The Committee is asked to consider the Discretionary Housing Payment Policy.

The Deputy Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance and the Revenue and Benefits Manager have been invited to attend for this item.

The Chairman welcomed the Deputy Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance, and the Revenue and Benefits Manager to the meeting.

The Deputy Cabinet Member introduced the report which set out the annual budget awarded from Central Government to provide payments to those Housing Benefit customers who had a shortfall between their rent and their Housing Benefit.  He explained that this was an annual report and the Committee had the opportunity to review the Policy before it was formally adopted.

The Revenue and Benefits Manager explained that the Policy was out for consultation, prior to it being submitted to Cabinet on 30 May 2018.

A Member stated that he would like to see greater joined-up working with other agencies, that there needed to be more signposting, and it was important to ensure that the payments were awarded to the right people.

The Revenue and Benefits Manager explained that so far 110 responses had been received to the public consultation on the scheme, although only 52 responses had been fully completed.  In response to a question, she advised that the consultation took about six minutes to complete online.  The Revenue and Benefits Manager explained further the process of who received the payment, either to the claimant or to the landlord direct.

A Member questioned whether there was an opportunity for fraud to take place.  The Revenue and Benefits Manager explained that they were aware that fraud could be committed, but this was rare, as a thorough investigation was always carried out on any rent arrears.  She explained that most cases involved vulnerable people, and the department worked closely with other agencies.

In response to a question, the Revenue and Benefits Manager explained the process of who was given payment.  Long discussions were held to decide if help would be given, and help would be turned down if the person had built up rent arrears, was working, but had spent their money inappropriately.  A balance was needed as the person could end up in bed and breakfast accommodation if a payment was not made, resulting in further costs to the Council.

A Member asked if there was a cap on payments?  The Deputy Cabinet Member advised that claims were made on a case-by-case basis and that if a resident kept coming back, he considered there was something wrong in the system.

A Member asked if there was any flexibility if the resident was not claiming benefits.  The Revenue and Benefits Manager advised that the resident had to be in receipt of housing benefit or Universal Credit, but it was possible to negotiate with a landlord and go ahead and pay when the resident received those benefits.  She further advised that if a person was declared bankrupt, the rent arrears would be written-off.

A Member asked whether the categories included in the tables on pages 12 and 13 of the report were mandatory?  The Revenue and Benefits Manager advised that the categories came from the Department of Work and Pensions, and they enabled them to be able to see the shortfall between housing benefit and the rent. 

The Chairman thanked the Deputy Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance, and the Revenue and Benefits Manager for attending the meeting for this item.

Recommendation for consideration by the Cabinet Member:

(1)          That the comments made by the Committee be considered by the Cabinet Member for the final version of the Discretionary Housing Payment Policy.