S4/2021: Discretionary Housing Payments government contribution for English and Welsh local authorities
Updated 17 June 2022
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All Housing Benefit (HB) staff.
Action
For information
Subject
2021 to 2022 Discretionary Housing Payments government contribution for English and Welsh local authorities (LAs).
Guidance Manual
The information in this circular does not affect the content of the HB Guidance Manual.
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Introduction
1. This circular provides details of the government contribution and overall expenditure limit for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) for 2021-22 for LAs in England and Wales.
Background
2. Since 2011-12, additional DHP government contribution funding has been made available to enable LAs to provide transitional support to claimants as they adjusted to the HB Welfare Reforms.
3. Whilst working on the allocations for 2021-22, we identified errors within the allocation for 2020-2021. We have informed the LAs who were directly impacted.
4. The total DHP funding for England and Wales in 2021-22 will be £140 million. We are allocating £100m at the start of the year using each LA’s individual funding amount for 2020-21 as a starting point. This amount will then be corrected to the amount they would have received for 2020-21 if the errors had not occurred. This amount will then be reduced in line with the overall funding from 2020-21 to 2021-22 (whilst preserving the rural pot).
5. At mid-year 2021-22 we will allocate a reserved £40 million of funding based on the latest caseload data.
Rural Funding
6. The funding for 2021-22 maintains the ring-fenced £1.5 million for the eight most rural LAs which are Ceredigion, Craven, Eden, Gwynedd, Powys, Richmondshire, Ryedale and West Devon (West Somerset is no longer included having merged with Taunton).
Overall Reduction in funding
7. Most LAs will receive the same proportion of funding they received in 2020-21 minus overall reduction in funding (and taking into account the fact that only £100 million of the funding will be allocated initially.
Errors in 2020-21 allocations
8. The 26 LAs who were directly impacted by the errors in the 2020-21 allocations will notice changes in that they are different to the average overall reduction in funding.
9. In order to smooth the impact on the LAs who received too much funding for 2020-21, the maximum reduction that any LA faces, will be capped at 44.7% for the initial £100 million of funding, which is the same level of reduction faced by most other LAs
Allocation of reserved £40 million based on caseload data
10. The £40 million reserved funding will be allocated at mid-year based on the latest caseload data.
2021-22 £100m of DHP government contribution LA allocations
| Local authority | Initial (£100 million) DHP allocation (£) 2021-22 | Top-up limit (x2.5) for initial (£100 million) allocation |
|---|---|---|
| Adur | £93,041 | £232,604 |
| Allerdale | £139,045 | £347,613 |
| Amber Valley | £123,091 | £307,727 |
| Arun | £233,710 | £584,276 |
| Ashfield | £175,159 | £437,898 |
| Ashford | £195,188 | £487,970 |
| Babergh | £83,439 | £208,598 |
| Barking and Dagenham | £677,147 | £1,692,868 |
