Housing Benefit
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in England and Wales received discretionary housing payment after qualifying for local housing allowance in 2023-24.
Answered by Sir Stephen Timms
We do not hold this information.
Local authorities administer the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) scheme as they are best placed to make informed judgements about relative priorities and needs in their area to ensure that the most vulnerable are supported and the funds are targeted effectively. As such, DWP do not hold administrative data on households in receipt of a DHP and thus cannot state how many awards were made for households who received housing support via the Local Housing Allowance in 2023/24.
The Department publishes Official Statistics on the use of DHPs twice a year, based on information supplied by local authorities: Discretionary Housing Payments statistics - GOV.UK
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