This is an automated acknowledgement that your Information Request has
been received by the council on 11/02/2022  and has been given the
reference number:  REF-102855-B7H2 . 

Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and/or the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

Please be advised that during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, council
staff are giving priority to the most critical of council services. We
will endeavour to provide you with a response within 20 working days,
however, please be aware that in some cases there may be a delay in
responding to some or all of your request for information. Thank you for
your understanding during this time.

For more information about how we deal with Freedom of Information and/or
Environmental Information Regulation requests, go to:
[1]www.easthants.gov.uk/access-information

Your request details:
Dear East Hampshire District Council,

This is a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act.

This request concerns “exempt accommodation”. The UK Parliament defines
this as: “Supported housing which is exempt from certain Housing Benefit
provisions. It is a sector which houses more marginalised groups with
support needs, such as recent prison leavers; care leavers; those fleeing
domestic violence; and homeless people with substance dependence or mental
health issues.”

I understand that housing benefit for people in “exempt accommodation” is
paid by the council directly to landlords.

I would like to request the following information:

(1) Please state how much housing benefit has been paid by the council
directly to landlords to provide “exempt accommodation” for those in
receipt of the benefits. Please provide the figures for each of the past
three financial years (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21), as well as any
available data for 2021/22.

(2) Please provide a list of the 20 landlords that have received the
highest amount in housing benefit from the council for providing “exempt
accommodation” for those in receipt of the benefits. Again, please provide
this information for each of the past three financial years (2018/19,
2019/20, 2020/21) as well as any available data for 2021/22. For each
year, please (a) provide the landlord’s full name or company name, (b)
state the total amount they received from the council in each year.

I would like to highlight how the Information Commissioner’s Office has
previously ruled that this type of information should be disclosed. For
example, in 2015, the ICO held that Torbay Council was not entitled to
withhold the names of landlords who have directly received the largest
amounts of housing benefit. In 2014, the ICO also ruled that Halton
Borough Council was wrong to withhold similar information.

I would like to receive the data in an Excel format. If you feel that a
substantive response to this request is not possible within a reasonable
timeframe, I would be grateful if you could contact me and provide
assistance as to how I can refine the request. If you need any
clarification, please contact me.

I look forward to receiving a response in 20 working days. Many thanks. 
Please quote your reference number when contacting us.

Kind regards,

East Hampshire District Council

References

Visible links
1. http://www.easthants.gov.uk/access-infor...

Dear Ms Corderoy,

Information request REF-102855-B7H2

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000, which was received by the Council on 10 February
2022. You requested the following:

(1) Please state how much housing benefit has been paid by the council
directly to landlords to provide “exempt accommodation” for those in
receipt of the benefits. Please provide the figures for each of the past
three financial years (2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21), as well as any
available data for 2021/22.

(2) Please provide a list of the 20 landlords that have received the
highest amount in housing benefit from the council for providing “exempt
accommodation” for those in receipt of the benefits. Again, please provide
this information for each of the past three financial years (2018/19,
2019/20, 2020/21) as well as any available data for 2021/22. For each
year, please (a) provide the landlord’s full name or company name, (b)
state the total amount they received from the council in each year.

Please find the requested information attached.

Please accept this email as completion of your request.  

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your request, please contact
our Information Governance Department on
[1][email address] and we will conduct an internal review. 
Upon review, if you are still dissatisfied, you may appeal our decision by
contacting the Information Commissioner’s Office; for more information
please visit the ICO’s website [2]https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/ 

Please be aware, if we do not receive an appeal within 40 days of you
receiving this letter we will assume that you are satisfied with our
response. If you wish to make any further requests for information please
do not hesitate to contact us on [3][email address]. 

Yours sincerely,

Information Governance Team 

East Hampshire District Council 

Penns Place 

Petersfield 

GU31 4EX 

[4]43CD3DF4 [5]FE3AFC22 [6]3D161080 [7]5D984A8E [8]957DA5CC [9]704129BA  [10]6B1445A6 [11]1FD308A4

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://www.easthants.gov.uk/
5. https://www.facebook.com/EastHampshireDi...
6. https://www.twitter.com/easthantsdc
7. https://www.instagram.com/easthantsdc/
8. https://www.linkedin.com/company/east-ha...
9. https://www.facebook.com/EastHampshire
10. mailto:[email address]
11. http://www.easthants.gov.uk/