Recommendation 14

While DWP collects data from local authorities, this does not include people living in supported housing who are not in receipt of Housing Benefit.26 Before April 2022, DWP could not differentiate whether Housing Benefit claims were for supported housing. Since April 2022, DWP has made attempts to improve the data by requiring local authorities to improve the way they identified and reported each new Housing Benefit claim when it relates to specified accommodation (when accommodation is paid through Housing Benefit), and if so, what type. DWP accepts that this will not immediately improve data quality, as it only applies to new claims. In March 2023, DWP provided local authorities with £4.79 million of funding to review their existing Housing Benefit claims to identify and record if claims are for specified accommodation and, if so, what type.27