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Guidance

LA Welfare Direct 7/2026

Updated 6 August 2026

© Crown copyright 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/la-welfare-direct-bulletins-2026/la-welfare-direct-72026

Contact

If you have queries about the:

  • technical content of this bulletin then contact details are given at the end of each article

  • general content and distribution of this bulletin, contact lawelfare.correspondence@dwp.gov.uk

Who should read

All Housing Benefit colleagues, County Councils and wider if appropriate

County Councils: Please note that the articles at paragraphs 1 to 9, 10 to 17 and 31 to 35 are for your attention.

Action

For information.

Crown Copyright 2026

Recipients may freely reproduce this bulletin.

Editorial  

I was trying to break tradition and start this note without mentioning the weather but the recent heatwave makes that difficult! I hope you’re all managing to keep cool wherever you are.

So, yes, July is here and apart from the weather the other hot news is we’ve just reached a major milestone with the Commencement Order coming into effect that means Working Age Housing Benefit (for most claimants) ended on 30 June 2026.

Hopefully, you read the letter that was issued to all local authorities (LAs) on the 8 May 2026 from our Minister for Social Security and Disability the Right Hon. Sir Stephen Timms MP. In that letter the Minister stated that the delivery of Move to Universal Credit (UC) has been achieved through collective effort, with commitment, constructive challenge and collaboration demonstrated throughout.

I would certainly echo that and have personally witnessed those qualities working with colleagues across LAs and wanted to give my own thanks to everyone that has contributed to this process.

As someone who’s been involved with UC from the outset and the journey we’ve been on, I couldn’t be prouder of this achievement for both the Department for Work and Pensions, LAs and other organisations that have supported the programme over the years.

Thank you, keep cool and carry on.

Darren Baker
Head of Change, Communications, Stakeholder Engagement, Fraud, Error and Debt
Local Authority Partnership, Engagement and Delivery division

Closure of Working Age Housing Benefit 

1. As set out in June’s LAWD6/2026 bulletin, Working Age Housing Benefit (HB) ended on 30 June 2026. Circular HB A6/2026 advises that local authorities (LAs) should ensure Working Age HB cases which remain in payment from and including 1 July 2026 are now only for those who: 

  • live in temporary accommodation or specified accommodation, or  

  • meet one of the exceptions to the HB closure rule. 

2. Where a Working Age HB case is identified that does not meet one of the conditions listed in the bullets above, but an HB Stop Notice or HB MIG Stop Notice has not been received, LAs should check Searchlight and ensure the HB interest is set. 

HB interest is set 

3. If the HB interest is set, LAs should send the claimant’s name and National Insurance number to the Local Authority Security and Support Team (LASST) at lawelfare.lasupport@dwp.gov.uk who will recheck if the relevant Stop Notice has been issued. 

4. If a Stop Notice has been issued, LAs will be advised to check with their IT department to understand why it has not downloaded. 

No HB interest is set 

5. If an LA identifies there is no HB interest set, they should set the interest and email details to LASST at the email address given above. 

6. Do note, in either situation, an HB Stop Notice cannot be reissued but LASST will be able to advise if the claimant has moved to Universal Credit (UC) through natural or managed migration. This will enable the LA to pay the correct amount of Transition to UC Housing Payment. 

New escalation routes for UC enquiries  

7. The Local Authority Partnership, Engagement and Delivery (LA-PED) division’s LA Liaison Team email address, which has been used for enquiries relating to the UC migration process, will no longer be monitored for this purpose from 6 July 2026. 

8. From this date, LAs should direct all enquiries relating to UC claims to their Local Partnership Manager) for escalation and resolution.  

9. Where the Local Partnership Manager is unable to resolve the query, it will be escalated to Local Service Innovation Leads and the relevant Service Centres to support resolution.

HB Matching Service Working Age rules to be decommissioned

10. As you know, the HB caseload has transitioned to Pension age only cases over the past 18 months, with the majority of Working Age HB claimants (with exceptions) migrating to UC.

11. This change in the HB caseload make-up has led LA-PED to review its HB Matching Service (HBMS) portfolio of rules, to assess which rules continue to remain ‘fit for purpose’ and provide ongoing value for money.

