£650k overpaid in housing benefits says West Berkshire Council

More than £650,000 of housing benefit has been mistakenly paid out by West Berkshire Council.

It says it found out about the overpayments after a backdated adjustment was processed of housing benefit payments to housing rent accounts.

It is the result of a year end reconciliation between data held within the council’s main finance system and its separate housing rent account software, and brings both systems up to date and in line with each other.

The council’s executive committee heard on Thursday that the rent account software had not been properly procured in 2020, and had not worked with the council’s existing finance systems.

Its likely the debt will be written off.