S8/2020 Housing Benefit Award Accuracy Initiative funding for English, Scottish and Welsh local authorities 2020 to 2021
Updated 26 November 2020
© Crown copyright 2020
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-subsidy-circulars-2020/s82020-housing-benefit-award-accuracy-initiative-funding-for-english-scottish-and-welsh-local-authorities-2020-to-2021
Who should read
All Housing Benefit staff
Action
For information
Guidance Manual
The information in this circular does not affect the content of the HB Guidance Manual.
Queries
For queries about the technical content of this circular, contact lawelfare.lafunding@dwp.gov.uk
For queries about the actual payments, contact lawelfare.lapaymentsandsubsidy@dwp.gov.uk
For queries about the distribution of this circular, contact lawelfare.correspondence@dwp.gov.uk
Introduction
1. This circular is to confirm the total funding of £4.05 million allocated to those local authorities (LAs) participating in the Housing Benefit (HB) Award Accuracy Initiative 2020 to 2021.
2. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) re-launched the Housing Benefit Award Accuracy Initiative on 4 August 2020 following its postponement in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 UK lockdown.
3. LAs were able to opt-out of this Initiative for the remainder of 2020 to 2021, ahead of a return to mandation from 2021 to 2022 onwards.
Funding details
4. Individual letters were sent to Revenues and Benefits managers on 12 October 2020, providing LA funding amounts and volume of activities needed, based on their chosen start date.
5. This funding is for LAs to undertake:
-
HB Full Case Reviews (FCRs)
-
Housing Benefit Matching Service (HBMS) referrals, including Self-Employed Case Reviews (SER)
-
the correct recording of case information on LA IT systems and clerical management information (MI) returns to DWP
6. Participating LAs are expected to review 100% of all HBMS cases they receive and 100% of their share of the 200,000 nationally identified FCRs. The funding is designed to support LAs undertaking activities to proactively identify unreported changes and make sure the right amount of benefit is paid to the right person, at the right time.
7. Further details regarding the HB Award Accuracy Initiative relaunch can also be found in circular HB A9/2020, published on 7 August 2020.
8. The funding allocations for individual LAs are shown in Annex A.
Payment details
9. The funding payments will be issued to participating LAs during week commencing 2 November 2020.
Annex A: 2020 to 2021 HB Award Accuracy individual LA payments
| Local authority | Funding |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen | Did not opt in |
| Aberdeenshire | Did not opt in |
| Adur | £5,124.70 |
| Allerdale | Did not opt in |
| Amber Valley | £6,505.02 |
| Angus | £5,672.35 |
| Argyll and Bute | £3,777.57 |
| Arun | £8,434.56 |
| Ashfield | £8,962.82 |
| Ashford | £9,819.24 |
| Babergh | £5,167.08 |
| Barking and Dagenham | £48,697.65 |
| Barnet | £71,295.48 |
| Barnsley | Did not opt in |
| Barrow in Furness | Did not opt in |
| Basildon | £13,464.60 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | £13,871.13 |
| Bassetlaw | Did not opt in |
| Bath and North East Somerset | Did not opt in |
| Bedford | £12,292.39 |
| Bexley | £32,605.25 |
| Birmingham | £182,938.44 |
| Blaby | £4,736.15 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | £13,259.48 |
| Blackpool | £20,015.20 |
| Blaenau Gwent | £4,560.15 |
