Request for breakdowns on Housing Benefit for all units of "Exempt Accommodation" within Wychavon

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Wychavon District Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Wychavon District Council,

Can you please supply me with a list of all Landlord currently providing "Exempt Accommodation" within Wychavon and the number of units & placements they each have.

Can I please have a list of Housing Benefits currently paid to individual providers of "Exempt Accommodation" for disabled and vulnerable people throughout Wychavon; please note this should be further broken down into the various service charges.

Can I also be supplied with a copy of all ROD mainstream rent decisions relevant to this enquiry for the last 2 years

As I understand it

The HB regulations relating to ‘exempt accommodation’ claims have not changed since they were introduced, although various Commissioner and Upper Tribunal Decisions have helped to clarify how they are interpreted. Whether a claim is treated as an ‘exempt accommodation’ claim and how much the maximum rent should be, is determined to varying extents by:

• the landlord and the type of services they provide;
• the claimant and their needs, e.g. are they a vulnerable individual?

All non-Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) ‘exempt accommodation’ claims must be referred to the Rent Officer, who will provide a Rent Officer Determination (ROD) of the maximum level of mainstream rent that would be appropriate for the accommodation provided. Those whose home fits the definition of ‘exempt accommodation’ have the amount of their rent that is eligible for help decided under the rules that existed before the 1996 changes, often called the ‘old scheme’rules. Under these rules local authorities (LAs) must take account of the ROD as well as rent levels of suitable alternative accommodation when looking to place any restriction on the rent they will meet. Where the tenant is elderly, has children or is incapable of work the LA also has to consider whether it is reasonable to expect the tenant to move. LAs can claim back the total amount of HB paid under the ROD as subsidy from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), but only 60 percent of the amount over the ROD for vulnerable claimants, and none of the amount over the ROD for claimants not classed as vulnerable.

Yours faithfully,
Mark Everall

Freedom Of Information, Wychavon District Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Everall,

 

Thank you for your recent FOI request. Please find our response below.

 

If you have any concerns with the way your request has been dealt with,
please contact Meesha Patel, Legal Services Manager at Wychavon District
Council to request an internal review in the first instance
([1][email address])

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Phone: 0303 123 1113 Website: [2]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Yours Sincerely

 

Suzanne Gill

Information Management Officer

 

 

Can you please supply me with a list  of all Landlord currently providing
"Exempt Accommodation" within Wychavon and the number of units &
placements they each have.

Please find attached a list of Landlords providing tenancies that are
being treated as Exempt Accommodation as well as a count of how many
claims are currently being paid under Exempt Accommodation rules.

 

Can I please have a list of Housing Benefits currently paid to individual
providers of "Exempt Accommodation" for disabled and vulnerable people
throughout Wychavon; please note this should be further broken down into
the various service charges.

In order to answer the above we would require you to narrow down your
request. We would require to know if you are looking for live or non live
claims as well as the time period over which you require the information.

 

Can I also be supplied with a copy of all ROD mainstream rent decisions
relevant to this enquiry  for the last 2 years

The information requested is not in an accessible format due to it
containing large amounts of personal information. Therefore under section
40 Personal Information of the Freedom of Information Act this information
is exempt from release as it would contravene one of the principles of the
Data Protection Act 2018.

 

 

Wychavon District Council
good services, good value
Visit our website [3]www.wychavon.gov.uk

References

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2. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
3. http://www.wychavon.gov.uk/
http://www.wychavon.gov.uk/