Councils spend thousands on emergency housing payments
Councils in the Black Country have had to spend thousands of pounds on emergency housing payments for vulnerable people at risk of becoming homeless, new figures have revealed.
Department for Work and Pensions data shows that councils spent up £650,000 between April and September 2018, on helping people on benefits who are struggling to cover housing costs.
The data shows Wolverhampton City Council spent £613,435 during that time – and was awarded £1 million by the Government for the Discretionary Housing Payment scheme for the 2018-19 financial year.
In the first six months, Wolverhampton Council spent more than 60 per cent of its annual budget. This equates to £3,352 a day.
While, Dudley Council spent £302,158 between April and September 2018, having been awarded £784,150 through the scheme.
In the first six months, Dudley Council spent almost two fifths of its annual budget.
Walsall Council spent £442,484 between April and September 2018 on helping people on benefits who are strugging to cover housing costs – and the authority was awarded £1.07 million by the Government.
In the first six months, Walsall Council spent more than two fifths of its annual budget – equating to £2,418 a day.
And Sandwell Council has spent £646,526 between April and September 2018 – with the council being awarded £1.35 million through the Discretionary Housing Payment scheme.
In the first six months, Sandwell Council spent almost half of its annual budget. This equates to £3,533 a day.
Payments can be awarded to claimants if they have been affected by specific housing policies and could be at risk of homelessness, or if they have emergency costs unrelated to welfare reforms.
Financial assistance charity Turn2us said that while the payments are a "vital source of income" for vulnerable people, they are not a long-term solution to the housing crisis.
Campaigns manager, Matthew Geer, said: "Welfare changes over the last decade are leaving councils increasingly burdened, and funds are only limited.
"While we would welcome increasing the funding for DHPs, this will not solve the problem long-term and ultimately help to change the lives of people who are struggling.
"The Government must stand up and act fast to end the rising tide of homelessness across the country – including building affordable homes, tackling the issue of high rents and ending the ongoing benefits freeze."
Homelessness charity Crisis said it was concerned that the Discretionary Housing Payment scheme is unsustainable in the long term.
Chief executive, Jon Sparks, added: "To truly prevent people from becoming homeless, we need more than sticking plaster solutions."
