Cash-Strapped Councils Overpaid Housing Benefit by £14m

More than £14 million of housing benefit was overpaid by cash-strapped councils in Nottinghamshire – with £7 million spent in the city alone. Errors, claimants failing to inform councils of changes in circumstances and fraudsters trying to cheat the system have all been blamed by the councils involved. The figures, released by the DWP, reveal a total of £7.24 million too much was paid out by the city council from April last year to March this year. It fared worse than both Derby City Council, which overpaid by £5.4 million, and Leicester City Council, which overpaid by £6.8 million. Read more on the Nottingham Post website.

'Bedroom Tax': More Tenants Apply For Financial Help

Bedroom tax or spare room subsidy? The politicians may argue over the title but one fact can't be ignored.  That's the growing evidence of council tenants facing real financial difficulties. New figures from councils in the East Midlands report a rise in the number of people applying for emergency financial help to avoid eviction. Nottingham City Council has dealt with 223 applications for financial help, a fourfold increase on April last year. In Derby, it's 420 households, that's almost as many as the whole of last year. And in Leicester, there were 327 cases - six times as many as April 2012.  Read more on the BBC website.

Council Confirms Record Supporting People Cut

Derby Council has agreed the biggest ever cut made by a local authority to a Supporting People budget.  It will reduce the planned budget of £9.3 million this financial year to £6.6 million, and then reduce the SP budget to £3.8 million in 2013/14 and to £1.8 million in 2014/15. This equates to an 81 per cent cut over three years. Read more on Inside Housing.

Council to Slash Homelessness Funding By 81%

A council will slash its funding its Supported People services by 81 percent over the next three years. Derby City Council's cabinet has approved proposals to cut housing-related support from £9.3 million this financial year to £3.8 million in 2013/14 and to £1.8 million in 2014/15. Charity Homeless Link has warned the council that its cuts could force local charities to close, leading to more rough sleeping, more work for police and NHS services and an increase to the chances of vulnerable people coming to harm.  Read more on 24dash.

Council to Build 300 New Homes to Replace Right to Buys

Three hundred council houses costing about £24 million are set to be built in Derby over the next three years in a bid to replace those sold to tenants at a discount. Derby Homes, which manages Derby City Council's housing stock, expects about 300 homes to be sold through its Right to Buy scheme over the next three years. But it says it will be able to replace these on a "more or less one to one" basis by building new houses across the city during that period. The situation in four years time looks bleaker with Derby Homes predicting it will only be able to replace about half of the housing stock sold.  Read more on the Derby Evening Telegraph website.