Housing Benefit Debt Recovery statistics: April 2022 to March 2023
Published 6 September 2023
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/housing-benefit-debt-recoveries-statistics-april-2022-to-march-2023/housing-benefit-debt-recovery-statistics-april-2022-to-march-2023
The latest release of these statistics can be found in the collection of Housing Benefit: debt recoveries statistics.
Housing Benefit (HB) is an income-related benefit that is intended to help meet housing costs for rented accommodation.
This publication updates statistics on the amount of HB that local authorities (LAs) identified had been overpaid to claimants, the amount recovered, and the amount written-off, with data for the financial year ending (FYE) 2023 (April 2022 to March 2023).
1. Main stories
During FYE 2023:
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LAs identified £431 million overpaid HB – £20 million more than during FYE 2022
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LAs recovered £407 million overpaid HB – £16 million less than during FYE 2022, but as a percentage of available debt this is unchanged (19%)
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LAs wrote off £72 million overpaid HB – £8.8 million more than during FYE 2022
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at the start of Q4 of FYE 2023, there was £1.7 billion outstanding overpaid HB – £76 million less than at the start of Q4 of FYE 2022
2. What you need to know
This summary contains statistics on the amount of overpaid HB identified, recovered and written-off by LAs. The statistics are based on the Housing Benefit Debt Recovery (HBDR) returns, collected from LAs each quarter.
The statistics are published twice a year, in March and September. The March publication contains data for the first two quarters of the financial year (April to September). The September publication contains data for the whole of the financial year.
Data tables containing data that underpin the charts and figures featured in this statistical summary are available. As well as the regional and GB totals shown in this statistical summary, the data tables show figures for individual LAs.
LAs are expected to send data returns for all fields on a quarterly basis but sometimes for various reasons this doesn’t happen, or they can’t provide data for some fields. The amount of missing information at the start of the series was more prevalent but since Quarter 3 of FYE 2017, the amount of missing information is minimal. In FYE 2023, 98.9% of expected returns were received from LAs.
Because of the greater amount of missing data in the early series, estimates were made to impute Great Britain (GB) totals. As a result, charts in this summary and the ODS tables include ‘imputed’ GB totals based on estimates for missing data up to Quarter 2 of FYE 2017. As the data return rate is high from this date no estimates have been made for missing data from Q3 of FYE 2017.
Since the end of 2018, the majority of new working age claimants are required to claim the housing element of Universal Credit (UC), rather than HB. The number of working-age people making new claims to HB has, therefore, steadily decreased from the rollout of UC. Existing HB claimants were not automatically moved to UC, however, when claimants declare a change of circumstance to their HB claim, they have been transferred to UC – if the claim is eligible. This has had an impact, both on the amount of overpaid HB identified by LAs, and the amount of overpaid HB that they recover.
3. Total outstanding HB overpayments
Total outstanding HB overpayments in GB from Q1 FYE 2010 to Q4 FYE 2023 (£ billions)
Note: GB figures up to Q2 of FYE 2017 are “imputed” totals, based on estimates of missing LA data. From Q3 of FYE 2017, figures shown are those actually returned by LAs. Source: HBDR data tables.
At the start of Q4 of FYE 2023, total outstanding HB overpayments stood at £1.7 billion. This was £76 million (4%) less than at the start of Q4 of FYE 2022.
Up to the end of FYE 2018, the amount of overpaid HB that LAs recovered or wrote-off each quarter was, on average, around 75% to 80% of the amount of overpaid HB that they identified. As a result, the total amount of outstanding overpaid HB steadily increased.
Since Q1 FYE 2020, the total amount of overpaid HB outstanding has been falling because LAs are recovering or writing-off more HB overpayments than they newly identify. In Q4 of FYE 2023, LAs recovered £105 million overpaid HB and wrote-off £24 million overpaid HB, compared with £114 million overpaid HB identified.
Amount of overpaid HB identified/recovered and written-off by LAs from Q1 FYE 2010 to Q4 FYE 2023 (£ millions)
Note: GB figures up to Q2 of FYE 2017 are “imputed” totals, based on estimates of missing LA data. From Q3 of FYE 2017, figures shown are those actually returned by LAs. Source: HBDR data tables.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, many LAs redeployed staff away from debt recovery to frontline activities and restricted face-to-face meetings between staff and claimants. Subsequently, FYE 2021 saw the lowest amount of overpaid HB identified by LAs since the statistics began. In total, £380 million of overpaid HB was identified in FYE 2021 compared with £599 million in FYE 2020.
