Guidance
S9/2024 Discretionary Housing Payment government contribution for English and Welsh local authorities for financial year ending March 2026
Updated 20 December 2024
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
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Who should read?
All Housing Benefit staff and wider if appropriate.
Action
For information.
Subject
Discretionary Housing Payment government contribution for English and Welsh local authorities for financial year ending March 2026.
Guidance Manual
The information in this circular does not affect the content of the HB Guidance Manual.
Queries
Extra copies of this circular and copies of previous circulars are available.
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Recipients may freely reproduce this circular.
Introduction
1. (DHP) funding is available for those entitled to Housing Benefit or the Housing Element of Universal Credit who require further financial assistance with housing costs.
2. This circular provides details of the government contribution and overall expenditure limit for DHPs for the financial year ending (FYE) March 2026.
Funding
3. DHP funding for England and Wales for FYE March 2026 is confirmed at £100 million. This is consistent with the total funding provided to LAs in FYE March 2025.
4. LAs will receive the same allocation level as they received in FYE March 2025. This was considered the fairest approach given broader economic pressures.
5. The individual allocations shown in Annex A are the full government contribution for each LA from the £100 million DHP fund for FYE March 2026.
6. Any unspent funds from FYE March 2025 cannot be carried over to subsequent years.
Expenditure limit
7. In addition to the central government contribution, English and Welsh LAs are able to top up DHP funding up to a maximum of two and a half times this figure using their own funds. Individual maximum allowed expenditure is shown in Annex A.
Annex A
£100 million Discretionary Housing Payment government contribution local authority allocations for financial year ending 2026
| LA name | Total (£100 million) DHP allocation for FYE March 2026 | Top-up limit (x2.5 allocation) |
|---|---|---|
| Adur | £87,973 | £219,933 |
| Amber Valley | £122,855 | £307,138 |
| Arun | £225,903 | £564,758 |
| Ashfield | £148,984 | £372,460 |
| Ashford | £196,507 | £491,268 |
| Babergh | £86,572 | £216,430 |
| Barking and Dagenham | £727,763 | £1,819,408 |
| Barnet | £1,474,953 | £3,687,383 |
| Barnsley | £389,289 | £973,223 |
| Basildon | £323,563 | £808,908 |
| Basingstoke and Deane | £231,553 | £578,883 |
| Bassetlaw | £125,261 | £313,153 |
| Bath and North East Somerset | £193,278 | £483,195 |
| Bedford | £237,954 | £594,885 |
| Bexley | £385,556 | £963,890 |
| Birmingham | £2,689,243 | £6,723,108 |
| Blaby | £63,060 | £157,650 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | £227,242 | £568,105 |
| Blackpool | £192,583 | £481,458 |
| Blaenau Gwent | £140,170 | £350,425 |
| Bolsover | £92,696 | £231,740 |
| Bolton | £459,755 | £1,149,388 |
| Boston | £75,494 | £188,735 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | £645,158 | £1,612,895 |
| Bracknell Forest | £143,414 | £358,535 |
| Bradford | £847,980 | £2,119,950 |
| Braintree | £178,477 | £446,193 |
| Breckland | £140,158 | £350,395 |
| Brent | £1,620,155 | £4,050,388 |
| Brentwood | £90,930 | £227,325 |
| Bridgend | £258,312 | £645,780 |
| Brighton and Hove | £645,514 | £1,613,785 |
| Bristol, City of | £740,869 | £1,852,173 |
| Broadland | £82,733 | £206,833 |
| Bromley | £512,968 | £1,282,420 |
| Bromsgrove | £62,332 | £155,830 |
| Broxbourne | £258,140 | £645,350 |
| Broxtowe | £83,603 | £209,008 |
