[Link2] Councils Fail to Spend Thousands Earmarked for Housing Poor Tenants
Local authorities are failing to spend thousands of pounds earmarked by the Government for needy families that cannot afford rent and other housing costs.
An article for the Guardian's Housing Network concludes that nearly £1 million of the £20 million set aside for Discretionary Housing Payments in 2010-11 by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was left untouched by councils.
The breakdown of DHP spending by individual councils was compiled following a freedom of information request by Housing Benefit consultant Claire Turner, director of the Landlord Information Network,
[Link2] Crunching the Numbers
Social landlords are starting assess the impact of the policy which will see Housing Benefits cut for tenants with one or more spare rooms.
In an Inside Housing article, its Deputy Features Editor Jess McCabe, collects together some of the deeply held concerns from those who will have to tackle the problems resulting from the proposed 'bedroom tax'.