| Bolsover | £3,535.54 |
| Bolton | £22,061.95 |
| Boston | Did not opt in |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | £36,102.71 |
| Bracknell Forest | Did not opt in |
| Bradford | Did not opt in |
| Braintree | Did not opt in |
| Breckland | £10,046.87 |
| Brent | £74,214.21 |
| Brentwood | £2,897.09 |
| Bridgend | £7,856.47 |
| Brighton and Hove | £21,415.31 |
| Bristol | £28,585.79 |
| Broadland | £7,510.93 |
| Bromley | Did not opt in |
| Bromsgrove | £5,812.67 |
| Broxbourne | Did not opt in |
| Broxtowe | £5,625.90 |
| Buckinghamshire | £42,788.99 |
| Burnley | £7,737.14 |
| Bury | £22,453.06 |
| Caerphilly | £15,340.45 |
| Calderdale | Did not opt in |
| Cambridge | £8,872.96 |
| Camden | Did not opt in |
| Cannock Chase | £6,647.38 |
| Canterbury | £11,413.71 |
| Cardiff | £33,669.77 |
| Carlisle | Did not opt in |
| Carmarthenshire | £12,238.96 |
| Castle Point | Did not opt in |
| Central Bedfordshire | Did not opt in |
| Ceredigion | £4,692.63 |
| Charnwood | £9,835.60 |
| Chelmsford | Did not opt in |
| Cheltenham | £7,599.19 |
| Cherwell | Did not opt in |
| Cheshire East | £18,030.14 |
| Cheshire West and Chester | Did not opt in |
| Chesterfield | £7,239.34 |
| Chichester | Did not opt in |
| Chorley | £6,982.33 |
| City of London | £5,419.25 |
| Clackmannanshire | Did not opt in |
| Colchester | £17,636.00 |
| Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar | £1,298.68 |
| Conwy | £8,658.64 |
| Copeland | Did not opt in |
| Corby | £3,155.11 |
| Cornwall | £37,180.86 |
| Cotswold | Did not opt in |
| Coventry | £38,863.76 |
| Craven | £1,867.40 |
| Crawley | £12,216.80 |
| Croydon | £47,342.26 |
| Dacorum | Did not opt in |
| Darlington | £8,282.27 |
| Dartford | £8,271.10 |
| Daventry | Did not opt in |
| Denbighshire | £8,194.62 |
| Derby | Did not opt in |
| Derbyshire Dales | £3,496.11 |
| Doncaster | £15,831.88 |
| Dorset | Did not opt in |
| Dover | £8,363.12 |
| Dudley | Did not opt in |
| Dumfries and Galloway | £10,419.53 |
| Dundee | £8,985.68 |
| Durham | £31,686.47 |
| Ealing | £73,577.86 |
| East Ayrshire | Did not opt in |
| East Cambridgeshire | £5,106.89 |
| East Devon | £10,234.35 |
| East Dunbartonshire | £4,482.64 |
| East Hampshire | £6,341.55 |
| East Hertfordshire | £9,785.86 |
| East Lindsey | Did not opt in |
| East Lothian | £3,786.40 |
| East Northamptonshire | Did not opt in |
| East Renfrewshire | Did not opt in |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | £23,304.72 |
| East Staffordshire | £5,896.00 |
| East Suffolk | £14,278.50 |
| Eastbourne | £11,974.14 |
| Eastleigh | £6,082.54 |
| Eden | Did not opt in |
| Edinburgh | £29,806.31 |
| Elmbridge | £8,646.80 |
| Enfield | £84,615.83 |
| Epping Forest | £8,705.01 |
| Epsom and Ewell | Did not opt in |
| Erewash | £6,298.57 |
| Exeter | £11,274.39 |
| Falkirk | £5,837.78 |
| Fareham | £3,844.07 |
| Fenland | £7,452.13 |
| Fife | Did not opt in |
| Flintshire | £7,780.98 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | £7,895.33 |
| Forest of Dean | Did not opt in |
| Fylde | £5,179.55 |
| Gateshead | Did not opt in |
| Gedling | £9,613.54 |
| Glasgow | £82,637.35 |
| Gloucester | £12,713.92 |
| Gosport | Did not opt in |
| Gravesham | £8,775.10 |
| Great Yarmouth | £6,894.91 |
| Greenwich | £36,863.36 |
| Guildford | £5,081.51 |
| Gwynedd | £7,291.62 |
| Hackney | Did not opt in |
| Halton | £7,503.72 |
| Hambleton | £3,526.30 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £29,134.85 |
| Harborough | £1,551.22 |
