S2/2025: Housing Benefit Administration Subsidy arrangements for English, Scottish and Welsh local authorities for the financial year ending March 2026
Updated 4 April 2025
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
© Crown copyright 2025
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Who should read
All Housing Benefit (HB) colleagues and wider if appropriate.
Officers preparing subsidy claims and estimates.
Action
For information
Subject
Housing Benefit Administration Subsidy arrangements for English, Scottish and Welsh local authorities for the 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.
For queries about technical content of this circular, contact: lawelfare.lafunding@dwp.gov.uk.
For queries about HB administration subsidy payment arrangements, contact: hb.nonsubsidy@dwp.gov.uk.
If you need to ask about the distribution of this circular, contact: lawelfare.correspondence@dwp.gov.uk.
Crown Copyright 2025
Recipients may freely reproduce this circular.
Introduction
1. This circular contains final details of the distribution of the Housing Benefit Administration Subsidy (HBAS) for the financial year ending (FYE) March 2026.
2. Provision for the FYE March 2026 HBAS arrangements will be made by an Amendment Order to the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998, which will be subject to consultation with the local authority (LA) associations (LAAs) prior to being laid in Parliament.
3. LAAs and LA representatives have been consulted regarding the distribution methodology.
Background
4. Following the abolition of Council Tax Benefit (CTB) and the introduction of Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) in April 2013, the funding baseline for Housing Benefit/CTB has remained disaggregated. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for allocating the HB element to LAs and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is responsible for distributing the LCTS element to their respective LAs.
5. The FYE March 2026 HBAS allocation by country is:
-
English LAs – £157.022 million
-
Scottish LAs – £18.913 million
-
Welsh LAs – £9.472 million
6. This funding is calculated by deducting the Universal Credit (UC) reduction from the FYE March 2026 HBAS, which is consistent with DWP’s baseline funding.
7. For the FYE March 2026, no departmental efficiency reduction has been applied.
Universal Credit rollout
8. The FYE March 2026 HBAS funding takes into account the estimated volume of HB claimants moving to UC by the FYE March 2025, as UC reductions are applied to the year after they are realised.
9. UC reductions of £4.535 million have been applied to the total amount of the FYE March 2025 HBAS for Great Britain. This is in addition to the £37.798 million deducted from the baseline, which is the cumulative UC reduction value applied up to and including the FYE March 2025 HBAS funding.
10. UC reductions are profiled across a number of financial years. The FYE March 2026 UC reductions continue to reflect current policies.
Distribution methodology
11. This funding is a contribution to the cost of administering HB. The current methodology uses only HB caseload data, weighted to account for geographical differences, to determine the proportion of core HBAS allocated to each LA. The FYE March 2026 allocation is based on HB caseload data up to May 2024.
12. The methodology was changed ahead of the FYE March 2025 HBAS allocations and transitional arrangements were applied to phase the impact of the change in methodology over three years. Increases and reductions in funding caused by the change in the FYE March 2025 was limited to one third of the difference, and it has been limited to two thirds of the difference for the FYE March 2026.
13. The UC reductions have been calculated based on the amount of HB Working Age caseload moving to UC. SHBE (Single Housing Benefit Extract) and UC data have been used to determine the expected change in workloads due to UC in the FYE March 2025 and these have been applied to the FYE March 2026 allocations.
14. Allocations are rounded to the nearest pound.
National funding for the FYE March 2026
15. The table that follows details the total national funding level available for the FYE March 2026 compared to the FYE March 2025.
16. Some residual funding has been incorporated into the FYE March 2026 HBAS allocations, as New Burdens funding for the benefit cap has now ended because most of the impacted claims are transitioning to UC.
17. Similarly, funding for the Verify Earnings and Pensions (VEP) service and the Housing Benefit Matching Service (HBMS) element of the HBAA Initiative have diminished due to caseload volumes and have also been incorporated with HBAS.
| HB administration subsidy | FYE March 2025 (£million rounded) | FYE March 2026 (£million rounded) |
|---|---|---|
| HBAS allocation (previous year) | 186.981 | 189.942* |
| Less adjustment for UC | -1.691 | -4.535 |
| Less departmental efficiency reduction | -0.000 | -0.000 |
| HBAS funding level | 185.289 | 185.407* |
*includes residual funding as noted in paragraphs 16 and 17 above
Payment of HBAS
18. Payments of HBAS (see Annexes A, B and C for individual LA allocations) will be made in 12 monthly instalments starting in April 2025. The overall subsidy available to support HB administration costs is cash limited.
19. There is no provision for any adjustments to be made to individual LA allocations.
Annex A –LA allocations – England
| Local Authority | Final DWP HBAS allocation (£) for the FYE March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Adur District Council | 139,434 |
| Amber Valley Borough Council | 283,355 |
| Arun District Council | 358,393 |
| Ashfield District Council | 323,223 |
| Ashford Borough Council | 296,950 |
| Babergh District Council | 159,774 |
| Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council | 739,570 |
| Basildon Council | 515,869 |
| Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council | 332,245 |
| Bassetlaw District Council | 278,022 |
| Bath and North East Somerset Council | 376,094 |
| Bedford Borough Council | 440,439 |
| Birmingham City Council | 5,464,583 |
| Blaby District Council | 126,462 |
| Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council | 439,970 |
| Blackpool Council | 633,791 |
| Bolsover District Council | 216,713 |
| Bolton Council | 874,853 |
| Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk | 334,941 |
| Borough of Broxbourne Council | 221,571 |
| Boston Borough Council | 167,912 |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council | 1,070,106 |
| Bracknell Forest Council | 227,320 |
| Braintree District Council | 309,069 |
| Breckland Council | 288,195 |
| Brent Council | 1,435,546 |
| Brentwood Borough Council | 113,020 |
| Brighton and Hove City Council | 1,024,719 |
| Bristol City Council | 1,466,542 |
| Broadland District Council | 182,300 |
| Bromsgrove District Council | 146,878 |
| Broxtowe Borough Council | 213,241 |
| Buckinghamshire Council | 880,603 |
| Burnley Borough Council | 311,854 |
| Bury Council | 476,563 |
| Calderdale Council | 563,314 |
| Cambridge City Council | 300,979 |
| Cannock Chase District Council | 229,353 |
| Canterbury City Council | 347,784 |
| Castle Point Borough Council | 155,691 |
| Central Bedfordshire Council | 496,719 |
| Charnwood Borough Council | 291,905 |
| Chelmsford City Council | 336,157 |
| Cheltenham Borough Council | 247,827 |
| Cherwell District Council | 266,687 |
| Cheshire East Council | 693,117 |
| Cheshire West and Chester Council | 798,614 |
| Chesterfield Borough Council | 347,094 |
| Chichester District Council | 258,255 |
| Chorley Council | 234,140 |
| City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council | 1,407,851 |
| City of Lincoln Council | 307,359 |
| City of London Corporation | 52,793 |
| City of Wolverhampton Council | 869,413 |
| City of York Council | 337,687 |
| Colchester Borough Council | 391,763 |
| Cornwall Council | 1,523,069 |
| Cotswold District Council | 155,543 |
| Council of the Isles of Scilly | 1,633 |
| Coventry City Council | 1,004,613 |
| Crawley Borough Council | 332,482 |
| Croydon Council | 1,303,004 |
| Cumberland Council | 690,816 |
| Dacorum Borough Council | 376,150 |
| Darlington Borough Council | 324,262 |
| Dartford Borough Council | 207,630 |
| Derby City Council | 739,651 |
| Derbyshire Dales District Council | 118,114 |
| Doncaster Council | 908,160 |
| Dorset Council | 819,746 |
| Dover District Council | 314,211 |
| Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council | 780,474 |
| Durham County Council | 1,789,547 |
| East Cambridgeshire District Council | 154,359 |
| East Devon District Council | 272,836 |
| East Hampshire District Council | 176,657 |
| East Herts District Council | 241,187 |
| East Lindsey District Council | 411,653 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire Council | 641,528 |
| East Staffordshire Borough Council | 217,048 |
| East Suffolk Council | 592,563 |
| Eastbourne Borough Council | 364,999 |
| Eastleigh Borough Council | 225,406 |
| Elmbridge Borough Council | 253,013 |
| Enfield Council | 1,359,078 |
| Epping Forest District Council | 266,048 |
| Epsom and Ewell Borough Council | 135,077 |
