Discretionary Housing Payments top £62m in 12 months

Local authorities in Scotland spent more than £62 million over the last year under the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) scheme.

Discretionary Housing Payments top £62m in 12 months

The DHP scheme provides financial assistance towards housing costs for those claiming housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.

Statistics released by Scotland’s Chief Statistician show that local authorities spent £62.5m during the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019.

A total of 116,618 applications were received to the scheme in 2018/19. Each application – sometimes made in the previous financial year - can have multiple decisions and awards attached to it. As a result, local authorities processed 132,961 determinations over the year and made 125,161 awards. The average award value was around £500.

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