| Buckinghamshire | £623,616 | £1,559,040 |
| Burnley | £148,472 | £371,180 |
| Bury | £209,441 | £523,603 |
| Caerphilly | £339,277 | £848,193 |
| Calderdale | £340,648 | £851,620 |
| Cambridge | £138,217 | £345,543 |
| Camden | £622,578 | £1,556,445 |
| Cannock Chase | £85,409 | £213,523 |
| Canterbury | £197,748 | £494,370 |
| Cardiff | £781,533 | £1,953,833 |
| Carmarthenshire | £268,324 | £670,810 |
| Castle Point | £148,138 | £370,345 |
| Central Bedfordshire | £247,516 | £618,790 |
| Ceredigion | £275,132 | £687,830 |
| Charnwood | £135,431 | £338,578 |
| Chelmsford | £202,891 | £507,228 |
| Cheltenham | £106,443 | £266,108 |
| Cherwell | £187,383 | £468,458 |
| Cheshire East | £348,661 | £871,653 |
| Cheshire West and Chester | £375,530 | £938,825 |
| Chesterfield | £140,446 | £351,115 |
| Chichester | £145,722 | £364,305 |
| Chorley | £106,566 | £266,415 |
| City of London | £13,611 | £34,028 |
| Colchester | £258,862 | £647,155 |
| Conwy | £176,335 | £440,838 |
| Cornwall | £755,235 | £1,888,088 |
| Cotswold | £71,475 | £178,688 |
| County Durham | £836,254 | £2,090,635 |
| Coventry | £731,530 | £1,828,825 |
| Crawley | £227,592 | £568,980 |
| Croydon | £1,241,242 | £3,103,105 |
| Cumberland | £340,232 | £850,580 |
| Dacorum | £246,208 | £615,520 |
| Darlington | £154,394 | £385,985 |
| Dartford | £178,490 | £446,225 |
| Denbighshire | £171,145 | £427,863 |
| Derby | £332,258 | £830,645 |
| Derbyshire Dales | £57,865 | £144,663 |
| Doncaster | £497,602 | £1,244,005 |
| Dorset | £458,298 | £1,145,745 |
| Dover | £176,439 | £441,098 |
| Dudley | £473,000 | £1,182,500 |
| Ealing | £1,458,664 | £3,646,660 |
| East Cambridgeshire | £67,716 | £169,290 |
| East Devon | £149,659 | £374,148 |
| East Hampshire | £88,281 | £220,703 |
| East Hertfordshire | £169,250 | £423,125 |
| East Lindsey | £208,153 | £520,383 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | £329,687 | £824,218 |
| East Staffordshire | £114,778 | £286,945 |
| East Suffolk | £297,949 | £744,873 |
| Eastbourne | £241,581 | £603,953 |
| Eastleigh | £123,292 | £308,230 |
| Elmbridge | £196,640 | £491,600 |
| Enfield | £1,670,771 | £4,176,928 |
| Epping Forest | £104,045 | £260,113 |
| Epsom and Ewell | £114,414 | £286,035 |
| Erewash | £116,528 | £291,320 |
| Exeter | £133,300 | £333,250 |
| Fareham | £86,557 | £216,393 |
| Fenland | £127,604 | £319,010 |
| Flintshire | £205,365 | £513,413 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | £205,129 | £512,823 |
| Forest of Dean | £71,991 | £179,978 |
| Fylde | £79,316 | £198,290 |
| Gateshead | £353,382 | £883,455 |
| Gedling | £103,352 | £258,380 |
| Gloucester | £187,557 | £468,893 |
| Gosport | £64,080 | £160,200 |
| Gravesham | £178,908 | £447,270 |
| Great Yarmouth | £174,349 | £435,873 |
| Greenwich | £665,818 | £1,664,545 |
| Guildford | £149,866 | £374,665 |
| Gwynedd | £650,017 | £1,625,043 |
| Hackney | £1,192,513 | £2,981,283 |
| Halton | £279,321 | £698,303 |
| Hammersmith and Fulham | £595,540 | £1,488,850 |
| Harborough | £51,889 | £129,723 |
| Haringey | £1,192,612 | £2,981,530 |
| Harlow | £171,557 | £428,893 |
| Harrow | £695,591 | £1,738,978 |
| Hart | £89,597 | £223,993 |
| Hartlepool | £233,796 | £584,490 |
| Hastings | £220,901 | £552,253 |
| Havant | £166,157 | £415,393 |
| Havering | £465,294 | £1,163,235 |
| Herefordshire, County of | £192,609 | £481,523 |
| Hertsmere | £219,612 | £549,030 |
| High Peak | £81,184 | £202,960 |
| Hillingdon | £674,526 | £1,686,315 |
| Hinckley and Bosworth | £78,739 | £196,848 |
| Horsham | £130,731 | £326,828 |
| Hounslow | £834,254 | £2,085,635 |
| Huntingdonshire | £163,009 | £407,523 |
| Hyndburn | £128,711 | £321,778 |