| Erewash Borough Council | 272,177 |
| Exeter City Council | 335,667 |
| Fareham Borough Council | 155,047 |
| Fenland District Council | 254,956 |
| Folkestone and Hythe District Council | 312,844 |
| Forest of Dean District Council | 184,101 |
| Fylde Council | 178,521 |
| Gateshead Council | 750,920 |
| Gedling Borough Council | 225,517 |
| Gloucester City Council | 328,509 |
| Gosport Borough Council | 210,351 |
| Gravesham Borough Council | 240,715 |
| Great Yarmouth Borough Council | 340,583 |
| Guildford Borough Council | 233,519 |
| Halton Borough Council | 453,062 |
| Harborough District Council | 112,635 |
| Haringey Council | 1,314,656 |
| Harlow Council | 280,668 |
| Harrow Council | 653,974 |
| Hart District Council | 103,199 |
| Hartlepool Borough Council | 396,281 |
| Hastings Borough Council | 400,824 |
| Havant Borough Council | 224,163 |
| Herefordshire Council | 397,950 |
| Hertsmere Borough Council | 243,786 |
| High Peak Borough Council | 197,749 |
| Hillingdon Council | 823,944 |
| Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council | 173,293 |
| Horsham District Council | 228,322 |
| Hull City Council | 1,154,817 |
| Huntingdonshire District Council | 294,820 |
| Hyndburn Borough Council | 268,832 |
| Ipswich Borough Council | 411,377 |
| Isle of Wight Council | 421,144 |
| Islington Council | 1,524,275 |
| Kirklees Council | 1,058,351 |
| Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council | 646,809 |
| Lancaster City Council | 350,747 |
| Leeds City Council | 2,224,871 |
| Leicester City Council | 1,003,941 |
| Lewes District Council | 237,591 |
| Lewisham Council | 1,540,725 |
| Lichfield District Council | 172,380 |
| Liverpool City Council | 2,379,484 |
| London Borough of Barking and Dagenham | 733,662 |
| London Borough of Barnet | 1,277,392 |
| London Borough of Bexley | 514,523 |
| London Borough of Bromley | 771,589 |
| London Borough of Camden | 1,356,555 |
| London Borough of Ealing | 1,373,909 |
| London Borough of Hackney | 2,039,340 |
| London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham | 1,006,544 |
| London Borough of Havering | 541,264 |
| London Borough of Hounslow | 856,541 |
| London Borough of Lambeth | 1,856,729 |
| London Borough of Newham | 1,565,849 |
| London Borough of Redbridge | 810,401 |
| London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames | 424,410 |
| London Borough of Tower Hamlets | 1,797,888 |
| London Borough of Waltham Forest | 865,136 |
| Luton Borough Council | 573,814 |
| Maidstone Borough Council | 326,241 |
| Maldon District Council | 112,736 |
| Malvern Hills District Council | 151,742 |
| Manchester City Council | 2,296,060 |
| Mansfield District Council | 325,803 |
| Medway Council | 641,746 |
| Melton Borough Council | 82,727 |
| Merton Council | 505,429 |
| Mid Devon District Council | 156,443 |
| Mid Suffolk District Council | 151,267 |
| Mid Sussex District Council | 223,390 |
| Middlesbrough Council | 564,697 |
| Milton Keynes Council | 733,622 |
| Mole Valley District Council | 162,247 |
| New Forest District Council | 325,842 |
| Newark and Sherwood District Council | 264,506 |
| Newcastle City Council | 1,113,692 |
| Newcastle-Under-Lyme Borough Council | 280,692 |
| North Devon Council | 237,599 |
| North East Derbyshire District Council | 251,186 |
| North East Lincolnshire Council | 491,307 |
| North Hertfordshire District Council | 253,407 |
| North Kesteven District Council | 187,690 |
| North Lincolnshire Council | 394,836 |
| North Norfolk District Council | 245,468 |
| North Northamptonshire Council | 724,215 |
| North Somerset Council | 497,591 |
| North Tyneside Council | 662,822 |
| North Warwickshire Borough Council | 126,715 |
| North West Leicestershire District Council | 172,236 |
| North Yorkshire Council | 1,204,650 |
| Northumberland County Council | 835,450 |
| Norwich City Council | 569,271 |
