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Good morning One of our Housing Association clients alerted me to a problem relating to the payment of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs). Specifically, their local authority had stopped paying DHPs where its tenants had their “housing element” redirected to their landlord. After some investigation, I discovered the problem could be…

Good morning   The Scottish Government has just started an 8 week consultation period on the draft Universal Credit (Claims & Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 which make provision for: Fortnightly payments of Universal Credit; and Claimant choice to have payments redirected to their landlord. It’s vitally important all Scottish landlords…

Good morning Around £1 Billion of Housing Benefit Overpayments are identified as recoverable every year and, at any time, around £2 Billion remains outstanding despite the recovery efforts of councils. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509751/hb-recoveries-and-fraud-data-to-sept-2015.pdf DWP provides guidance and subsidy incentives to councils, encouraging recovery from those considered culpable. Currently, local councils receive a subsidy…

Good afternoon, The Scottish Government only last week confirmed its intention to provide tenants with the option of having payments, made fortnightly, and, if preferred, redirected to their landlords. We’ve known for sometime that’s what SG intended, so its not news. However, SG has, as yet, to provide dates for…

Good afternoon DWP has just confirmed its Universal Credit Freephone service has been available since 29th November 2017. You’ll, no doubt, recall the move was prompted by demands from claimants, their advisors, MPs etc. that the service should be made a free service as tenants were experiencing very high costs,…

Good afternoon, DWP has just published a helpful list of the benefit scale rates, due to be implemented from April, 2017. The full list of rates is found here>>> Amongst the detail you’ll find: a) State Pension, Widows Pension, Incapacity, Employment Support rates, including any related dependent additions; and b)…

Good afternoon, DWP’s recent announcement confirming the extension of the “Full or Digital Service”, including start dates, removes any remaining uncertainty about the new schemes future rollout. Full Service has a number of significant differences to the “Live” or limited service you’ve already experienced. The IT system supporting digital expansion is…

Good morning, Yesterday’s bulletin explained how DWP had kicked off its Supported Accommodation consultation exercise. I also mentioned how plans to apply the Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) of LHA to single, under 35’s, had been postponed by 1 year to April, 2019. A good news story, for a change! What…

Good morning, DWP Ministers launched a consultation yesterday, focused on the future design and funding of Supported Accommodation. In its introduction, the document, which you can find here>>>, explains its purpose: “This consultation seeks views on the design of the Government’s new housing costs funding model for supported housing, as…

Good afternoon, DWP, just this morning, released details on the next stage in the “digital” or “full service” rollout, identifying each of the Jobcentre areas, planned to progress to the full blown service, between now and September, 2018. The announcement, puts to bed any remaining doubts, the rollout was being further delayed of…