Almost 100,000 Discretionary Housing Payment awards, totalling £59.1 million, were made between 01 April and 30 September 2019, according to the latest report from Scotland's Chief Statistician.

The Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) scheme provides financial assistance towards housing costs for those claiming housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit. An average award of £592 was made during the report period.

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Local Authorities received 87,785 applications from 1 April to 30 September 2019. Each application – sometimes made in the previous financial year - can have multiple decisions attached to it. As a result, local authorities processed 103,785 determinations over the year.

These figures are likely to include a sizeable number of cases affected by the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) (the "bedroom tax"), where Local Authorities have continued to make up the shortfall in tenants' weekly rent through the use of DHPs. The Scottish Government is committed to reimbursing Local Authorities for the impact of the RSRS.

(MH/CM)