| Barnet | £1,398,050 | £3,495,126 |
| Barnsley | £398,959 | £997,397 |
| Barrow-in-Furness | £82,403 | £206,007 |
| Basildon | £298,144 | £745,359 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | £220,252 | £550,630 |
| Bassetlaw | £133,081 | £332,703 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | £193,424 | £483,559 |
| Bedford | £225,896 | £564,741 |
| Bexley | £381,012 | £952,530 |
| Birmingham | £2,752,983 | £6,882,458 |
| Blaby | £71,728 | £179,319 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | £262,756 | £656,890 |
| Blackpool | £168,006 | £420,016 |
| Blaenau Gwent | £148,187 | £370,468 |
| Bolsover | £106,929 | £267,323 |
| Bolton | £507,461 | £1,268,652 |
| Boston | £84,763 | £211,907 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | £747,182 | £1,867,955 |
| Bracknell Forest | £135,991 | £339,978 |
| Bradford | £842,888 | £2,107,221 |
| Braintree | £170,315 | £425,787 |
| Breckland | £154,007 | £385,017 |
| Brent | £1,538,673 | £3,846,684 |
| Brentwood | £81,732 | £204,331 |
| Bridgend | £269,861 | £674,652 |
| Brighton and Hove | £647,076 | £1,617,689 |
| Bristol, City of | £747,840 | £1,869,600 |
| Broadland | £87,503 | £218,757 |
| Bromley | £494,221 | £1,235,553 |
| Bromsgrove | £70,496 | £176,239 |
| Broxbourne | £237,058 | £592,645 |
| Broxtowe | £88,387 | £220,966 |
| Buckinghamshire | £570,829 | £1,427,073 |
| Burnley | £177,703 | £444,258 |
| Bury | £243,809 | £609,523 |
| Caerphilly | £341,832 | £854,580 |
| Calderdale | £409,150 | £1,022,875 |
| Cambridge | £130,913 | £327,283 |
| Camden | £557,223 | £1,393,057 |
| Cannock Chase | £98,884 | £247,210 |
| Canterbury | £201,141 | £502,853 |
| Cardiff | £802,079 | £2,005,199 |
| Carlisle | £79,133 | £197,831 |
| Carmarthenshire | £275,050 | £687,624 |
| Castle Point | £156,498 | £391,244 |
| Central Bedfordshire | £255,501 | £638,752 |
| Ceredigion | £276,903 | £692,257 |
| Charnwood | £157,412 | £393,530 |
| Chelmsford | £197,098 | £492,744 |
| Cheltenham | £122,148 | £305,370 |
| Cherwell | £181,942 | £454,856 |
| Cheshire East | £339,987 | £849,967 |
| Cheshire West and Chester | £432,279 | £1,080,697 |
| Chesterfield | £142,360 | £355,901 |
| Chichester | £138,371 | £345,928 |
| Chorley | £107,051 | £267,627 |
| City of London | £11,560 | £28,901 |
| Colchester | £260,261 | £650,652 |
| Conwy | £180,217 | £450,541 |
| Copeland | £114,655 | £286,638 |
| Cornwall | £791,832 | £1,979,580 |
| Cotswold | £72,434 | £181,086 |
| County Durham | £837,194 | £2,092,986 |
| Coventry | £793,304 | £1,983,259 |
| Craven | £114,999 | £287,497 |
| Crawley | £203,105 | £507,763 |
| Croydon | £1,261,732 | £3,154,329 |
| Dacorum | £237,255 | £593,137 |
| Darlington | £159,109 | £397,773 |
| Dartford | £161,233 | £403,083 |
| Denbighshire | £176,464 | £441,160 |
| Derby | £377,149 | £942,873 |
| Derbyshire Dales | £57,717 | £144,293 |
| Doncaster | £500,136 | £1,250,341 |
| Dorset | £550,175 | £1,375,438 |
| Dover | £181,781 | £454,453 |
| Dudley | £477,620 | £1,194,049 |
| Ealing | £1,433,406 | £3,583,515 |
| East Cambridgeshire | £66,344 | £165,861 |
| East Devon | £154,640 | £386,600 |
| East Hampshire | £87,107 | £217,768 |
| East Hertfordshire | £154,164 | £385,410 |
