Lengthy wait for Shropshire housing benefit applicants

The figures have been criticised by a charity, which voiced fears it could lead to homelessness.

By contrast, Telford & Wrekin is one of the fastest councils in the country at processing payments.

The figures, from the Department for Work and Pensions, show that between April 2018 and June 2018 new claimants waited an average of 33 days before their application was completed.

That is significantly above the British average of 23 days, which includes weekends. Legal guidance says councils should respond to the claim within two weeks.

Telford & Wrekin Council took an average of nine days to process its claims, the figures show.

Powys Council took 16 days, which is beyond the legal recommendations, but still better than the national average.

Welfare charity Turn2Us said long waiting times such as that experienced in the Shropshire Council area could be worrying for applicants, and could lead to people being threatened with eviction and facing homelessness.

According to the figures, Shropshire Council processed 1,065 new cases during the three-month period.

In total, there were 35,669 housing benefit claimants in Shropshire over that time.

The waiting time has increased considerably compared to the same period last year, when the average delay was 26 days.

Safety net

Pritie Billimoria, head of communications at Turn2Us, said: "Housing benefit is not a luxury, it’s a safety net for people who simply do not earn enough money to be able to keep a roof over their head without it.

"Delays in paying housing benefit creates a gaping hole in the safety net leaving people without any money getting into debt that can’t pay back and in some cases at risk of slipping into homelessness.

"We need to see people receive prompt payment within the legal timeframe so that they can focus on other needs such as work and family and start to plan for their future with dignity.”

Residents are eligible for housing benefit if they rent, are on a low income, and have less than £16,000 in savings.

The amount applicants receive differs depending on whether they rent from the council, or privately, their salary and whether they have any spare rooms.

Shropshire Council was quicker at dealing with current claimants who had changed their living circumstances, though, taking an average of 10 days.

Telford and Wrekin Council processed 1,141 new cases over the same three-month period, and was handling a total of 10,303 housing benefit claimants over that time.

The figure showed a marked improvement compared to the same period last year, when the average delay was 16 days.

Powys also showed a significant improvement compared to last year, when the average delay was 23 days.

Powys Council processed 479 new cases during the three-month period, when there were a total of 7,624 housing benefit claimants in the county.

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions said: "We spend around £23 billion a year on housing benefit, more than any other OECD country as a proportion of GDP.

"We work directly with each local authority to monitor housing benefit performance and this includes the speed of processing which has remained stable over a number of years."

The Government has implemented Universal Credit in Shropshire, which aims to replace benefits such as housing benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance and child tax credits. These figures include only people who were receiving the old housing benefit payments.

The DWP spokesman added: "We will continue to work closely with local authorities as Universal Credit rolls out.”