S7/2021: Housing Benefit administration subsidy arrangements for English, Scottish and Welsh local authorities 2021 to 2022
Updated 17 June 2022
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Who should read
All Housing Benefit (HB) managers and staff in England, Scotland and Wales. Officers preparing subsidy claims and estimates.
Action
For information
Subject
Housing Benefit administration subsidy arrangements for English, Scottish and Welsh local authorities 2021 to 2022.
Guidance Manual
The information in this circular does not affect the content of the HB Guidance Manual.
Queries
If you:
- want extra copies of this circular/copies of previous circulars, they can be found on the website
- have any queries about the:
- technical content of this circular, contact lafunding.enquiries@dwp.gov.uk
- 2020 to 2021 HB administration subsidy payment arrangements, contact hb.nonsubsidy@dwp.gov.uk
- distribution of this circular, contact lawelfare.correspondence@dwp.gov.uk
Introduction
1. This circular contains final details of the distribution of the 2021-22 Housing Benefit administration subsidy (HBAS).
2. Provision for the 2021 to 2022 HBAS 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 and 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 2021 to 2022 HBAS allocation by country is:
- English LAs - £164.142 million
- Scottish LAs - £ 18.389 million
- Welsh LAs - £ 9.770 million
6. This funding is calculated by deducting the Universal Credit (UC) reduction to the 2021 to 2022 HBAS, which is consistent with DWP’s baseline funding.
7. For 2021 to 2022 no departmental efficiency reduction has been applied.
UC rollout
8. The 2021 to 2022 HBAS funding takes into account the estimated volume of HB claimants moving to UC. UC reductions of £3.084 million have been applied to the total amount of the 2021 to 2022 HBAS for Great Britain. This is in addition to the £27.703 million deducted from the baseline in 2020 to 2021 which was a cumulative UC reduction value up to, and including, 2020 to 2021.
9. UC reductions are profiled across a number of financial years. The 2021 to 2022 UC reductions continue to reflect current policies.
Distribution methodology
10. 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 LAAs representatives), decided to change the methodology for allocating HBAS from 2019 to 2020.
11. The 3-year methodology, which commenced in 2019 to 2020, uses HB caseload data and UC housing element caseload volumes. This combined total is used to determine the proportion of core HBAS allocated to each LA. 2021to 2022, uses up to May 2020 HB caseload data.
12. The UC reductions have been calculated based on the amount of HB Working Age caseload moving to UC. Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) data and UC data have been used to determine the expected change in workloads due to UC in 2021 to 2022.
13. For both 2019 to 2020 and 2020 to 2021, transitional arrangements were applied to prevent LAs experiencing a large change in their allocation relative to the previous 2018 to 2019 methodology. 2021 to 2022 is the third year and fully allocates funding to LAs without any transitional protection.
14. Allocations are rounded to the nearest pound.
2021 to 2022 national funding
15. The table below details the total national funding level available for 2021 to 2022 compared to 2020 to 2021.
| HB administration subsidy | 2020 to 2021 (£ million, rounded) | 2021 to 2022 (£ million, rounded) |
|---|---|---|
| HBAS allocation (previous year) | 196.109 | 195.385 |
| Less adjustment for UC | -0.724 | -3.084 |
| Less departmental efficiency reduction | 0 | 0 |
| HBAS funding level | 195.385 | 192.301 |
Payment of HBAS
16. Payments of HBAS will be made in 12 monthly instalments beginning in April 2021. 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.