| East Lindsey | £235,748 | £589,369 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | £373,273 | £933,182 |
| East Staffordshire | £131,512 | £328,780 |
| East Suffolk | £337,949 | £844,872 |
| Eastbourne | £252,887 | £632,217 |
| Eastleigh | £135,378 | £338,444 |
| Eden | £145,339 | £363,347 |
| Elmbridge | £172,406 | £431,016 |
| Enfield | £1,645,182 | £4,112,956 |
| Epping Forest | £79,564 | £198,909 |
| Epsom and Ewell | £106,131 | £265,327 |
| Erewash | £130,877 | £327,192 |
| Exeter | £135,856 | £339,640 |
| Fareham | £85,197 | £212,993 |
| Fenland | £138,985 | £347,462 |
| Flintshire | £205,444 | £513,609 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | £224,770 | £561,924 |
| Forest of Dean | £73,343 | £183,357 |
| Fylde | £85,400 | £213,499 |
| Gateshead | £358,771 | £896,927 |
| Gedling | £116,929 | £292,321 |
| Gloucester | £193,892 | £484,730 |
| Gosport | £69,324 | £173,311 |
| Gravesham | £166,788 | £416,969 |
| Great Yarmouth | £210,753 | £526,881 |
| Greenwich | £624,022 | £1,560,056 |
| Guildford | £141,247 | £353,117 |
| Gwynedd | £644,618 | £1,611,544 |
| Hackney | £1,167,701 | £2,919,253 |
| Halton | £292,081 | £730,203 |
| Hambleton | £74,508 | £186,269 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £555,327 | £1,388,317 |
| Harborough | £53,450 | £133,625 |
| Haringey | £1,146,410 | £2,866,026 |
| Harlow | £163,028 | £407,571 |
| Harrogate | £146,809 | £367,023 |
| Harrow | £661,985 | £1,654,963 |
| Hart | £84,833 | £212,082 |
| Hartlepool | £243,239 | £608,098 |
| Hastings | £264,677 | £661,691 |
| Havant | £161,957 | £404,892 |
| Havering | £459,703 | £1,149,257 |
| Herefordshire, County of | £197,433 | £493,582 |
| Hertsmere | £193,087 | £482,719 |
| High Peak | £85,018 | £212,546 |
| Hillingdon | £630,651 | £1,576,627 |
| Hinckley and Bosworth | £89,210 | £223,025 |
| Horsham | £119,480 | £298,700 |
| Hounslow | £816,986 | £2,042,465 |
| Huntingdonshire | £159,208 | £398,019 |
| Hyndburn | £140,428 | £351,071 |
| Ipswich | £207,411 | £518,529 |
| Isle of Anglesey | £148,577 | £371,443 |
| Isle of Wight | £235,976 | £589,939 |
| Isles of Scilly | £461 | £1,152 |
| Islington | £557,339 | £1,393,348 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | £538,800 | £1,347,000 |
| King’s Lynn and West Norfolk | £186,569 | £466,422 |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of | £549,377 | £1,373,443 |
| Kingston upon Thames | £308,487 | £771,219 |
| Kirklees | £505,306 | £1,263,265 |
| Knowsley | £399,879 | £999,698 |
| Lambeth | £880,244 | £2,200,610 |
| Lancaster | £205,589 | £513,973 |
| Leeds | £1,204,704 | £3,011,761 |
| Leicester | £630,858 | £1,577,146 |
| Lewes | £165,437 | £413,593 |
| Lewisham | £859,136 | £2,147,841 |
| Lichfield | £80,718 | £201,794 |
| Lincoln | £138,379 | £345,947 |
| Liverpool | £1,161,057 | £2,902,642 |
| Luton | £543,226 | £1,358,066 |
| Maidstone | £224,709 | £561,772 |
| Maldon | £56,108 | £140,269 |
| Malvern Hills | £74,532 | £186,331 |
| Manchester | £1,404,496 | £3,511,241 |
| Mansfield | £90,394 | £225,984 |
| Medway | £490,547 | £1,226,368 |
| Melton | £40,958 | £102,394 |
| Mendip | £154,754 | £386,884 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | £153,953 | £384,883 |
| Merton | £418,522 | £1,046,305 |
| Mid Devon | £78,873 | £197,183 |
