£2m paid out in housing aid across the county

COUNCILS spent almost £2 million in a year helping to prevent families from becoming homeless.

The amount spent on Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) to support families on benefits who cannot afford to cover all their costs totalled £1.9 million in the 12 months to March 2022.

Of that, Leicester City Council paid out £1.2 million – eight times more than Charnwood Borough Council, which spent the next highest at £148,703.

In Hinckley and Bosworth the spending was £103,195 and in Blaby it was £72,583.

The amount the city council received from the government for DHPs in the same period was £884,572.

To be eligible for DHP, people must be in need of extra financial help and be entitled to housing benefits or universal credit.

Claimants can apply via their council website and will be expected to provide bank statements or similar.

The government has been monitoring how DHPs are used to support claimants affected by changes to social benefits since 2013.

These have included the bedroom tax introduced the same year, which meant those tenants whose accommodation is larger than they need could lose part of their housing benefit.

Latest figures suggest 38 per cent of DHP cases in Leicester are due to benefit reforms.

A city council spokesman said: “We make discretionary housing payments to help people facing real hardship with their housing costs, and to help those at risk of homelessness.

“The current cost of living crisis means sadly we are seeing more people in need, so it’s no surprise that the demand for support with housing costs is rising.

“Last year (2021/22), the council spent £1.3 million on DHP payments.

“Around £840,000 of this was government money and the rest came from our own funds.

“Government funding to support these payments is reducing despite demand increasing, but we are continuing to use our own funds to support households.

“Anyone who is in financial crisis, thinks they may need a DHP or is in need of support should contact us.”

Call the city council on 0116 454 1006 or go to: