This request is made in the public interest and relates to transparency, accountability, and the stewardship of public funds. I am not seeking any personal data relating to individual tenants. For the avoidance of doubt, where the information requested is held in part, in summary, or in aggregated form, I would be grateful for disclosure of what is held.

Housing Benefit expenditure relating to GreenSquareAccord
1. Please provide, for each of the last three completed financial years:
a) the total amount of Housing Benefit paid in respect of properties owned or managed by GreenSquareAccord within your local authority area; and
b) where held, the proportion of that Housing Benefit expenditure attributable specifically to eligible service charge elements, as distinct from core rent.
We have been advised by our Benefits manager that they can find no record of any properties that are owned or managed by GreenSquareAccord that have been paid Housing Benefit by WBC
If Housing Benefit payments are not itemised in this way within your records, please confirm:
– whether your systems distinguish between rent and eligible service charge elements at the point of assessment or payment; and
– what alternative breakdown, estimates, or proxy data is held that most closely reflects Housing Benefit paid toward GreenSquareAccord service charges. If no such breakdown is held, please confirm this explicitly.
N/A as no GreenSquareAccord properties

Policies, guidance, and procedures
2. Please provide copies of any written policies, internal guidance, procedures, or training materials used by your council’s Housing Benefit service when assessing the reasonableness of rent and service charge increases for social housing tenants. This should include, but not be limited to:
– any criteria or thresholds used to determine when an increase is considered significant or requires further questioning; and
– guidance on the types of evidence landlords are expected to provide where charges are queried.
I have attached the documents that we use when initially assessing a claim, some of these documentations may also be sent if there is a change in rent and more detail is required.
In regards to whether rents increases are considered significant or not each claim is dealt with on an individual basis rather than against a particular process or procedure.
We have no written guidance on what evidence landlords are expected to provide, each claim would be dealt with on an individual basis as to what was required.
Staff have also received internal and/or external training.

Frequency of challenges to landlords’ charges
3. For each of the last five financial years, please provide:
– the number of occasions on which your council’s Housing Benefit service queried, challenged, or rejected proposed rent or service charge increases submitted by social housing landlords; and
– the outcomes of those challenges (for example, charges reduced, removed, amended, or accepted following explanation).
Where available, please provide this information broken down by landlord.
This information is not recorded in one area. As such to obtain this information would mean that every claim from the last 5 years would need to be checked. This would be in excess of 2000 claims and would take at least 30mins per claim, we would therefore be looking at, in excess of 1000 hours of work

Information relating specifically to GreenSquareAccord
4. For the last five financial years, please confirm:
– the number of occasions on which your council queried or discussed rent or service charge increases submitted by GreenSquareAccord;
– the general nature of the issues raised (for example, scale of increase, introduction of new charges, utility cost increases); and
– whether any elements of GreenSquareAccord’s proposed charges were removed, amended, or excluded from Housing Benefit eligibility following council review.
I am not requesting tenant-specific or personally identifiable information.
N/A as no GreenSquareAccord properties

Evidence reviewed during assessments
5. Please provide:
– a list of the types of information or documentation typically reviewed by the Housing Benefit service when assessing rent and service charge increases;
– confirmation of whether original invoices or underlying financial records are ever reviewed as part of this process; and
– confirmation of whether assessments rely primarily on summaries or explanations supplied by landlords.
We would request the new tenancy and a full breakdown of the rent including any service charges.
We do request original invoices and/or financial records if we feel it necessary
We primarily rely on summaries and explanations provided by landlords

Retrospective corrections and overpayments
6. Please confirm:
– whether your council has identified cases in the last five financial years where Housing Benefit was paid on the basis of rent or service charges later found to be incorrect, ineligible, or overstated;
– how such cases are handled (for example, recovery from landlords or adjustment of future payments); and
– the number of such cases identified, if recorded.
This information is not recorded in one area. As such to obtain this information would mean that every claim from the last 5 years would need to be checked. This would be in excess of 2000 claims and would take at least 30mins per claim, we would therefore be looking at, in excess of 1000 hours of work. Section 12.

Meetings and communications with landlords
7. Please provide:
– dates of meetings (and agendas or summaries where available) between your council and social housing landlords in the last five financial years where rent or service charge increases were discussed; and
– any standard or template correspondence used by the Housing Benefit service when querying landlords’ proposed charges.
This information is not recorded in one area. As such to obtain this information would mean that every claim from the last 5 years would need to be checked. This would be in excess of 2000 claims and would take at least 30mins per claim, we would therefore be looking at, in excess of 1000 hours of work

Impact on Housing Benefit claimants
8. Please provide any guidance, assessments, or internal documentation held that considers the impact of rent or service charge increases on Housing Benefit claimants, including circumstances where charges are disputed but continue to be collected.
Increases in rent or service charges or any disputes these would be dealt with on an individual basis, we do not have a set procedure or process that could be provided.