| Mid Suffolk | £76,781 | £191,952 |
| Mid Sussex | £148,234 | £370,586 |
| Middlesbrough | £400,943 | £1,002,357 |
| Milton Keynes | £449,453 | £1,123,633 |
| Mole Valley | £69,930 | £174,825 |
| Monmouthshire | £132,088 | £330,220 |
| Neath Port Talbot | £297,794 | £744,485 |
| New Forest | £203,555 | £508,887 |
| Newark and Sherwood | £122,267 | £305,666 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £603,902 | £1,509,754 |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | £119,368 | £298,420 |
| Newham | £1,306,817 | £3,267,044 |
| Newport | £414,562 | £1,036,405 |
| North Devon | £136,150 | £340,375 |
| North East Derbyshire | £113,826 | £284,564 |
| North East Lincolnshire | £284,043 | £710,107 |
| North Hertfordshire | £136,690 | £341,724 |
| North Kesteven | £95,525 | £238,813 |
| North Lincolnshire | £138,273 | £345,682 |
| North Norfolk | £112,447 | £281,117 |
| North Northamptonshire | £420,379 | £1,050,945 |
| North Somerset | £287,314 | £718,286 |
| North Tyneside | £309,105 | £772,762 |
| North Warwickshire | £59,138 | £147,846 |
| North West Leicestershire | £92,459 | £231,147 |
| Northumberland | £404,202 | £1,010,505 |
| Norwich | £255,383 | £638,458 |
| Nottingham | £642,329 | £1,605,822 |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | £174,371 | £435,929 |
| Oadby and Wigston | £59,614 | £149,035 |
| Oldham | £438,888 | £1,097,220 |
| Oxford | £254,058 | £635,144 |
| Pembrokeshire | £238,680 | £596,700 |
| Pendle | £116,884 | £292,209 |
| Peterborough | £371,759 | £929,397 |
| Plymouth | £449,474 | £1,123,686 |
| Portsmouth | £438,842 | £1,097,106 |
| Powys | £524,255 | £1,310,638 |
| Preston | £219,122 | £547,805 |
| Reading | £369,691 | £924,227 |
| Redbridge | £884,151 | £2,210,378 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | £270,902 | £677,256 |
| Redditch | £89,510 | £223,774 |
| Reigate and Banstead | £188,175 | £470,436 |
| Rhondda, Cynon, Taff | £418,632 | £1,046,580 |
| Ribble Valley | £35,033 | £87,582 |
| Richmond upon Thames | £278,141 | £695,353 |
| Richmondshire | £117,583 | £293,957 |
| Rochdale | £388,837 | £972,093 |
| Rochford | £94,808 | £237,021 |
| Rossendale | £70,731 | £176,828 |
| Rother | £150,041 | £375,101 |
| Rotherham | £423,801 | £1,059,503 |
| Rugby | £113,259 | £283,147 |
| Runnymede | £106,120 | £265,301 |
| Rushcliffe | £82,772 | £206,931 |
| Rushmoor | £161,621 | £404,054 |
| Rutland | £23,671 | £59,179 |
| Ryedale | £187,795 | £469,487 |
| Salford | £548,903 | £1,372,258 |
| Sandwell | £707,801 | £1,769,503 |
| Scarborough | £180,005 | £450,012 |
| Sedgemoor | £191,431 | £478,579 |
| Sefton | £511,785 | £1,279,463 |
| Selby | £70,483 | £176,206 |
| Sevenoaks | £131,769 | £329,423 |
| Sheffield | £748,846 | £1,872,116 |
| Shropshire | £302,175 | £755,437 |
| Slough | £475,055 | £1,187,638 |
| Solihull | £243,234 | £608,084 |
| Somerset West and Taunton | £250,376 | £625,940 |
| South Cambridgeshire | £101,836 | £254,591 |
| South Derbyshire | £86,879 | £217,196 |
| South Gloucestershire | £255,975 | £639,937 |
| South Hams | £95,794 | £239,484 |
| South Holland | £88,400 | £220,999 |
| South Kesteven | £160,408 | £401,020 |
| South Lakeland | £73,839 | £184,596 |
| South Norfolk | £113,770 | £284,425 |