12. Following that review, the following recommendations were approved:

Rules to be decommissioned

The following rules will no longer be live and no further referrals will be sent from Monday 6 July 2026:

Child Tax/Working Tax Credit

  • HBHB403 - Identifies HB cases with no change to Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit in the last 13 months

Income Support

  • HBIS005 - Identifies HB claimants who have failed to notify the LA of a change of address using the Income Support system

  • HBIS105 - Identifies claims to HB made on the basis that Income Support is in payment but no current entitlement to this benefit exists

Jobseeker’s Allowance (income-based)

  • HBJS105 - Identifies claims to HB made based on the Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) income-based is in payment but no current entitlement to the benefit exists

  • HBJS055 - Identifies HB claimants who have failed to notify the LA of a change of address

JSA (contribution based)

  • HBJS212 - Identifies HB claims made on the basis that JSA contribution based is in payment

Action required by LAs

14. Any outstanding referrals LAs hold on these rules must be actioned and outcomes recorded on LA IT software systems, to ensure the integrity of HBMS management information (MI) is maintained.

15. LA-PED will be amending the HBMS Rules guide to reflect the changes and will then re-publish the new guide on Glasscubes. At that point LAs will need to ensure that any previous locally held versions of the guides are destroyed.

Rules under review

16. The following 3 rules will continue to run and will be monitored with the aim to close them by the end of 2026. At which point further guidance confirming the closure of the rules will be issued:

  • HBES105 - Identifies HB claimants and/or partners who have stated they are in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) but there is no match to the ESA system

  • HBES055 - Identifies HB claimants who have failed to notify the LA of a change of address

Incapacity Benefit

  • HBIB055 - HB only is in payment and the claimant/partner receives Incapacity Benefit. Checks are made against records held on the Pensions Strategy Computer System and the LA IT system and identifies if the two systems hold different addresses

17. If you have any questions, contact lawelfare.datamatching@dwp.gov.uk 

Update: Identifying Local Vulnerability 

18. Since our last update in May’s LAWD5/2026 bulletin, we are making gradual progress in key areas to enable us to proceed through the Alpha phase towards building a Minimum Viable Product for the Identifying Local Vulnerability (ILoV) data share and have passed the next governance hurdle.  

19. Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Digital is now setting up a small team to continue working with us to identify a deliverable solution, building on the research and analysis already done. We are taking a phased approach to ensure the solution is robust, deliverable and customer data is kept safe. Future phases will focus on ensuring the best technological solution is deployed. 

20. We will continue to provide updates as work progresses. In the meantime, if you have any queries about ILoV, please contact lawelfare.datasharingtransformation@dwp.gov.uk

Update: Publishing of HB speed of processing statistics 

21. You may be aware that, following a public consultation and internal review, it has been agreed that there is no longer a sufficient public need to continue publishing certain HB statistics as official statistics. 

HB speed of processing 

22. The final publication will take place on 29 July 2026, covering quarter 4 (January to March) of the financial year ending March 2026. 

HB Debt Recovery 

23. The publication of HB Debt Recovery (HBDR) statistics will cease, with the final release scheduled for September 2026. 

24. Importantly, this change does not affect the collection or availability of performance data. The department will continue to collect the full administrative dataset, which will remain available for operational and performance management purposes. 

25. We want to reassure you that performance monitoring and engagement will continue as normal. 

26. In practice, this will continue to be supported through: 

  • LA MI 

  • SHBE (Single Housing Benefit Extract) data 

  • ongoing engagement with Performance Relationship Managers (PRMs) 

  • support from Performance Development Team (PDT) consultants 

27. These channels will remain central to monitoring performance, identifying trends and supporting service delivery outcomes. 

28. While the published national statistical series will cease, our approach to performance management remains unchanged. PDT will continue to: 

  • share timely performance information with you  

  • work with you to understand performance challenges 

  • use available data to provide constructive challenge 

  • offer support and advice through PDT consultants to help drive service improvement 

  • identify opportunities for improvement and share good practice where appropriate

29. We recognise that PDT consultants have previously used published speed of processing and HBDR statistics for benchmarking and diagnostic discussions. Going forward, this work will continue using available MI and local performance insights to support targeted improvement activity. 