| Nottingham City Council | 1,248,736 |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council | 319,487 |
| Oadby and Wigston Borough Council | 79,454 |
| Oldham Council | 689,591 |
| Oxford City Council | 388,814 |
| Pendle Borough Council | 220,470 |
| Peterborough City Council | 577,194 |
| Plymouth City Council | 854,004 |
| Portsmouth City Council | 804,480 |
| Preston City Council | 410,910 |
| Reading Borough Council | 474,154 |
| Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council | 478,990 |
| Redditch Borough Council | 207,786 |
| Reigate and Banstead Borough Council | 264,799 |
| Ribble Valley Borough Council | 73,717 |
| Rochdale Borough Council | 752,275 |
| Rochford District Council | 121,760 |
| Rossendale Borough Council | 170,714 |
| Rother District Council | 221,356 |
| Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council | 813,583 |
| Royal Borough of Greenwich | 1,336,566 |
| Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea | 980,467 |
| Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames | 397,831 |
| Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead | 240,919 |
| Rugby Borough Council | 190,783 |
| Runnymede Borough Council | 147,612 |
| Rushcliffe Borough Council | 156,471 |
| Rushmoor Borough Council | 259,781 |
| Rutland County Council | 55,594 |
| Salford City Council | 1,064,777 |
| Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council | 1,034,505 |
| Sefton Council | 888,107 |
| Sevenoaks District Council | 217,483 |
| Sheffield City Council | 1,768,265 |
| Shropshire Council | 655,570 |
| Slough Borough Council | 406,585 |
| Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council | 447,845 |
| Somerset Council | 1,251,926 |
| South Cambridgeshire District Council | 228,589 |
| South Derbyshire District Council | 156,301 |
| South Gloucestershire Council | 440,852 |
| South Hams District Council | 184,657 |
| South Holland District Council | 161,462 |
| South Kesteven District Council | 270,917 |
| South Norfolk Council | 224,938 |
| South Oxfordshire District Council | 206,764 |
| South Ribble Borough Council | 181,882 |
| South Staffordshire District Council | 205,748 |
| South Tyneside Council | 666,320 |
| Southampton City Council | 827,021 |
| Southend-On-Sea Borough Council | 567,642 |
| Southwark Council | 1,748,278 |
| Spelthorne Borough Council | 199,254 |
| St Albans City and District Council | 233,066 |
| St Helens Council | 592,243 |
| Stafford Borough Council | 228,786 |
| Staffordshire Moorlands District Council | 142,378 |
| Stevenage Borough Council | 248,806 |
| Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council | 643,678 |
| Stockton-On-Tees Borough Council | 553,127 |
| Stoke-On-Trent City Council | 842,675 |
| Stratford-On-Avon District Council | 233,823 |
| Stroud District Council | 216,697 |
| Sunderland City Council | 1,122,884 |
| Surrey Heath Borough Council | 120,480 |
| Sutton Council | 535,925 |
| Swale Borough Council | 371,169 |
| Swindon Borough Council | 526,080 |
| Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council | 762,755 |
| Tamworth Borough Council | 178,181 |
| Tandridge District Council | 155,734 |
| Teignbridge District Council | 288,551 |
| Telford and Wrekin Council | 560,008 |
| Tendring District Council | 438,175 |
| Test Valley Borough Council | 218,258 |
| Tewkesbury Borough Council | 151,332 |
| Thanet District Council | 477,464 |
| Three Rivers District Council | 169,602 |
| Thurrock Council | 399,104 |
| Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council | 242,341 |
| Torbay Council | 465,590 |
| Torridge District Council | 155,259 |
| Trafford Council | 516,999 |
| Tunbridge Wells Borough Council | 226,201 |
| Uttlesford District Council | 134,899 |
| Vale of White Horse District Council | 205,797 |
| Wakefield Council | 1,073,923 |
| Walsall Council | 847,538 |
