I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in relation to your council’s Housing Benefit service, specifically concerning payments made in respect of properties owned or managed by GreenSquareAccord and the assessment of rent and service charge increases submitted by that landlord.
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.
If any part of this request is refused, please specify the exemption relied upon and provide a clear explanation as required under the Act. If you consider that any element of this request would exceed the cost limit, I would be grateful if you could advise how it may be refined so that disclosure can be achieved.
1) Housing Benefit expenditure relating to GreenSquareAccord:
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.
If Housing Benefit payments are not itemised in this way within your records, please confirm:
i) whether your systems distinguish between rent and eligible service charge elements at the point of assessment or payment; and
ii) 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.
2) Policies, guidance, and procedures:
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:
i) any criteria or thresholds used to determine when an increase is considered significant or requires further questioning; and
ii) guidance on the types of evidence landlords are expected to provide where charges are queried.
3) Frequency of challenges to landlords’ charges:
For each of the last five financial years, please provide:
a) 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
b) 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.
4) Information relating specifically to GreenSquareAccord
For the last five financial years, please confirm:
a) the number of occasions on which your council queried or discussed rent or service charge increases submitted by GreenSquareAccord;
b) the general nature of the issues raised (for example, scale of increase, introduction of new charges, utility cost increases); and
c) 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.
5) Evidence reviewed during assessments:
Please provide:
a) a list of the types of information or documentation typically reviewed by the Housing Benefit service when assessing rent and service charge increases;
b) confirmation of whether original invoices or underlying financial records are ever reviewed as part of this process; and
c) confirmation of whether assessments rely primarily on summaries or explanations supplied by landlords.
6) Retrospective corrections and overpayments:
Please confirm:
a) 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;
b) how such cases are handled (for example, recovery from landlords or adjustment of future payments); and
c) the number of such cases identified, if recorded.
7) Meetings and communications with landlords:
Please provide:
a) 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
b) any standard or template correspondence used by the Housing Benefit service when querying landlords’ proposed charges.
8) Impact on Housing Benefit claimants:
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.
