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.