| Ipswich | £199,861 | £499,653 |
| Isle of Anglesey | £123,008 | £307,520 |
| Isle of Wight | £225,653 | £564,133 |
| Isles of Scilly | £386 | £965 |
| Islington | £629,184 | £1,572,960 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | £568,616 | £1,421,540 |
| King’s Lynn and West Norfolk | £183,294 | £458,235 |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of | £547,296 | £1,368,240 |
| Kingston upon Thames | £320,701 | £801,753 |
| Kirklees | £457,165 | £1,142,913 |
| Knowsley | £390,985 | £977,463 |
| Lambeth | £951,920 | £2,379,800 |
| Lancaster | £186,464 | £466,160 |
| Leeds | £1,190,379 | £2,975,948 |
| Leicester | £626,948 | £1,567,370 |
| Lewes | £167,898 | £419,745 |
| Lewisham | £924,089 | £2,310,223 |
| Lichfield | £73,830 | £184,575 |
| Lincoln | £132,330 | £330,825 |
| Liverpool | £1,175,423 | £2,938,558 |
| Luton | £481,678 | £1,204,195 |
| Maidstone | £231,984 | £579,960 |
| Maldon | £59,743 | £149,358 |
| Malvern Hills | £75,651 | £189,128 |
| Manchester | £1,396,135 | £3,490,338 |
| Mansfield | £90,874 | £227,185 |
| Medway | £484,162 | £1,210,405 |
| Melton | £35,685 | £89,213 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | £144,200 | £360,500 |
| Merton | £430,653 | £1,076,633 |
| Mid Devon | £77,202 | £193,005 |
| Mid Suffolk | £70,059 | £175,148 |
| Mid Sussex | £153,750 | £384,375 |
| Middlesbrough | £398,209 | £995,523 |
| Milton Keynes | £463,575 | £1,158,938 |
| Mole Valley | £77,766 | £194,415 |
| Monmouthshire | £119,074 | £297,685 |
| Neath Port Talbot | £291,401 | £728,503 |
| New Forest | £203,218 | £508,045 |
| Newark and Sherwood | £106,928 | £267,320 |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £600,199 | £1,500,498 |
| Newcastle-under-Lyme | £111,031 | £277,578 |
| Newham | £1,373,258 | £3,433,145 |
| Newport | £380,372 | £950,930 |
| North Devon | £120,076 | £300,190 |
| North East Derbyshire | £99,045 | £247,613 |
| North East Lincolnshire | £244,219 | £610,548 |
| North Hertfordshire | £143,846 | £359,615 |
| North Kesteven | £86,931 | £217,328 |
| North Lincolnshire | £145,993 | £364,983 |
| North Norfolk | £103,037 | £257,593 |
| North Northamptonshire | £387,317 | £968,293 |
| North Somerset | £271,399 | £678,498 |
| North Tyneside | £306,562 | £766,405 |
| North Warwickshire | £60,256 | £150,640 |
| North West Leicestershire | £81,022 | £202,555 |
| North Yorkshire Council | £854,306 | £2,135,765 |
| Northumberland | £395,885 | £989,713 |
| Norwich | £258,729 | £646,823 |
| Nottingham | £628,697 | £1,571,743 |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth | £166,978 | £417,445 |
| Oadby and Wigston | £56,271 | £140,678 |
| Oldham | £428,970 | £1,072,425 |
| Oxford | £253,638 | £634,095 |
| Pembrokeshire | £198,191 | £495,478 |
| Pendle | £105,741 | £264,353 |
| Peterborough | £373,781 | £934,453 |
| Plymouth | £423,350 | £1,058,375 |
| Portsmouth | £428,432 | £1,071,080 |
| Powys | £527,613 | £1,319,033 |
| Preston | £214,140 | £535,350 |
| Reading | £367,440 | £918,600 |
| Redbridge | £898,622 | £2,246,555 |
| Redcar and Cleveland | £270,448 | £676,120 |
| Redditch | £79,296 | £198,240 |
| Reigate and Banstead | £182,823 | £457,058 |
| Rhondda, Cynon, Taff | £404,038 | £1,010,095 |
| Ribble Valley | £36,448 | £91,120 |
| Richmond upon Thames | £303,855 | £759,638 |
| Rochdale | £380,421 | £951,053 |
| Rochford | £87,518 | £218,795 |
| Rossendale | £69,985 | £174,963 |
| Rother | £143,672 | £359,180 |
| Rotherham | £427,584 | £1,068,960 |
| Rugby | £112,474 | £281,185 |
| Runnymede | £117,986 | £294,965 |
| Rushcliffe | £84,908 | £212,270 |
| Rushmoor | £160,572 | £401,430 |
| Rutland | £22,594 | £56,485 |
| Salford | £539,340 | £1,348,350 |