| Wandsworth Council | 1,335,428 |
| Warrington Borough Council | 475,902 |
| Warwick District Council | 252,529 |
| Watford Borough Council | 246,194 |
| Waverley Borough Council | 211,995 |
| Wealden District Council | 236,555 |
| Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council | 318,085 |
| West Berkshire Council | 293,291 |
| West Devon Borough Council | 109,584 |
| West Lancashire Borough Council | 255,991 |
| West Lindsey District Council | 213,381 |
| West Northamptonshire Council | 771,832 |
| West Oxfordshire District Council | 175,454 |
| West Suffolk Council | 347,897 |
| Westminster City Council | 1,469,906 |
| Westmorland and Furness Council | 429,924 |
| Wigan Council | 899,833 |
| Wiltshire Council | 895,439 |
| Winchester City Council | 219,457 |
| Wirral Council | 1,127,673 |
| Woking Borough Council | 188,604 |
| Wokingham District Council | 172,685 |
| Worcester City Council | 235,202 |
| Worthing Borough Council | 280,166 |
| Wychavon District Council | 240,197 |
| Wyre Council | 267,936 |
| Wyre Forest District Council | 264,837 |
| Total* | 157,021,641 |
*All figures are shown as rounded to the nearest pound which may cause some small discrepancies in the total amount.
Annex B –LA allocations – Scotland
| LA | Final DWP HBAS allocation (£) for the FYE March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Aberdeen City Council | 620,775 |
| Aberdeenshire Council | 434,133 |
| Angus Council | 326,104 |
| Argyll and Bute Council | 266,833 |
| Clackmannanshire Council | 203,397 |
| Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar | 56,070 |
| Dumfries and Galloway Council | 515,372 |
| Dundee City Council | 721,529 |
| East Ayrshire Council | 455,660 |
| East Dunbartonshire Council | 187,768 |
| East Lothian Council | 293,800 |
| East Renfrewshire Council | 172,265 |
| City of Edinburgh Council | 1,606,295 |
| Falkirk Council | 526,777 |
| Fife Council | 1,216,282 |
| Glasgow City Council | 3,675,389 |
| Highland Council | 619,983 |
| Inverclyde Council | 356,526 |
| Midlothian Council | 265,602 |
| Moray Council | 219,556 |
| North Ayrshire Council | 612,403 |
| North Lanarkshire Council | 1,323,439 |
| Orkney Islands Council | 45,474 |
| Perth and Kinross Council | 342,895 |
| Renfrewshire Council | 653,164 |
| Scottish Borders Council | 344,060 |
| Shetland Islands Council | 42,131 |
| South Ayrshire Council | 393,838 |
| South Lanarkshire Council | 1,074,391 |
| Stirling Council | 242,468 |
| West Dunbartonshire Council | 462,658 |
| West Lothian Council | 636,000 |
| Total* | 18,913,035 |
*All figures are shown as rounded to the nearest pound which may cause some small discrepancies in the total amount.
Annex C – LA allocations – Wales
| LA | Final DWP HBAS allocation (£) for the FYE March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council | 293,453 |
| Bridgend County Borough Council | 426,168 |
| Caerphilly County Borough Council | 612,364 |
| Cardiff Council | 1,157,889 |
| Carmarthenshire County Council | 496,728 |
| Ceredigion County Council | 178,207 |
| Conwy County Borough Council | 362,180 |
| Denbighshire County Council | 323,561 |
| Flintshire County Council | 373,013 |
| Gwynedd Council | 309,171 |
| Isle of Anglesey County Council | 191,397 |
| Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council | 204,273 |
| Monmouthshire County Council | 208,940 |
| Neath Port Talbot Council | 535,376 |
| Newport City Council | 513,706 |
| Pembrokeshire County Council | 336,385 |
| Powys County Council | 320,705 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council | 715,878 |
| Swansea Council | 821,663 |
| Torfaen County Borough Council | 346,626 |
| Vale of Glamorgan Council | 332,216 |
| Wrexham County Borough Council | 412,542 |
| Total* | 9,472,439 |
*All figures are shown as rounded to the nearest pound which may cause some small discrepancies in the total amount.