| South Oxfordshire | £130,550 | £326,375 |
| South Ribble | £99,771 | £249,428 |
| South Somerset | £174,760 | £436,901 |
| South Staffordshire | £84,070 | £210,176 |
| South Tyneside | £316,147 | £790,367 |
| Southampton | £455,162 | £1,137,904 |
| Southend-on-Sea | £413,020 | £1,032,551 |
| Southwark | £748,579 | £1,871,447 |
| Spelthorne | £190,233 | £475,582 |
| St Albans | £142,159 | £355,397 |
| St. Helens | £340,487 | £851,217 |
| Stafford | £95,435 | £238,589 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | £66,975 | £167,438 |
| Stevenage | £138,629 | £346,571 |
| Stockport | £284,681 | £711,702 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | £312,414 | £781,036 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £408,579 | £1,021,449 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | £119,235 | £298,087 |
| Stroud | £54,457 | £136,143 |
| Sunderland | £275,882 | £689,705 |
| Surrey Heath | £74,783 | £186,958 |
| Sutton | £352,591 | £881,479 |
| Swale | £265,769 | £664,422 |
| Swansea | £396,905 | £992,262 |
| Swindon | £304,038 | £760,095 |
| Tameside | £406,942 | £1,017,355 |
| Tamworth | £100,959 | £252,397 |
| Tandridge | £105,677 | £264,192 |
| Teignbridge | £174,090 | £435,225 |
| Telford and Wrekin | £342,009 | £855,021 |
| Tendring | £320,443 | £801,107 |
| Test Valley | £114,005 | £285,012 |
| Tewkesbury | £78,671 | £196,676 |
| Thanet | £357,910 | £894,776 |
| The Vale of Glamorgan | £197,461 | £493,652 |
| Three Rivers | £121,768 | £304,419 |
| Thurrock | £361,725 | £904,313 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | £148,277 | £370,694 |
| Torbay | £345,910 | £864,776 |
| Torfaen | £190,567 | £476,417 |
| Torridge | £83,360 | £208,400 |
| Tower Hamlets | £1,066,848 | £2,667,120 |
| Trafford | £300,632 | £751,580 |
| Tunbridge Wells | £121,683 | £304,209 |
| Uttlesford | £65,325 | £163,311 |
| Vale of White Horse | £124,441 | £311,102 |
| Wakefield | £542,093 | £1,355,233 |
| Walsall | £546,985 | £1,367,463 |
| Waltham Forest | £758,023 | £1,895,057 |
| Wandsworth | £725,373 | £1,813,432 |
| Warrington | £231,292 | £578,231 |
| Warwick | £109,416 | £273,541 |
| Watford | £198,289 | £495,723 |
| Waverley | £106,962 | £267,404 |
| Wealden | £168,444 | £421,111 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | £172,312 | £430,781 |
| West Berkshire | £167,287 | £418,218 |
| West Devon | £134,153 | £335,383 |
| West Lancashire | £148,548 | £371,369 |
| West Lindsey | £120,406 | £301,014 |
| West Northamptonshire | £438,123 | £1,095,308 |
| West Oxfordshire | £97,687 | £244,218 |
| West Suffolk | £166,313 | £415,782 |
| Westminster | £810,964 | £2,027,411 |
| Wigan | £434,165 | £1,085,414 |
| Wiltshire | £291,784 | £729,459 |
| Winchester | £95,730 | £239,325 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £163,418 | £408,546 |
| Wirral | £610,217 | £1,525,542 |
| Woking | £117,699 | £294,249 |
| Wokingham | £132,323 | £330,807 |
| Wolverhampton | £541,423 | £1,353,558 |
| Worcester | £119,054 | £297,634 |
| Worthing | £176,057 | £440,142 |
| Wrexham | £231,581 | £578,953 |
| Wychavon | £106,913 | £267,282 |
| Wyre | £136,141 | £340,352 |
| Wyre Forest | £122,340 | £305,849 |
| York | £164,829 | £412,072 |
| Total | £100,475,443 | £251,188,607 |