | 284,618 |
| Great Yarmouth | 355,653 |
| Greenwich | 1,394,075 |
| Guildford | 265,671 |
| Hackney | 2,055,067 |
| Halton | 445,520 |
| Hambleton | 156,539 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 955,842 |
| Harborough | 108,918 |
| Haringey | 1,490,578 |
| Harlow | 322,121 |
| Harrogate | 256,090 |
| Harrow | 748,834 |
| Hart | 110,946 |
| Hartlepool | 407,491 |
| Hastings | 389,046 |
| Havant | 288,482 |
| Havering | 619,786 |
| Herefordshire | 435,805 |
| Hertsmere | 270,166 |
| High Peak | 214,674 |
| Hillingdon | 920,187 |
| Hinckley and Bosworth | 174,634 |
| Horsham | 222,722 |
| Hounslow | 879,688 |
| Huntingdonshire | 344,892 |
| Hyndburn | 274,531 |
| Ipswich | 470,493 |
| Isle of Wight | 443,081 |
| Isles of Scilly | 1,832 |
| Islington | 1,492,199 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 852,115 |
| Kettering | 234,857 |
| Kings Lynn and West Norfolk | 377,811 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 1,310,532 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 403,440 |
| Kirklees | 1,175,933 |
| Knowsley | 686,930 |
| Lambeth | 1,925,074 |
| Lancaster | 335,068 |
| Leeds | 2,681,762 |
| Leicester | 1,263,825 |
| Lewes | 250,053 |
| Lewisham | 1,736,411 |
| Lichfield | 172,071 |
| Lincoln | 344,639 |
| Liverpool | 2,428,167 |
| Luton | 670,849 |
| Maidstone | 366,614 |
| Maldon | 122,054 |
| Malvern Hills | 163,017 |
| Manchester | 2,513,685 |
| Mansfield | 348,245 |
| Medway | 773,446 |
| Melton | 83,238 |
| Mendip | 243,150 |
| Merton | 559,165 |
| Mid Devon | 173,004 |
| Mid Suffolk | 157,242 |
| Mid Sussex | 223,602 |
| Middlesbrough | 723,249 |
| Milton Keynes | 840,829 |
| Mole Valley | 162,000 |
| New Forest | 334,480 |
| Newark And Sherwood | 265,296 |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | 311,345 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 1,154,038 |
| Newham | 1,529,773 |
| North Devon | 255,773 |
| North East Derbyshire | 251,887 |
| North East Lincolnshire | 551,375 |
| North Hertfordshire | 311,264 |
| North Kesteven | 202,084 |
| North Lincolnshire | 435,234 |
| North Norfolk | 260,329 |
| North Somerset | 527,317 |
| North Tyneside | 716,996 |
| North Warwickshire | 137,797 |
| North West Leicestershire | 182,213 |
| Northampton | 637,504 |
| Northumberland | 949,638 |
| Norwich | 626,741 |
| Nottingham | 1,404,973 |
| Nuneaton And Bedworth | 335,601 |
| Oadby and Wigston | 87,624 |
| Oldham | 759,383 |
| Oxford | 420,426 |
| Pendle | 283,264 |
| Peterborough | 623,299 |
| Plymouth | 934,925 |
| Portsmouth | 892,436 |
| Preston | 437,640 |
| Reading | 529,166 |
| Redbridge | 797,763 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | 541,882 |
| Redditch | 220,890 |
| Reigate And Banstead | 280,797 |
| Ribble Valley | 78,170 |
| Richmondshire | 78,160 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 415,494 |
| Rochdale | 803,016 |
| Rochford | 137,452 |
| Rossendale | 188,614 |
| Rother | 213,537 |
| Rotherham | 896,184 |
| Rugby | 201,588 |
| Runnymede | 173,250 |
| Rushcliffe | 163,743 |
| Rushmoor | 275,752 |
| Rutland | 53,397 |
| Ryedale | 101,589 |
| Salford | 1,088,866 |
| Sandwell | 1,296,706 |
| Scarborough | 370,953 |
| Sedgemoor | 272,426 |
| Sefton | 879,672 |
| Selby | 154,861 |
| Sevenoaks | 228,978 |
| Sheffield | 1,989,349 |
| Shropshire | 646,303 |
| Slough | 488,681 |
| Solihull | 480,099 |
| Somerset West and Taunton | 371,173 |
| South Buckinghamshire | 113,917 |
| South Cambridgeshire | 236,155 |
| South Derbyshire | 174,914 |
| South Gloucestershire | 552,532 |
| South Hams | 190,278 |
| South Holland | 191,100 |
| South Kesteven | 284,513 |
| South Lakeland | 169,831 |
| South Norfolk | 239,909 |
| South Northamptonshire | 118,463 |
| South Oxfordshire | 216,555 |
| South Ribble | 207,017 |
| South Somerset | 361,957 |
| South Staffordshire | 205,934 |
| South Tyneside | 732,093 |
| Southampton | 859,153 |
| Southend on Sea | 607,291 |
| Southwark | 1,684,144 |
