Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 1.153 of the Summer Budget 2015, if he will publish the criteria to decide who the most vulnerable housing benefit claimants are.

Local Authorities have overall responsibility for how Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are administered and paid, considering each case on its own merits. The Department publishes a DHP guidance manual and good practice guide to help Local Authorities identify those outline claimants who may require a DHP .

No decisions have been made on allocations to local authorities for 2016/2017 and beyond. We consider the allocation of Discretionary Housing Payments each year, based on each local authority’s Housing Benefit expenditure and the local impact of reforms.