Official Statistics

Statistical release: January to March 2022 (quarter 4, financial year 2021 to 2022)

Updated 27 July 2022

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Housing Benefit (HB) is an income related benefit that is intended to help meet housing costs for rented accommodation.

This summary contains statistics on the average time taken (speed of processing) to process new HB claims and change of circumstances to existing HB claims for Great Britain. The average used is the mean and is measured in calendar days, rounded to the nearest day.

Reference to rolling average annual figures (covering the year up to each point) is included in this bulletin to smooth seasonality and illustrate the trend over time. For more information on this please see background information note.

1. Main stories

The main stories for quarter 4 2021 to 2022 (January to March 2022) are:

• the average speed of processing for new HB claims has increased by one day since the previous quarter, to 20 calendar days. The general trend over the last 18 months, according to the rolling average year-end figures, continues to be an upward one

• the average speed of processing for change of circumstances to an existing HB claim is 3 calendar days in the latest quarter, which is five days lower than last quarter and the same as quarter 4 2020 to 2021. Rolling average year-end figures show a slight increasing trend over the last 15 months

2. Average speed of processing

Rolling average year-end figures for average speed of processing for new HB claims show an increasing trend in the last 18 months

Average speed of processing data at GB level by claim type (quarterly and year-end figures) for quarter 1 2012 to 2013 to quarter 4 2021 to 2022

Note: year-end data are calculated using a quarterly rolling average over each annual period. Please see our background methodology note for more information about how we calculate year-end averages.

The average time taken to process a new HB claim during the latest quarter was 20 calendar days. This is one day higher than the previous quarter and one day higher than the same quarter a year earlier.

Historically, rolling average year-end speed of processing days for new HB claims show a decreasing trend to quarter 4 2019 to 2020, where they remained stable to quarter 2 2020 to 2021. However, since the year ending quarter 3 2020 to 2021 the rolling average number of days follows an increasing trend.

The average number of days taken to process a change of circumstance to an existing HB claim during the latest quarter was 3 calendar days. This is five days lower than quarter 3 2021 to 2022 but the same as quarter 4 2020 to 2021.

Rolling average year-end times for change of circumstances to existing HB claims peaked in the year ending quarter 1 2013 to 2014 then steadily decreased to quarter 3 2020 to 2021. Over the last 15 months, the average year-end figures show a slight increasing trend.

It is useful to note that in quarter 4 each year, the volume of change of circumstances to existing HB claims increases, due to the end of the financial year before the uprating of rent. However, the average number of days to process those claims decreases because LAs tend to allocate extra resource to process these changes. In the other quarters, the volume of change of circumstances to existing HB claims decrease and have a higher average speed of processing.

Focusing on monthly average processing times allows us to view in-quarter variation. In quarter 4 2021 to 2022, the monthly average number of calendar days to process new HB claims was:

• 22 calendar days for January
• 19 calendar days for February and
• 20 calendar days for March

In quarter 4 2021 to 2022, the monthly average number of calendar days to process change of circumstances to existing HB claims was:

• 6 calendar days for January
• 3 calendar days for February and
• 2 calendar days for March

3. Volumes of new HB claims and change of circumstances to existing HB claims

On average, LAs process a greater number of change of circumstances to existing HB claims than new HB claims.

Volume of HB Claims in GB, quarter 4 2021 to 2022

Type of Claim	Number of Claims processed	Proportion of Claims Processed
New HB Claims	88,000	2%
Change of Circumstances to existing HB Claims	3,600,000	98%

During the latest quarter there were 88,000 (2%) new HB claims and 3.6 million (98%) change of circumstances to existing HB claims processed in GB. This compares to 91,000 (2%) new HB claims and 3.9 million (98%) change of circumstances to existing HB claims at the same quarter a year earlier.

The volume of new HB claims continues to remain stable

Average number of new HB claims processed (quarterly and year-end volumes) quarter 1 2012 to 2013 to quarter 4 2021 to 2022

During the latest quarter there were 88,000 new HB claims, which is an increase of 5,000 (6%) since last quarter, and a decrease of 2,500 (3%) when compared to the same quarter a year earlier. Rolling average year-end figures showed a decreasing trend from quarter 1 2012 to 2013 up until quarter 3 2019 to 2020. However, since quarter 4 2019 to 2020 the trend has remained stable to the latest quarter.

Year-end rolling averages for the volume of change of circumstances to existing HB claims show a continuing decreasing trend

Average number of change of circumstances to existing HB claims processed (quarterly and year-end volumes) quarter 1 2012 to 2013 to quarter 4 2021 to 2022

During the latest quarter there were 3.6 million changes of circumstances for existing HB claims, which is an increase of 2.6 million (257%) since last quarter and a decrease of 360,000 (9%) when compared to the same quarter a year earlier. Historical rolling average year-end figures showed an increasing trend until quarter 2 2015 to 2016, but a decrease since then until the latest quarter.

