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West Berkshire needy missing out on support, claim Lib Dems





In December, data expert SSentif said there were 61 homeless people in West Berkshire, and now the Liberal Democrats have said that money is available to those who are struggling to cover their housing costs but people are not aware of the support they can claim.
Discretionary housing payments are temporary and can be provided to people claiming housing or council tax benefits when their circumstances mean they need extra help with their housing costs.
The housing spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, Tony Vickers, said that although £116,000 was allocated to West Berkshire Council for discretionary housing payments for this financial year, ending at the end of this month, only £46,000 had been spent and that the remaining funds would will be returned to central government.
He added that the council was to receive £242,000 in April in Government funding to assist with local housing issues, following changes to housing benefit.
This can be topped up by a further £362,000 of the council’s own money, but Mr Vickers said that the Department of Work and Pensions has told councils that allocations for future years will be based on the amount of money actually spent.
He said: “When I tried to find [out] about this money from the council’s website, information was hard to find.
“Knowing how over-stretched housing officers are, dealing with a caseload three times normal, I suspect that the extra cost and time taken to process applications means that needy families are often not being told about it.
“It would be tragic and scandalous if the money our government has given us for these families isn’t used as intended.”
However, a spokesman for West Berkshire Council, Keith Ulyatt, stressed this was not the case.
He said: “Our housing officers view discretionary housing payments as a key tool to prevent homelessness and always discuss this option with clients where appropriate and actively encourage them to apply.
“Discretionary housing payments have to follow demand. That is, the payments have to be applied for.
“So far, that demand has not been that great, hence the under spend.
“However, we do expect an increase in demand come the next financial year when the new housing benefit reforms come in.
“Maybe in anticipation of that, we have seen a marked increase in applications over the past few weeks, from three or four a week up to 10.
“We will not be sending the money back to the government but will carry it over to the next financial year.”
A leaflet providing further information on discretionary housing payments can be downloaded at http://www.westberks.gov.uk



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