| Sandwell | £714,430 | £1,786,075 |
| Sefton | £495,361 | £1,238,403 |
| Sevenoaks | £142,028 | £355,070 |
| Sheffield | £743,428 | £1,858,570 |
| Shropshire | £309,310 | £773,275 |
| Slough | £501,546 | £1,253,865 |
| Solihull | £239,499 | £598,748 |
| Somerset | £687,570 | £1,718,925 |
| South Cambridgeshire | £110,515 | £276,288 |
| South Derbyshire | £85,732 | £214,330 |
| South Gloucestershire | £252,639 | £631,598 |
| South Hams | £93,848 | £234,620 |
| South Holland | £87,577 | £218,943 |
| South Kesteven | £155,861 | £389,653 |
| South Norfolk | £115,933 | £289,833 |
| South Oxfordshire | £135,465 | £338,663 |
| South Ribble | £85,446 | £213,615 |
| South Staffordshire | £87,179 | £217,948 |
| South Tyneside | £308,014 | £770,035 |
| Southampton | £449,031 | £1,122,578 |
| Southend-on-Sea | £409,532 | £1,023,830 |
| Southwark | £817,657 | £2,044,143 |
| Spelthorne | £202,932 | £507,330 |
| St Albans | £143,269 | £358,173 |
| St. Helens | £340,641 | £851,603 |
| Stafford | £93,829 | £234,573 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands | £64,731 | £161,828 |
| Stevenage | £141,827 | £354,568 |
| Stockport | £283,604 | £709,010 |
| Stockton-on-Tees | £314,139 | £785,348 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | £408,213 | £1,020,533 |
| Stratford-on-Avon | £116,848 | £292,120 |
| Stroud | £58,498 | £146,245 |
| Sunderland | £269,369 | £673,423 |
| Surrey Heath | £80,854 | £202,135 |
| Sutton | £346,556 | £866,390 |
| Swale | £260,758 | £651,895 |
| Swansea | £395,685 | £989,213 |
| Swindon | £294,823 | £737,058 |
| Tameside | £388,501 | £971,253 |
| Tamworth | £98,331 | £245,828 |
| Tandridge | £113,042 | £282,605 |
| Teignbridge | £163,919 | £409,798 |
| Telford and Wrekin | £331,146 | £827,865 |
| Tendring | £294,172 | £735,430 |
| Test Valley | £119,892 | £299,730 |
| Tewkesbury | £70,492 | £176,230 |
| Thanet | £330,521 | £826,303 |
| The Vale of Glamorgan | £194,041 | £485,103 |
| Three Rivers | £127,690 | £319,225 |
| Thurrock | £373,896 | £934,740 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | £158,698 | £396,745 |
| Torbay | £314,561 | £786,403 |
| Torfaen | £189,926 | £474,815 |
| Torridge | £70,333 | £175,833 |
| Tower Hamlets | £1,161,275 | £2,903,188 |
| Trafford | £288,315 | £720,788 |
| Tunbridge Wells | £129,046 | £322,615 |
| Uttlesford | £79,657 | £199,143 |
| Vale of White Horse | £121,338 | £303,345 |
| Wakefield | £548,018 | £1,370,045 |
| Walsall | £540,168 | £1,350,420 |
| Waltham Forest | £788,626 | £1,971,565 |
| Wandsworth | £787,211 | £1,968,028 |
| Warrington | £199,974 | £499,935 |
| Warwick | £116,985 | £292,463 |
| Watford | £210,139 | £525,348 |
| Waverley | £113,643 | £284,108 |
| Wealden | £170,709 | £426,773 |
| Welwyn Hatfield | £182,366 | £455,915 |
| West Berkshire | £181,226 | £453,065 |
| West Devon | £127,233 | £318,083 |
| West Lancashire | £145,991 | £364,978 |
| West Lindsey | £105,255 | £263,138 |
| West Northamptonshire | £435,684 | £1,089,210 |
| West Oxfordshire | £107,528 | £268,820 |
| West Suffolk | £168,976 | £422,440 |
| Westminster | £867,782 | £2,169,455 |
| Westmorland and Furness | £292,634 | £731,585 |
| Wigan | £436,756 | £1,091,890 |
| Wiltshire | £320,453 | £801,133 |
| Winchester | £104,807 | £262,018 |
| Windsor and Maidenhead | £178,617 | £446,543 |
| Wirral | £551,637 | £1,379,093 |
| Woking | £131,398 | £328,495 |
| Wokingham | £145,121 | £362,803 |
| Wolverhampton | £539,869 | £1,349,673 |
| Worcester | £119,200 | £298,000 |
| Worthing | £153,637 | £384,093 |
| Wrexham | £226,072 | £565,180 |
| Wychavon | £112,099 | £280,248 |
| Wyre | £138,017 | £345,043 |
| Wyre Forest | £110,242 | £275,605 |
| York | £163,991 | £409,978 |