£350,000 handed to help Shropshire 'bedroom tax' victims
More than £350,000 of Government funding has been paid out to help hundreds of people in Shropshire struggling to deal with the cost of housing after the introduction of the "bedroom tax".
But more than £250,000 of Government cash has yet to be spent.
A total of 841 applications for support have been made to Shropshire Council following cuts to the spare room subsidy for those judged to be under-occupying their homes, with 352 awards being made. But a further 489 applications for support refused.
Telford & Wrekin has made 847 awards, but was unable to say how many applications had been made.
In April 2013, every local authority was given extra cash to use as Discretionary Housing Payments to provide further financial help to housing benefit claimants struggling with their costs.
The cash is meant to alleviate hardship and prevent homelessness.
Shropshire Council was given £277,000 to share out, up from £106,000 the previous year. As of November 4, a total of £101,000 had been paid out, with a further £22,000 committed.
It means the council has an unallocated £153,000 from the budget.
Details of the Shropshire Council payouts were revealed on Thursday at its full council meeting in Shirehall in response to a question by Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Mellings.
In a written response, Councillor Mal Price, portfolio holder for housing, said: "Each claim is considered on its own merit and is means tested. The majority of the awards have been made to those identified as under-occupying their homes who are struggling to meet their rent shortfall.
"For most claimants, DHPs will only be awarded on a short-term basis to allow time to consider longer-term solutions such as moving, finding employment, increasing hours of work, taking in a lodger, etc.
"The vast majority of refusals are due to excess income."
Councillor Mellings said he was concerned not all of the ring-fenced money would be spent and asked for the matter to be referred to scrutiny to make sure applications were being dealt with properly.
Councillor Price said problems caused by the bedroom tax had been lower than expected, helped by proactive policies and the employment of two financial liaison officers at the council at a combined cost of £70,000.
"Rent arrears would have been in hundreds of thousands. It is money well spent," he said. "Shropshire Council has had a significant increase in money. It looks a lot of money but doesn't go far."
He added he was happy for the issue to be referred to scrutiny.
Telford & Wrekin Council was awarded almost £357,000 in Discretionary Housing Payments, an increase of £103,000 from last year.
To date the council has allocated nearly £250,000 and forecasts that it will spend all of the Government's allocation by the end of the financial year.