Annex A: 2021 to 2022 LA allocations – England
| LA | Final 2021 to 2022 DWP HB administration subsidy allocation (£) |
|---|---|
| Adur | 143,098 |
| Allerdale | 266,840 |
| Amber Valley | 292,763 |
| Arun | 371,166 |
| Ashfield | 348,282 |
| Ashford | 306,333 |
| Babergh | 168,737 |
| Barking and Dagenham | 875,281 |
| Barnet | 1,357,429 |
| Barnsley | 805,110 |
| Barrow-in-Furness | 191,856 |
| Basildon | 538,874 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | 355,823 |
| Bassetlaw | 288,892 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | 390,988 |
| Bedford | 438,152 |
| Bexley | 610,109 |
| Birmingham | 4,801,257 |
| Blaby | 138,721 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 486,293 |
| Blackpool | 736,159 |
| Bolsover | 219,979 |
| Bolton | 975,097 |
| Boston | 189,758 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | 1,095,779 |
| Bracknell Forest | 239,270 |
| Bradford | 1,593,296 |
| Braintree | 332,907 |
| Breckland | 297,045 |
| Brent | 1,585,314 |
| Brentwood | 119,871 |
| Brighton and Hove | 974,950 |
| Bristol | 1,471,878 |
| Broadland | 193,435 |
| Bromley | 767,724 |
| Bromsgrove | 149,996 |
| Broxbourne | 251,187 |
| Broxtowe | 221,844 |
| Buckinghamshire | 935,132 |
| Burnley | 343,035 |
| Bury | 512,020 |
| Calderdale | 637,530 |
| Cambridge | 295,542 |
| Camden | 1,264,016 |
| Cannock Chase | 244,215 |
| Canterbury | 367,838 |
| Carlisle | 278,986 |
| Castle Point | 161,472 |
| Central Bedfordshire | 502,103 |
| Charnwood | 305,767 |
| Chelmsford | 336,541 |
| Cheltenham | 255,242 |
| Cherwell | 291,406 |
| Cheshire East | 729,938 |
| Cheshire West and Chester | 841,567 |
| Chesterfield | 354,180 |
| Chichester | 257,176 |
| Chorley | 240,984 |
| City of London | 44,137 |
| Colchester | 433,484 |
| Copeland | 201,233 |
| Cornwall | 1,571,380 |
| Cotswold | 159,372 |
| Coventry | 1,031,877 |
| Craven | 91,825 |
| Crawley | 359,382 |
| Croydon | 1,476,522 |
| Dacorum | 383,243 |
| Darlington | 360,851 |
| Dartford | 234,781 |
| Derby | 773,771 |
| Derbyshire Dales | 121,860 |
| Doncaster | 976,577 |
| Dorset | 830,043 |
| Dover | 338,621 |
| Dudley | 900,423 |
| Durham | 1,898,629 |
| Ealing | 1,438,277 |
| East Cambridgeshire | 158,181 |
| East Devon | 279,885 |
| East Hampshire | 176,517 |
| East Hertfordshire | 262,528 |
| East Lindsey | 439,009 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 652,425 |
| East Staffordshire | 241,976 |
| East Suffolk | 620,637 |
| Eastbourne | 366,988 |
| Eastleigh | 235,910 |
| Eden | 85,356 |
| Elmbridge | 246,872 |
| Enfield | 1,600,955 |
| Epping Forest | 266,421 |
| Epsom and Ewell | 132,486 |
| Erewash | 284,640 |
| Exeter | 324,432 |
| Fareham | 155,112 |
| Fenland | 261,272 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | 330,370 |
| Forest of Dean | 190,628 |
| Fylde | 180,615 |
| Gateshead | 803,832 |
| Gedling | 236,749 |
| Gloucester | 354,397 |
| Gosport | 230,694 |
| Gravesham | 269,997 |
| Great Yarmouth | 386,309 |
| Greenwich | 1,340,173 |
| Guildford | 234,303 |
| Hackney | 1,996,556 |
| Halton | 494,612 |
| Hambleton | 167,912 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | 953,313 |
| Harborough | 114,557 |
| Haringey | 1,406,837 |
| Harlow | 317,954 |
| Harrogate | 267,673 |
| Harrow | 728,522 |
| Hart | 109,043 |
| Hartlepool | 452,228 |
| Hastings | 411,383 |
| Havant | 249,108 |
| Havering | 620,094 |
| Herefordshire | 409,464 |
| Hertsmere | 262,457 |
| High Peak | 202,293 |
| Hillingdon | 863,868 |
| Hinckley and Bosworth | 184,763 |
| Horsham | 227,699 |
| Hounslow | 957,979 |