| Spelthorne | 217,487 |
| St Albans | 243,713 |
| St Helens | 619,934 |
| Stafford | 251,158 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | 163,450 |
| Stevenage | 293,959 |
| Stockport | 711,707 |
| Stockton on Tees | 648,353 |
| Stoke on Trent | 950,909 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 231,831 |
| Stroud | 218,784 |
| Sunderland | 1,227,991 |
| Surrey Heath | 138,525 |
| Sutton | 513,943 |
| Swale | 399,813 |
| Swindon | 500,967 |
| Tameside | 805,342 |
| Tamworth | 189,284 |
| Tandridge | 158,538 |
| Teignbridge | 313,687 |
| Telford and Wrekin | 611,576 |
| Tendring | 491,693 |
| Test Valley | 229,928 |
| Tewkesbury | 161,818 |
| Thanet | 545,539 |
| Three Rivers | 181,806 |
| Thurrock | 457,765 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | 268,028 |
| Torbay | 549,714 |
| Torridge | 166,530 |
| Tower Hamlets | 1,871,818 |
| Trafford | 525,459 |
| Tunbridge Wells | 255,210 |
| Uttlesford | 124,942 |
| Vale of White Horse | 210,950 |
| Wakefield | 1,183,847 |
| Walsall | 1,043,587 |
| Waltham Forest | 1,064,535 |
| Wandsworth | 1,310,080 |
| Warrington | 457,379 |
| Warwick | 266,446 |
| Watford | 267,817 |
| Waverley | 229,532 |
| Wealden | 256,426 |
| Wellingborough | 219,663 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 310,995 |
| West Berkshire | 302,336 |
| West Devon | 125,192 |
| West Lancashire | 254,998 |
| West Lindsey | 237,090 |
| West Oxfordshire | 185,311 |
| West Suffolk | 377,206 |
| Westminster | 1,241,098 |
| Wigan | 949,692 |
| Wiltshire | 947,671 |
| Winchester | 222,378 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 268,361 |
| Wirral | 1,148,083 |
| Woking | 203,412 |
| Wokingham | 178,394 |
| Wolverhampton | 1,025,129 |
| Worcester | 277,778 |
| Worthing | 269,642 |
| Wychavon | 257,825 |
| Wycombe | 351,106 |
| Wyre | 302,221 |
| Wyre Forest | 298,029 |
| York | 373,437 |
| Total | 167,690,027 |
2019-20 Local authority allocations – Scotland
| Local authority | Final 2019-20 DWP HB administration subsidy allocation (£) |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 626,005 |
| Aberdeenshire | 518,599 |
| Angus | 326,762 |
| Argyll and Bute | 280,487 |
| Clackmannanshire | 184,878 |
| Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | 83,837 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 535,973 |
| Dundee | 730,723 |
| East Ayrshire | 472,522 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 199,204 |
| East Lothian | 265,529 |
| East Renfrewshire | 158,914 |
| Edinburgh | 1,564,984 |
| Falkirk | 512,104 |
| Fife | 1,174,274 |
| Glasgow | 3,560,703 |
| Highland | 611,756 |
| Inverclyde | 355,483 |
| Midlothian | 250,787 |
| Moray | 231,192 |
| North Ayrshire | 604,615 |
| North Lanarkshire | 1,318,302 |
| Orkney | 52,638 |
| Perth and Kinross | 387,245 |
| Renfrewshire | 700,217 |
| Scottish Borders | 367,567 |
| Shetland | 43,904 |
| South Ayrshire | 385,273 |
| South Lanarkshire | 1,010,688 |
| Stirling | 210,959 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 492,669 |
| West Lothian | 603,603 |
| Total | 18,822,396 |
2019-20 Local authority allocations – Wales
| Local authority | Final 2019-20 DWP HB administration subsidy allocation (£) |
|---|---|
| Blaenau Gwent | 300,047 |
| Bridgend | 448,310 |
| Caerphilly | 602,219 |
| Cardiff | 1,183,113 |
| Carmarthenshire | 530,564 |
| Ceredigion | 187,574 |
| Conwy | 346,778 |
| Denbighshire | 317,569 |
| Flintshire | 355,701 |
| Gwynedd | 336,138 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 204,082 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 220,509 |
| Monmouthshire | 197,910 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 518,181 |
| Newport | 511,910 |
| Pembrokeshire | 359,023 |
| Powys | 312,397 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 787,529 |
| Swansea | 791,906 |
| Torfaen | 325,712 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 344,784 |
| Wrexham | 414,788 |
| Total | 9,596,744 |