30. We will keep you informed of any further guidance regarding the use of performance data by PRMs. In the meantime, if you have any questions about how this change may affect your authority, please email lawelfare.pdt@dwp.gov.uk

Invitation to the next Data sharing and IT consultation and engagement forum 

31. The next forum will be held on Wednesday 22 July 2026 from 2pm to 3pm. 

Joining instructions

  • the MS Teams link to this meeting has been shared in the version of the LAWD7/2026 that was sent directly to each LA’s single inbox. Note: It is more difficult to ask questions through dial-in so, if you anticipate having questions, we recommend joining through MS Teams where possible

  • aim to join the event two or three minutes before the start time, as we intend to start promptly

32. Speakers will be muted by default but instructions will be given during the event if you want to ask a question

Forum agenda  

  • a 15 minute introduction from DWP, covering projects recently delivered, projects currently in delivery, insight into future planned projects, as well as the most recent common issues that have been reported to us

  • 30 to 45 minutes of questions from LAs on the call about the projects and matters covered in the introduction and any other IT and data sharing questions and issues LAs may have

  • if time allows, 15 minutes focused on suggestions from LAs about future data sharing, data matching or automation projects that DWP could consider funding and delivering 

33. The call will be recorded and the recording will be published on Glasscubes.

34. The forum is open to all LAs and it would be beneficial for every LA to have at least one representative join the forum to help us maximise feedback. Each LA representative should: 

  • seek input and feedback from as many of their colleagues as possible prior to dialling in, for example, questions they might want to be answered

  • have knowledge, at least at a high level, about data sharing, data matching and current IT topic areas

  • feedback to their colleagues about how the conference call went, including the answers to the questions we asked

35. We look forward to your participation on the call. However, if you have any questions in the meantime, please contact paul.selby@dwp.gov.uk 

Practitioners’ Operational Group and Local Authority Welfare Steering Group   

36. The last Practitioners’ Operational Group meeting took place on 18 June 2026. Agenda items included LA funding, Move to UC, Fraud and Error, supported housing and the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

37. Both groups’ meetings are held bi-monthly on alternate months so the next meeting is the LA Welfare Steering Group, scheduled to take place on 16 July 2026.

38. If you have any questions regarding topics raised at these consultation groups, email lawelfare.correspondence@dwp.gov.uk    

HB Decisions by the Upper Tribunal

39. Decision Making and Appeals (DMA) Leeds is not aware of any cases that have been decided by the Upper Tribunal (UT).

40. You can read all decisions of the UT on their website. Do be aware that there is an undefined time lapse between decisions being issued and their appearance on the website.

HB cases awaiting decision by the UT

41. DMA Leeds has not been made aware of any case that is awaiting decision by the UT since our previous LAWD entry in June 2026.

42. If you have any queries about cases before the UT Judges or courts, contact quarryhouse.dmaleedscustomersupportservices@dwp.gov.uk

New Legislation 

43. The following Statutory Instruments (SIs) have been laid:  

44. Copies of SIs can be downloaded from legislation.gov.uk

What’s new on our HB pages on www.gov.uk

45. The following items can be found on the website link shown:

Document Type Subject Link
LAWD bulletin Editorial
Update: SHBE Application Programming Interface data sharing solution enhancement and monitoring of submissions
Same day access to Real Time Information data within Verify Earnings and Pensions
Clarification on the HB Award Accuracy Initiative Year 7 end-of-year arrangements 
Update: DWP Public Service Network removal and replacement with an internet based solution 
Change of tax year for HB Matching Service self-assessment rules
Updated Service Level Agreement: HB recovered by DWPs’ Debt Management
Reminder: HB appeals to the First-tier Social Security and Child Support Tribunal
Decision of the Upper Tribunal: Contrived tenancies in supported accommodation
Fraud and error in the benefit system national statistics
Update: Move to Universal Credit
Practitioners’ Operational Group and LA Welfare Steering Group
HB Decisions by the UT 
HB cases awaiting decision by the UT
New Legislation 
What’s new on our HB pages 		LAWD2/2026
Adjudication and Operations circular Closure of Working Age Housing Benefit A6/2026
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