The amount of overpaid HB that LAs identified increased by £31 million, or 8%, between FYE 2021 and FYE 2022, to £411 million. This figure has continued to increase to £431 million in the FYE 2023, a 5% increase from FYE 2022. Following a decline in identified HB overpayments impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of overpaid HB that LAs identified began to rise again in Q4 FYE 2021. This was followed by a decline in Q3 of FYE 2022, whereby HB overpayments identified by LAs fell to £100 million in Q4 of FYE 2022, followed by a continued rise in the amount of overpaid HB identified by LAs, to 114 million in FYE 2023.
The amount of overpaid HB that LAs recovered followed a similar trend, falling by 28% between FYE 2020 and FYE 2021. In FYE 2022, the amount of overpaid HB that LAs recovered increased slightly, by £9 million, or 2%. However, after increasing, from £99 million in Q2 of FYE 2021 to £109 million in Q2 of FYE 2022, in Q3 of FYE 2022 it then started to fall again. It continued to fall to Q1 of FYE 2023, after which it has continued to increase. At Q4 2023 the amount of overpaid HB that LAs recovered was £105 million.
Total outstanding HB overpayments by region, at the start of Q4 of FYE 2023
| Region | Total outstanding HB overpayments (£ millions) | Percentage of GB total |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 1,702 | 100% |
| North East | 55 | 3% |
| North West | 164 | 10% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 89 | 5% |
| East Midlands | 77 | 5% |
| West Midlands | 153 | 9% |
| East | 113 | 7% |
| London | 582 | 34% |
| South East | 199 | 12% |
| South West | 92 | 5% |
| Wales | 45 | 3% |
| Scotland | 135 | 8% |
Source: HBDR data tables.
At the start of Q4 of FYE 2023, London LAs reported £582 million outstanding overpaid HB, just over a third (34%) of the GB total. At the start of Q4 of FYE 2023, 89% of the outstanding overpaid HB in GB was in LAs in England, 3% in LAs in Wales and 8% in LAs in Scotland.
4. HB overpayments newly identified by LAs
There was a steady increase in the amount of overpaid HB that LAs identified, from £151 million in Q1 of FYE 2010 to £213 million in Q2 of FYE 2015.
In Q3 of FYE 2015, there was a sharp increase in the amount of overpaid HB identified, followed by several years in which the amount of overpaid HB identified by LAs fluctuated.
There was a sustained fall in the amount of overpaid HB identified by LAs, from £190 million in Q3 of FYE 2019 to £92 million in Q3 of FYE 2021. The amount of overpaid HB identified by LAs subsequently increased to £107 million in Q2 of FYE 2022, however it then began to fall and was £100 million in Q4 of FYE 2022. The figure has since increased and in quarter 4 of FYE 2023 it is £114 million.
Factors influencing the amount of HB overpayment identified by LAs include:
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the Fraud and Error Reduction Incentive Scheme (FERIS) was introduced in Q3 of FYE 2015 to help LAs to identify and prevent HB overpayment. Around the same time, real-time information (RTI) on claimant’s incomes became available to LAs. The income that claimants reported on their HB claims was checked against RTI on claimants’ actual income from HMRC. These checks led to undeclared income, and consequently overpaid HB, being identified by LAs
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UC rollout – at the start of Q3 FYE 2015, there were just over 4.9 million HB claimants in GB. By the start of Q4 FYE 2023, this number had fallen by 50% to just below 2.5 million. Since Q3 of FYE 2019, most new working-age claimants have claimed the housing element of UC rather than HB
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during the COVID-19 lockdowns in Q4 FYE 2020 and FYE 2021, many LAs redeployed staff away from debt recovery to frontline activities and restricted face-to-face meetings between staff and claimants
HB overpayments newly identified in GB, from Q1 of FYE 2010 to Q4 of FYE 2023 (£ millions)
Note: GB figures up to Q2 of FYE 2017 are “imputed” totals, based on estimates of missing LA data. From Q3 of FYE 2017, figures shown are those actually returned by LAs. Source: HBDR data tables.