| Haringey | Did not opt in |
| Harlow | Did not opt in |
| Harrogate | £5,264.17 |
| Harrow | Did not opt in |
| Hart | £4,036.61 |
| Hartlepool | £9,494.00 |
| Hastings | Did not opt in |
| Havant | £7,331.20 |
| Havering | £29,306.32 |
| Herefordshire | £12,827.96 |
| Hertsmere | £10,569.71 |
| High Peak | £5,784.76 |
| Highland | £14,011.87 |
| Hillingdon | £39,796.35 |
| Hinckley and Bosworth | £2,702.27 |
| Horsham | £6,885.67 |
| Hounslow | £30,118.63 |
| Huntingdonshire | Did not opt in |
| Hyndburn | £6,163.92 |
| Inverclyde | £5,160.42 |
| Ipswich | £13,247.67 |
| Isle of Anglesey | Did not opt in |
| Isle of Wight | £9,260.62 |
| Isles of Scilly | £0.00 |
| Islington | £40,634.14 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | £35,186.11 |
| Kettering | Did not opt in |
| Kings Lynn and West Norfolk | Did not opt in |
| Kingston upon Hull | £29,760.07 |
| Kingston upon Thames | £17,892.86 |
| Kirklees | Did not opt in |
| Knowsley | £20,629.42 |
| Lambeth | £43,724.16 |
| Lancaster | £4,246.92 |
| Leeds | Did not opt in |
| Leicester | £47,757.37 |
| Lewes | £9,379.26 |
| Lewisham | £61,253.65 |
| Lichfield | £4,331.14 |
| Lincoln | £8,570.21 |
| Liverpool | £38,850.60 |
| Luton | £37,415.54 |
| Maidstone | Did not opt in |
| Maldon | Did not opt in |
| Malvern Hills | £4,512.99 |
| Manchester | Did not opt in |
| Mansfield | £6,213.81 |
| Medway | £20,048.73 |
| Melton | Did not opt in |
| Mendip | £4,006.49 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | £3,809.81 |
| Merton | £28,749.65 |
| Mid Devon | £4,247.47 |
| Mid Suffolk | £4,260.93 |
| Mid Sussex | £8,825.15 |
| Middlesbrough | £13,673.18 |
| Midlothian | £7,205.16 |
| Milton Keynes | £28,574.09 |
| Mole Valley | Did not opt in |
| Monmouthshire | Did not opt in |
| Moray | Did not opt in |
| Neath Port Talbot | Did not opt in |
| New Forest | £10,066.61 |
| Newark and Sherwood | Did not opt in |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | £8,538.73 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £22,531.91 |
| Newham | Did not opt in |
| Newport | Did not opt in |
| North Ayrshire | £8,602.67 |
| North Devon | £7,483.00 |
| North East Derbyshire | £3,942.32 |
| North East Lincolnshire | £12,165.85 |
| North Hertfordshire | £10,224.73 |
| North Kesteven | £4,866.39 |
| North Lanarkshire | £18,060.10 |
| North Lincolnshire | £8,584.76 |
| North Norfolk | Did not opt in |
| North Somerset | £13,127.40 |
| North Tyneside | £10,926.40 |
| North Warwickshire | £4,513.28 |
| North West Leicestershire | £2,562.19 |
| Northampton | £16,267.68 |
| Northumberland | Did not opt in |
| Norwich | £14,800.25 |
| Nottingham | £35,307.52 |
| Nuneaton And Bedworth | £8,597.05 |
| Oadby and Wigston | £3,057.98 |
| Oldham | £14,895.16 |
| Orkney | £942.51 |
| Oxford | Did not opt in |
| Pembrokeshire | Did not opt in |
| Pendle | £7,138.83 |
| Perth and Kinross | £3,930.42 |
| Peterborough | £20,900.92 |
| Plymouth | Did not opt in |
| Portsmouth | £26,822.47 |
| Powys | £5,186.81 |
| Preston | £9,040.39 |
| Reading | £12,355.38 |
| Redbridge | Did not opt in |
| Redcar and Cleveland | £14,971.56 |
| Redditch | £5,965.50 |
| Reigate and Banstead | £10,065.83 |
| Renfrewshire | £10,957.31 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taff | £15,411.36 |
| Ribble Valley | £2,050.51 |
| Richmondshire | £1,529.34 |
| Richmond upon Thames | £14,134.42 |
| Rochdale | £22,203.38 |
| Rochford | Did not opt in |
| Rossendale | £4,455.24 |
| Rother | £5,267.27 |