It is useful to note that in quarter 4 each year, the volume of change of circumstances to existing HB claims increases sharply, due to the end of the financial year before the uprating of rent. This quarter continues that trend showing a 257% increase in the volume of change of circumstances to existing HB claims compared to quarter 3 2021 to 2022 (1.0 million).

The proportion of new HB claims, compared to change of circumstances to existing HB claims, continues to remain stable at year-end

Percentage of claims processed by type (year-end figures) quarter 1 2012 to 2013 to quarter 4 2021 to 2022

Note: Figures are based on rolling average year-end data. Please see our background methodology note for more information about how we calculate year-end averages.

Since the 2012 to 2013 financial year, there have been a greater number of change of circumstances to existing HB claims processed, compared with new HB claims. Rolling average year-end figures show a very gradual decrease in the percentage of new claims processed when compared with change of circumstances until quarter 2 2019 to 2020, but since then the proportions have remained stable.

The changes in volume of both new HB claims and change of circumstances to existing HB claims are due to the impact of the Universal Credit (UC) roll-out, which has also affected figures reported at the LA level. The rollout of UC was completed in December 2018 and now the majority of new applications for help with housing costs are processed through UC across GB and only claims made in particular circumstances are eligible for HB.

Volumes of both new HB claims and change of circumstances to existing HB claims are decreasing, but at different rates. This is due to the change in the types of claims being processed. For example, changes to a claimant’s circumstances may lead to a claimant being moved to UC, however, there are a small number of people that are still able to apply for HB, including pensioners, whom have fewer changes to declare. Read about who can get Housing Benefit. It should be noted that care should be exercised when interpreting data at a LA level in the accompanying data tables.

4. Average speed of processing by Local Authority

Quarterly average number of days to process new HB claims and change of circumstances to existing HB claims can be illustrated at the LA level for GB. For a more detailed breakdown see table 1 of the data tables accompanying this release of statistics.

The average number of days to process new HB claims varies by Local Authority

Average speed of processing at local authority level for new HB claims for quarter 4 2021 to 2022

On average a new HB claim takes longer to process than a change of circumstance to an existing HB claim. Detailed figures in the accompanying data tables show greater variability for new HB claims in comparison to change of circumstances to existing HB claims.

The quarterly average number of days to process new HB claims at the LA level ranged from 4 to 60 calendar days during quarter 4 2021 to 2022. 290 (81%) of LAs had a quarterly average of 4 to 25 calendar days while 69 (19%) of LAs took on average between 26 and 60 calendar days to process new HB claims during the latest quarter.

Variations between the average number of days that each LA takes to process a new HB claim or a change of circumstance to an existing HB claim should be seen in context with changes to operational processes, including reallocating resource due to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The average number of days to process change of circumstances to existing HB claims varies by Local Authority

Average speed of processing at local authority level for change of circumstances to existing HB claims for quarter 4 2021 to 2022

The quarterly average number of days to process change of circumstances to existing HB claims at the LA level ranged from 1 to 19 calendar days during quarter 4 2021 to 2022. 325 (91%) of LAs had a quarterly average number of 1 to 4 calendar days while 33 (9%) of LAs took on average between 5 and 12 calendar days to process change of circumstances to existing HB claims during the latest quarter. There was one LA that had an average speed of processing of 19 days due to disruption from ongoing IT issues which impacted average speed of processing.

5. COVID-19

This summary contains statistics on the number of new HB claims, and change of circumstances to existing HB claims, for the period from January 2022 to March 2022.

The data in this release should be seen in context with operational emergency measures, policy changes and easements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local Housing Allowance

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates determine the financial support renters in the private sector are entitled to. LHA rates were increased in response to COVID-19. In April 2020 they were set at the 30th percentile of rents within the local area for each bedroom size up to a maximum of 4 bedrooms. Rates have been maintained at their increased levels in cash terms.

Working Tax Credit

The Additional Earnings Disregard (AED) for HB increased by £20 per week in the 2020 to 2021 tax year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working Tax Credit (WTC) entitlement has changed for the 2021 to 2022 tax year and the AED increase of £20 is no longer in effect.

A one-off lump sum payment of £500 has been paid to WTC recipients in the 2021 to 2022 tax year. This was disregarded for HB claimants.

Easements

Easements have been put in place to support LAs during the COVID-19 pandemic in order for them to continue effective delivery of HB services.

6. What you need to know

National, Official and Experimental Statistics are produced in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and the Code of Practice for Statistics. This release contains Official Statistics on speed of processing of HB claims for quarter 4, 2021 to 2022. They are compiled following the standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value set out within the Code.

