I am writing under the Freedom of Information Act to request the below information regarding exempt accommodation (as set out in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 20061, Schedule 3, paragraph 4(10)) in your council area. For the financial years 2021-22, 2020-21, 2019-20, please provide the below.

Please note: if the exact figure is not known, please provide the figure that the council uses in its own accounting/record keeping, and indicate that it is a council-estimated figure.

1. How much money was paid out by the council to providers to supply exempt accommodation in total in each of these financial years?
a) 2021-22: £1,340,387.94
b) 2020-21: £926,153.46
c) 2019-20: £767,852.40

2. How many people in the council area were housed in exempt accommodation paid for by the council?
a) 2021-22: 203
b) 2020-21: 192
c) 2019-20: 179

3. What is the average claim (in £) by providers per individual per year to supply exempt accommodation in your council area?
a) 2021-22:
b) 2020-21:
c) 2019-20:
Please see attached spreadsheet (sheet 1). Average has been worked out using total spend for each provider divided by number of claims held in the financial period. Some of these claims may not have been in payment for the whole period. To establish this information would take in excess of 18 hours.

4. If different from q3, what is the highest claim (in £) by providers per individual per year to supply exempt accommodation in your council area?
a) 2021-22:
b) 2020-21:
c) 2019-20:
See spreadsheet attached (sheet2). Figures used are the eligible rent that was used in the calculation. So gross rent minus any charges that considered ineligible under Housing Benefit regulations.