A council which refused to provide emergency housing
hardship funds to smokers has been slammed for handing back nearly £200,000 in
unspent cash to the Treasury. North Lincolnshire Council spent just £41,210 of
its £238,069 discretionary housing payment pot in 2012/13 - just 17 per cent -
much less proportionally than other low-spending councils. The council declared
in January it would deny funds to tenants who made certain ‘life choices’, such
as smoking or subscribing to satellite television. Nic Dakin, Labour MP for
Scunthorpe, which is in North Lincolnshire’s boundaries, said: ‘Spending that
little money is a dereliction of duty. I see people coming in every week who
are in real need, but are being turned away by the council. Local housing
associations have been tearing their hair out at the council’s position.’ Read
more on Inside Housing.