The statistics are released quarterly in April, July, October and January and are sourced from data originally collected via administrative systems, the Single Housing Benefit Extract.

The statistics show speed of processing of new HB claims and change of circumstances to existing HB claims. The volume of new HB claims and change of circumstances to existing HB claims are also included here for context. The total days to process are included in supporting detailed tables that can be viewed in the HB statistics on speed of processing collection page including a breakdown at LA level.

Genuine variations between months can occur at a LA level. For example, some of these are caused by time limited issues or localised changes in operational policy. Hence, figures for individual LAs should be interpreted with care.

Quarterly and annual totals may not be entirely consistent with monthly figures. This is because any LAs that do not have data for every month of the quarter or year are not included in the quarterly or annual breakdowns. Average year-end figures include data over the previous 12 months, but there may be inconsistencies where LAs do not have available data for the period.

From April 2013, UC was introduced. Read more about UC. The process of migrating claimants to UC began with single claimants and was expanded to other claimant types via the UC Full Service (UCFS). The UCFS rollout was completed in December 2018 and it is now available in every Jobcentre across the UK. Read the rollout schedule for Full Service. UCFS implementation dates for each LA are provided in the accompanying data tables for this release.

Figures included in this release are rounded in line with our rounding policy as outlined below and in our background methodology note.

Range	Rounded to the nearest
0 to 1,000	10
1,001 to 10,000	100
10,001 to 100,000	1,000
100,001 to 1,000,000	10,000
1,000,001 to 10,000,000	100,000
10,000,001 to 100,000,000	1,000,000

Specific Local Authority data issues

Please note, sometimes we need to omit certain LA data due to concerns over the quality of the data and details of the LAs not included are listed below. It should be noted however that that the omission of LA data outlined below does not change the story in the release but can sometimes have a slight impact on regional level figures:

• HB speed of processing statistics do not include figures for Gloucester LA because of a cyber-attack suffered by the LA impacting data provision. Therefore, speed of processing figures for Gloucester will be omitted in line with our standard approach for handling missing data or data with quality concerns. Analysis for Gloucester using historical data shows that the GB and regional (South West) level speed of processing figures are not impacted by the omission of Gloucester data. Volumes of both types of HB claims are likely to be affected by less than 1% at GB level and around 4% at regional (South West) level

• Hackney LA have now resumed the supply of HB speed of processing data to DWP, but because recovery work in Hackney is still ongoing, the statistics have been omitted until we are happy with the quality of the data

• due to technical problems around IT systems, which resulted in data anomalies and erroneous HB claims, HB speed of processing statistics do not include data for Tandridge LA for the full period of this release (quarter 4 2021 to 2022)

7. Where to find out more

Background methodology note

Read the background information and frequently asked questions on statistics for the average time taken to process HB claims (previously right time indicator statistics).

Other National and Official Statistics

DWP publish HB Caseload National Statistics. The statistics are published quarterly showing monthly caseload figures which are measured on a claimant basis. Full statistics on HB caseload since August 2013 are available from Stat-Xplore and Excel.

DWP also publish HB Debt Recovery National Statistics showing fraud volumes and incorrectly overpaid benefit based on data from LAs.

Read details of other National and Official Statistics produced by DWP.

Historical data

The historical Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Claims Administration Quarterly Performance Data which is available from 2007 to 2008 are based on clerical returns made by individual LAs. Breakdowns of New HB Claims and Change of Circumstances to existing HB Claims Speed of Processing are available historically, and the New HB Claims Speed of Processing are broadly comparable over time. However, a change in definition for Change of Circumstances to existing HB Claims between 2007 to 2008 and 2009 to 2010 means that direct comparison of this element with Speed of Processing statistics is not meaningful.

DWP publication guidance

Read the DWP statistical summary policies and statements for information about policies and procedures on DWP National and Official Statistics, including a Quality Guideline, Confidentiality and Access Policy Statement, Pre-release Access arrangements and Statement of Administrative Sources.

Feedback

DWP welcomes feedback on all the statistical publications as it ensures that publications remain relevant to the users. Please use the HB Speed of Processing questionnaire to send us any specific feedback that you may have on this publication. DWP will use the information to:

• target future consultations at interested users
• shape the future direction of statistics development to address user needs; help ensure value for money, whilst giving users a structured way of expressing their views

Completed questionnaires can be returned by e-mail to [email protected].

Users can also join the Stats UserNet “Welfare and Benefit Statistics” community. DWP announces items of interest to users via this forum, as well as replying to users’ questions.

Media enquiries should be directed to the DWP Press Office.

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed by email to:

• Producer of this release: Michael Hatton [email protected]

• Lead statistician: James Gray [email protected]

ISBN: 978-1-78659-440-2