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INTRODUCTION
In Januar-s’ 1998 the Department oi Social Security commissioned the
Social Policy Research Unit to carry out research inito local authorities’
use of new discretionary powers to make exceptional hardship payments
to cLiiiiiants whose Housing Benefit does not cover the cost of their rent
The fieldwork for the project was earned out in February toJune 1998
Policy background SiiiceJanuary 1996, for most new claims for Housnng Benefit from temnnrs
in the private deregulated sector, calculations of awards have not beemi
based on the actual rent paid by the claimant but on a local authority’s
‘local reference rent’ a figure that reflects the general level of rents for
proptrties of a smnisilar size in the locality lii October 1996, similar
restrictions were placed on single claimants under the age of 25 making
new or rcnewal claims by using a local ‘single room rent’ for calculating
Housing Benefit a~~ards rather than the local reference merit The single
room rent is a figure reflecting the average cost of non self—contained
acconiiniiodatnori ‘,~ rthout board in the locaJiry Both changes were
intended to encourage claimants to seek ‘reasonably priced’ and appropriate
accomiiirmodanou Howe~er,it has bug been recognised that, iii exceptional
circuinsuaiices, the welfare ofimidividual claimants arid their faisuhies requires
that a higher aniotmnt ofHousing Benefit be paid than that allowed tinder
a stn~tapphicition of the regulations Therefore, for inan~years, local
authorities have had powers to vary the amount of an a~sardin such
circumstances In Janiuar~’ 1996, ~~‘hen local reference rents were
introduced, new powers were iiitroduced enabling local authorities to
pay ani additional amount to brimig Housing Benefit up to the level of the
contractual rent (less ineligible charges) where, in the assecsmiient of the
authority, the clamiiiant or a family member would othersvise suffer
c’u€ptroircil Imardi/rmp lii October 1996 the schemise was extended to cover
people affected by the introductions ofthe single room rent’ regulations
Exccpnonal hardship is not defined iti legislation but local autbonties have
guidance on nts interpretation in a DSS Housing Benefit Circular, A7/
96
lii 1996/97 expenditure on exceptional hardship payments was under
~5 million compared with the ceiling oil expenditure (the ‘permitted
total’) of aroumid ~42 million (to which the cemitral government
contribution was L18 25 million)
Aims of the research The mann objective of the research was to investigate how the system of
exceptional hardship payments is operated by local authorities amid, ins
particular, why expenditure has varied so significantly between authorities
and overall, has been lower than expected
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