HB overpayments newly identified by LAs, by region, FYE 2023
| Region | HB overpayments identified (£ millions) | Percentage of GB total |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 431 | 100% |
| North East | 13 | 3% |
| North West | 34 | 8% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 24 | 6% |
| East Midlands | 20 | 5% |
| West Midlands | 53 | 12% |
| East | 29 | 7% |
| London | 143 | 33% |
| South East | 53 | 12% |
| South West | 26 | 6% |
| Wales | 13 | 3% |
| Scotland | 23 | 5% |
Source: HBDR data tables.
The amount of overpaid HB identified by LAs in FYE 2023 ranged from £13 million (3% of the GB total) in Wales and the North East to £143 million (33% of the GB total) in London. Of the overpaid HB identified in GB, 91% was identified by LAs in England, 3% by LAs in Wales and 5% by LAs in Scotland.
Average HB overpayment newly identified per claimant per month by region during FYE 2023
| Region | Average HB overpayment newly identified per claimant per month |
|---|---|
| Great Britain | £14.30 |
| England | £15.46 |
| North East | £8.23 |
| North West | £9.42 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £9.58 |
| East Midlands | £10.65 |
| West Midlands | £19.14 |
| East | £12.47 |
| London | £26.43 |
| South East | £16.16 |
| South West | £11.82 |
| Wales | £8.41 |
| Scotland | £7.63 |
Source: HBDR data tables.
During FYE 2023 LAs in GB identified, on average, overpaid HB equivalent to £14.30 per claimant per month. LAs in London identified the highest amount of overpaid HB, equivalent to £26.43 per claimant per month. LAs in England identified overpaid HB equivalent to £15.46 per claimant per month, compared with £8.41 in Wales and £7.63 in Scotland.
5. HB overpayments recovered
The amount of overpaid HB recovered by LAs steadily increased, reaching a high of £175 million in Q4 of FYE 2018. Subsequently, the amount of overpaid HB recovered by LAs fell steadily, to £132 million in Q4 of FYE 2020.
The start of the COVID-19 lockdown saw a sharp fall in the amount of overpaid HB recovered by LAs. In Q1 of FYE 2021, it fell by nearly £30 million, to £103 million. In Q2 of FYE 2021 it fell again to £99 million. There was a small increase in the amount of overpaid HB recovered by LAs, to £109 million in Q2 of FYE 2022, however by Q1 of FYE 2023 it had fallen further to £98 million. It has since risen slightly and in Q4 of FYE 2023 the figure was £105 million.
HB overpayments recovered in GB from Q1 of FYE 2010 to Q4 of FYE 2023 (£ millions)
Note: GB figures up to Q2 of FYE 2017 are “imputed” totals, based on estimates of missing LA data. From Q3 of FYE 2017, figures shown are those actually returned by LAs. Source: HBDR data tables.
HB overpayments recovered by region, FYE 2023
| Region | HB overpayments recovered (£ millions) | % of GB total |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 407 | 100% |
| North East | 14 | 3% |
| North West | 37 | 9% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 23 | 6% |
| East Midlands | 21 | 5% |
| West Midlands | 53 | 13% |
| East | 30 | 7% |
| London | 116 | 28% |
| South East | 52 | 13% |
| South West | 25 | 6% |
| Wales | 13 | 3% |
| Scotland | 22 | 5% |
Source: HBDR data tables.
In FYE 2023, LAs in London reported 28% of the total amount of HB overpayments recovered in GB. Of the total HB overpayments recovered in GB, 92% was recovered by LAs in England, 3% by LAs in Wales and 5% by LAs in Scotland.
6. HB overpayments written-off
HB overpayments written-off in GB, from Q4 of FYE 2010 to Q4 of FYE 2023 (£ millions)
Note: GB figures up to Q2 of FYE 2017 are “imputed” totals, based on estimates of missing LA data. From Q3 of FYE 2017, figures shown are those actually returned by LAs. Source: HBDR data tables.
Each year, the amount of overpaid HB written-off by LAs has been highest in Q4 (January to March) of the financial year. Q1 of the following year has seen a sharp fall.
In Q1 of FYE 2023, LAs wrote-off £14 million overpaid HB. This increased to £24 million in Q4 of FYE 2023. The overall amount of overpaid HB written-off in FYE 2023 was £8.8 million, or 14%, more than in FYE 2022.
Taking the financial year as a whole, FYE 2018 saw the highest amount of overpaid HB written-off, at £100 million, or £25 million per quarter. Since FYE 2018, the amount of overpaid HB written-off fell to FYE 2022 when it was £63 million, or just less than £16 million per quarter. It has risen in FYE 2023 to £72 million, or just less than £18 million per quarter.