| Huntingdonshire | 303,926 |
| Hyndburn | 277,697 |
| Ipswich | 451,451 |
| Isle of Wight | 424,939 |
| Isles of Scilly | 1,687 |
| Islington | 1,433,119 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 854,117 |
| Kings Lynn and West Norfolk | 351,041 |
| Kingston upon Hull | 1,230,958 |
| Kingston upon Thames | 407,104 |
| Kirklees | 1,196,356 |
| Knowsley | 684,643 |
| Lambeth | 1,760,014 |
| Lancaster | 377,197 |
| Leeds | 2,440,073 |
| Leicester | 1,151,580 |
| Lewes | 247,957 |
| Lewisham | 1,601,985 |
| Lichfield | 177,261 |
| Lincoln | 334,268 |
| Liverpool | 2,364,620 |
| Luton | 649,459 |
| Maidstone | 356,427 |
| Maldon | 113,897 |
| Malvern Hills | 157,474 |
| Manchester | 2,443,386 |
| Mansfield | 337,479 |
| Medway | 739,275 |
| Melton | 89,768 |
| Mendip | 255,561 |
| Merton | 547,485 |
| Mid Devon | 166,256 |
| Mid Suffolk | 157,323 |
| Mid Sussex | 224,130 |
| Middlesbrough | 671,105 |
| Milton Keynes | 782,924 |
| Mole Valley | 155,406 |
| New Forest | 331,744 |
| Newark and Sherwood | 266,390 |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | 297,119 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 1,198,924 |
| Newham | 1,543,820 |
| North Devon | 238,542 |
| North East Derbyshire | 248,007 |
| North East Lincolnshire | 538,698 |
| North Hertfordshire | 273,907 |
| North Kesteven | 192,094 |
| North Lincolnshire | 437,082 |
| North Norfolk | 240,342 |
| North Northamptonshire | 795,357 |
| North Somerset | 512,590 |
| North Tyneside | 691,911 |
| North Warwickshire | 135,708 |
| North West Leicestershire | 184,150 |
| Northumberland | 901,835 |
| Norwich | 574,455 |
| Nottingham | 1,307,648 |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | 352,980 |
| Oadby and Wigston | 85,603 |
| Oldham | 818,091 |
| Oxford | 397,420 |
| Pendle | 247,219 |
| Peterborough | 625,911 |
| Plymouth | 914,121 |
| Portsmouth | 831,664 |
| Preston | 445,539 |
| Reading | 511,327 |
| Redbridge | 834,904 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | 529,099 |
| Redditch | 228,457 |
| Reigate and Banstead | 272,079 |
| Ribble Valley | 71,321 |
| Richmondshire | 84,271 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 413,177 |
| Rochdale | 821,457 |
| Rochford | 131,027 |
| Rossendale | 183,971 |
| Rother | 219,883 |
| Rotherham | 856,636 |
| Rugby | 215,312 |
| Runnymede | 166,463 |
| Rushcliffe | 154,826 |
| Rushmoor | 264,573 |
| Rutland | 53,529 |
| Ryedale | 110,216 |
| Salford | 1,069,537 |
| Sandwell | 1,195,414 |
| Scarborough | 353,823 |
| Sedgemoor | 300,174 |
| Sefton | 916,423 |
| Selby | 151,468 |
| Sevenoaks | 223,824 |
| Sheffield | 1,858,571 |
| Shropshire | 639,812 |
| Slough | 473,580 |
| Solihull | 489,540 |
| Somerset West and Taunton | 397,524 |
| South Cambridgeshire | 228,256 |
| South Derbyshire | 170,419 |
| South Gloucestershire | 475,936 |
| South Hams | 181,892 |
| South Holland | 180,596 |
| South Kesteven | 290,760 |
| South Lakeland | 156,960 |
| South Norfolk | 237,831 |
| South Oxfordshire | 221,005 |
| South Ribble | 196,071 |
| South Somerset | 382,817 |
| South Staffordshire | 199,988 |
| South Tyneside | 719,399 |
| Southampton | 884,382 |
| Southend on Sea | 604,886 |
| Southwark | 1,661,404 |
| Spelthorne | 211,588 |
| St Albans | 247,461 |
| St Helens | 622,033 |
| Stafford | 238,594 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | 143,940 |
| Stevenage | 267,872 |
| Stockport | 692,169 |
| Stockton on Tees | 633,612 |
| Stoke on Trent | 904,433 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 236,334 |
| Stroud | 221,130 |