| Rotherham | £19,216.40 |
| Rugby | Did not opt in |
| Runnymede | £6,164.86 |
| Rushcliffe | £5,646.48 |
| Rushmoor | Did not opt in |
| Rutland | £1,603.03 |
| Ryedale | £2,862.72 |
| Salford | £32,183.87 |
| Sandwell | £25,589.60 |
| Scarborough | £9,139.23 |
| Scottish Borders | £6,439.79 |
| Sedgemoor | £3,731.66 |
| Sefton | £19,675.91 |
| Selby | £4,843.64 |
| Sevenoaks | £8,040.44 |
| Sheffield | £51,067.00 |
| Shetland | Did not opt in |
| Shropshire | £15,448.64 |
| Slough | £18,316.65 |
| Solihull | Did not opt in |
| Somerset West and Taunton | £10,031.65 |
| South Ayrshire | Did not opt in |
| South Cambridgeshire | £6,860.30 |
| South Derbyshire | Did not opt in |
| South Gloucestershire | £13,430.65 |
| South Hams | £6,796.55 |
| South Holland | Did not opt in |
| South Kesteven | £7,042.25 |
| South Lakeland | £5,164.20 |
| South Lanarkshire | £15,996.94 |
| South Norfolk | £8,936.19 |
| South Northamptonshire | Did not opt in |
| South Oxfordshire | £7,116.14 |
| South Ribble | £5,922.31 |
| South Somerset | £8,473.24 |
| South Staffordshire | £4,939.87 |
| South Tyneside | £16,855.57 |
| Southampton | Did not opt in |
| Southend on Sea | Did not opt in |
| Southwark | Did not opt in |
| Spelthorne | Did not opt in |
| St Albans | Did not opt in |
| St Helens | £12,588.63 |
| Stafford | £6,810.46 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | £4,928.84 |
| Stevenage | £9,331.93 |
| Stirling | £4,571.67 |
| Stockport | £18,379.13 |
| Stockton on Tees | £13,518.13 |
| Stoke on Trent | £17,948.62 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | £6,244.44 |
| Stroud | £5,906.20 |
| Sunderland | £50,247.23 |
| Surrey Heath | £4,696.01 |
| Sutton | £22,788.93 |
| Swale | £12,302.00 |
| Swansea | £13,178.02 |
| Swindon | £11,936.58 |
| Tameside | £18,805.12 |
| Tamworth | £3,841.84 |
| Tandridge | Did not opt in |
| Teignbridge | £8,721.68 |
| Telford and Wrekin | £21,836.57 |
| Tendring | £9,425.24 |
| Test Valley | £7,946.95 |
| Tewkesbury | £4,354.36 |
| Thanet | £13,771.23 |
| Three Rivers | Did not opt in |
| Thurrock | £8,064.72 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | £6,937.47 |
| Torbay | Did not opt in |
| Torfaen | Did not opt in |
| Torridge | Did not opt in |
| Tower Hamlets | Did not opt in |
| Trafford | £14,756.03 |
| Tunbridge Wells | £11,064.32 |
| Uttlesford | Did not opt in |
| Vale of Glamorgan | Did not opt in |
| Vale of White Horse | £7,489.97 |
| Wakefield | £29,163.11 |
| Walsall | £34,120.36 |
| Waltham Forest | £51,080.79 |
| Wandsworth | £53,486.63 |
| Warrington | Did not opt in |
| Warwick | £6,313.03 |
| Watford | Did not opt in |
| Waverley | £7,297.48 |
| Wealden | £7,341.08 |
| Wellingborough | Did not opt in |
| Welwyn Hatfield | Did not opt in |
| West Berkshire | £8,892.47 |
| West Devon | £4,389.51 |
| West Dunbartonshire | £10,472.04 |
| West Lancashire | Did not opt in |
| West Lindsey | Did not opt in |
| West Lothian | £11,366.36 |
| West Oxfordshire | Did not opt in |
| West Suffolk | £12,081.75 |
| Westminster | £29,447.85 |
| Wigan | £18,325.59 |
| Wiltshire | £26,252.25 |
| Winchester | £6,089.56 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £9,722.48 |
| Wirral | £26,929.02 |
| Woking | Did not opt in |
| Wokingham | £3,535.37 |
| Wolverhampton | Did not opt in |
| Worcester | £9,553.08 |
| Worthing | £7,779.55 |
| Wrexham | £7,212.17 |
| Wychavon | £8,476.73 |
| Wyre | £8,896.92 |
| Wyre Forest | £10,196.17 |
| York | Did not opt in |
| Total | £4,049,873.43 |