HB overpayments written-off by region, FYE 2023
| Region | HB overpayments written-off (£ millions) | Percentage of GB total |
|---|---|---|
| Great Britain | 71.5 | 100% |
| North East | 3.7 | 5% |
| North West | 7.3 | 10% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4.4 | 6% |
| East Midlands | 3.3 | 5% |
| West Midlands | 4.3 | 6% |
| East | 5.3 | 7% |
| London | 25.8 | 36% |
| South East | 7.5 | 11% |
| South West | 3.9 | 5% |
| Wales | 2.0 | 3% |
| Scotland | 3.8 | 5% |
Source: HBDR data tables.
The amount of overpaid HB written-off by LAs in FYE 2023 ranged from £2 million (3% of the GB total) in Wales to £25.8 million (36% of the GB total) in London. 93% of write-off was made by LAs in England, 2% by LAs in Wales and 5% by LAs in Scotland.
7. About these statistics
This summary contains statistics on the amount of overpaid HB identified, recovered and written-off by LAs. The statistics are based on the Housing Benefit Debt Recovery (HBDR) returns, collected from LAs each quarter.
Publication schedule
The statistics are published twice a year, in March and September. The March publication contains data for the first two quarters of the financial year (April to September). The September publication updates the statistics with data for the whole of the financial year. Where LAs notified us of changes to their first two quarters’ data or provided a late Quarter 1 or Quarter 2 return after the deadline for the March 2023 publication, these have been incorporated into this publication.
Supplementary statistics
Data tables containing data that underpin the charts and figures featured in this statistical summary are available. As well as the regional and GB totals shown in this statistical summary, the data tables show figures for individual LAs.
LAs are asked to provide a breakdown between overpaid “Rent Rebate” (HB paid to LA tenants) and “Rent Allowance” (HB paid to housing association and private sector tenants). This breakdown is shown in the supplementary tables, in those LAs for which it is available.
Data completeness
Up to Q2 of FYE 2017, when an LA did not send a return GB totals were imputed using methodology detailed in the background information and methodology note. From Q3 of FYE 2017 the return rate improved to a point that imputation of GB totals was no longer necessary, and all figures in the series from this date are from actual returns.
Comparability
As well as missing data, the background information and methodology document describes a number of other factors that need to be considered when comparing data. These include:
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it is not possible to make direct comparisons between the amount of HB overpayments that LAs identify during a particular period and the amount of overpayment that they recover in that period. Firstly, because overpayments are not necessarily identified in the same period that they occurred. Secondly, because overpayments are not necessarily recovered in the same period that they are identified
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the number of people claiming HB has been decreasing and will continue to fall as UC replaces HB for working age claimants
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FERIS provided LAs with tools to help them identify and prevent overpaid HB. RTI on claimants’ income became available to LAs at around the same time (Q3 of FYE 2015). This allowed LAs to identify income that claimants had failed to report on their HB claims, which in turn led to an increase in the amount of overpaid HB that LAs were able to identify
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at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many LAs redeployed staff away from debt recovery to frontline activities and restricted face-to-face meetings between staff and claimants
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LAs sometimes identify an amount by which a HB claimant has been overpaid, but then revise this amount at a later date. In some cases, for instance, “underlying entitlement” might be retrospectively applied to an overpayment, reducing the amount that the claimant was originally thought to owe. Conversely, an LA might retrospectively reverse their decision to write-off an overpayment. These revisions lead to a discrepancy between figures for one quarter and the next
The total amount of HB overpayment at the start of a quarter should, in theory, equal the total amount of overpayment at the start of the previous quarter, plus the amount of overpayment newly identified during the previous quarter, minus the amount of overpayment recovered and written-off during the previous quarter. However, this is not the case in all LAs. Nationally, the total amount of outstanding HB overpayment that LAs reported at the start of Q4 of FYE 2023 was 0.46% less than the figures reported in Q3 suggested it would be. This difference was a result of revisions made in Q4 to overpayments that LAs first identified in previous quarters. The background information and methodology document describes this issue in more detail.
Local authority mergers
There have recently been a number of LA mergers. Four LAs in Buckinghamshire, for instance, merged to form a single LA. Although the LAs officially merged in 2020, their IT systems merged later. As a result, in Q4 of FYE 2022, there was an incomplete return for Buckinghamshire LA.
