Scottish Government Announces Devolved Housing Support Scheme
The money will go towards the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) scheme, a fund designed to help people who are at risk of hardship and struggling to meet housing costs. DHPs are handed out on a discretionary basis and help local authorities mitigate cases where people’s benefits are capped, or where Local Housing Allowance (LHA) does not cover their rent. Housing minister Paul McLennan said: “This funding will help to bridge the gap between what people need in benefits from the UK government, and what they actually receive. This can be the difference between a family thriving, or a family experiencing financial hardship. “We are clear that this is the right thing to do to support households – but the Scottish government should not be forced to step in and divert money from our own housing and anti-poverty policies because of UK government welfare reforms.” The benefit cap was introduced in 2013, and reduces the amount of benefit payments that out-of-work families can receive. That was followed by the two-child benefit cap, which came in during 2017, which means families can only receive benefits relating to two children. It is estimated that 0.5 million households are affected by one of the two caps. Inside Housing revealed that a further four landlords in Scotland that have found reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in their housing stock have been named. The Scottish Housing Regulator said that Bield Housing & Care, Dundee City Council, Sanctuary Scotland and Viewpoint Housing Association had all found the building material in their homes. This brings the list of Scottish landlords that have found RAAC in some of their homes to 13, after the regulator named nine landlords in December. The update means that 1,994 homes have been found to be affected.
Tags : Discretionary Housing Payment Bield Housing & Care Dundee City Council Sanctuary Scotland Viewpoint Housing Association