| Sunderland | 1,200,583 |
| Surrey Heath | 124,608 |
| Sutton | 555,026 |
| Swale | 408,996 |
| Swindon | 535,086 |
| Tameside | 822,753 |
| Tamworth | 194,659 |
| Tandridge | 160,788 |
| Teignbridge | 297,029 |
| Telford and Wrekin | 582,229 |
| Tendring | 475,018 |
| Test Valley | 226,718 |
| Tewkesbury | 169,290 |
| Thanet | 538,109 |
| Three Rivers | 179,355 |
| Thurrock | 452,100 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | 260,578 |
| Torbay | 500,984 |
| Torridge | 158,332 |
| Tower Hamlets | 1,807,051 |
| Trafford | 538,192 |
| Tunbridge Wells | 236,423 |
| Uttlesford | 127,974 |
| Vale of White Horse | 224,512 |
| Wakefield | 1,096,832 |
| Walsall | 997,558 |
| Waltham Forest | 999,820 |
| Wandsworth | 1,231,037 |
| Warrington | 493,478 |
| Warwick | 257,994 |
| Watford | 265,830 |
| Waverley | 211,582 |
| Wealden | 245,479 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | 318,009 |
| West Berkshire | 299,445 |
| West Devon | 111,166 |
| West Lancashire | 267,516 |
| West Lindsey | 228,302 |
| West Northamptonshire | 841,985 |
| West Oxfordshire | 184,987 |
| West Suffolk | 369,803 |
| Westminster | 1,239,900 |
| Wigan | 949,622 |
| Wiltshire | 971,743 |
| Winchester | 219,465 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | 257,154 |
| Wirral | 1,156,232 |
| Woking | 194,453 |
| Wokingham | 183,972 |
| Wolverhampton | 1,000,497 |
| Worcester | 256,625 |
| Worthing | 270,306 |
| Wychavon | 252,767 |
| Wyre | 279,499 |
| Wyre Forest | 274,727 |
| York | 364,973 |
| Total | 164,141,807 |
Annex B: 2021 to 2022 LA allocations – Scotland
| LA | Final 2021 to 2022 DWP HB administration subsidy allocation (£) |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 625,477 |
| Aberdeenshire | 445,161 |
| Angus | 338,885 |
| Argyll and Bute | 245,316 |
| Clackmannanshire | 206,188 |
| Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | 53,864 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 493,007 |
| Dundee | 716,812 |
| East Ayrshire | 486,739 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 184,061 |
| East Lothian | 292,942 |
| East Renfrewshire | 153,415 |
| Edinburgh | 1,420,648 |
| Falkirk | 510,779 |
| Fife | 1,236,550 |
| Glasgow | 3,449,849 |
| Highland | 605,821 |
| Inverclyde | 360,125 |
| Midlothian | 266,258 |
| Moray | 222,743 |
| North Ayrshire | 622,030 |
| North Lanarkshire | 1,302,525 |
| Orkney | 42,656 |
| Perth and Kinross | 338,004 |
| Renfrewshire | 659,273 |
| Scottish Borders | 328,342 |
| Shetland | 40,987 |
| South Ayrshire | 395,188 |
| South Lanarkshire | 1,044,306 |
| Stirling | 223,070 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 467,631 |
| West Lothian | 610,360 |
| Total | 18,389,015 |
Annex C: 2021 to 22 LA allocations – Wales
| LA | Final 2021 to 2022 DWP HB administration subsidy allocation (£) |
|---|---|
| Blaenau Gwent | 293,463 |
| Bridgend | 450,723 |
| Caerphilly | 605,746 |
| Cardiff | 1,205,672 |
| Carmarthenshire | 518,694 |
| Ceredigion | 176,301 |
| Conwy | 352,174 |
| Denbighshire | 325,675 |
| Flintshire | 383,512 |
| Gwynedd | 312,199 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 196,598 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 218,585 |
| Monmouthshire | 197,735 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 552,181 |
| Newport | 546,561 |
| Pembrokeshire | 363,741 |
| Powys | 303,778 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taff | 775,996 |
| Swansea | 853,134 |
| Torfaen | 357,394 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 346,731 |
| Wrexham | 433,693 |
| Total | 9,770,290 |