The way that figures are presented in the supplementary tables has changed since the HBDR statistics were published in March 2022 and in earlier publications. The statistics shown in this publication are based on the current LA configuration, with figures for the “old” LAs that merged to form the new LAs no longer shown. This is consistent with HB caseload figures published on Stat-Xplore.
Average HB overpayment identified per claimant per month
This summary includes a table showing the equivalent amount of overpaid HB, per claimant per month. This is calculated by dividing the total amount of overpaid HB identified by LAs in FYE 2023, by the sum of the HB caseload in each month of FYE 2023. Data on the number of HB claimants was taken from Stat-Xplore.
This is not an exact measure because, although LAs might report during a particular quarter that they had identified an amount of overpaid HB, this overpayment might have occurred in a previous quarter or financial year and the claimant whose HB was overpaid may no longer have been receiving HB when the overpayment was identified.
Rounding policy
Percentage figures presented in this document are rounded to the nearest 1%. In some cases, figures may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
In the supplementary tables, raw data provided by LAs have been added to generate regional and national totals, before being rounded to the nearest £1,000. As a result of this rounding, the sum of the LA figures shown in the tables may be slightly different to the regional and national totals.
Related statistics
These statistics show the amount of HB overpayment that is identified and subsequently recovered by LAs. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) carry out a sampling exercise to estimate overall levels of fraud and error in HB, including overpayment not identified by LAs. According to the latest estimate, published in May 2023, there was approximately £820 million overpaid HB in FYE 2023. An estimated £520 million was overpaid due to fraud, £240 million due to claimant error and £60 million due to official error.
8. HBDR data: collection processes and accuracy
Data collection
The following table details the list of questions asked to LAs as part of the data collection process.
| Field | Overpayment Questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | Total value of HB overpayments outstanding at the start of the quarter |
| 2 | Total value of HB overpayments identified during the quarter |
| 3 | Total value of HB overpayments recovered during the quarter |
| 4 | Total value of HB overpayments written-off during the quarter |
LAs are asked to provide a breakdown between overpaid “Rent Rebate” (HB paid to LA tenants) and “Rent Allowance” (HB paid to housing association and private sector tenants). Where this breakdown is available it is shown in the “supplementary tables”
Average data return rates
| Collection Period | Percentage of HB caseload covered by the HBDR returns |
|---|---|
| FYE 2009 | 74.0% |
| FYE 2010 | 96.5% |
| FYE 2011 | 96.3% |
| FYE 2012 | 97.9% |
| FYE 2013 | 98.7 % |
| FYE 2014 | 99.1% |
| FYE 2015 | 99.3% |
| FYE 2016 | 99.9% |
| FYE 2017 | 99.3% |
| FYE 2018 | 100.0% |
| FYE 2019 | 100.0% |
| FYE 2020 | 99.9% |
| FYE 2021 | 99.3% |
| FYE 2022 | 99.2% |
| FYE 2023 | 99.6% |
9. Further information
Our background information and methodology document provides further information on the HBDR statistics, including some of the processes involved in developing and releasing these statistics.
Data tables containing data that underpin the charts and figures featured in this statistical summary are also published.
National Statistics status
The UK Statistics Authority has designated these statistics as National Statistics, at June 2012, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
National Statistics status means that our statistics meet the highest standards of:
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trustworthiness
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quality
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public value
Once statistics have been designated as National Statistics it is our responsibility to maintain compliance with these standards. In order to assess the quality of the HBDR statistics, in July 2021, LAs were sent a survey, asking them a number of questions about how they complete their returns. Information collected on this survey has been incorporated into the background information and methodology document.
Other National and Official Statistics
See details of other National and Official Statistics produced by the DWP.
See a schedule of statistical releases over the next 12 months.
Feedback
Specific HBDR statistics feedback can be submitted via our HBDR user questionnaire.
Completed questionnaires can be returned by email to cbm.stats@dwp.gov.uk
Users can also join the “Welfare and Benefit Statistics” community. DWP announces items of interest to users via this forum, as well as replying to users’ questions.
Lead Statistician: Kate Walker
Enquiries about these statistics should be directed by email to: cbm.stats@dwp.gov.uk
For media enquiries please contact the DWP press office.
ISBN: 978-1-78659-551-5