£6m increase in housing benefits spending in Dundee
ByThe Courier Reporter
Dundee City Council is spending millions of pounds more on housing benefit than ever before.
The local authority handed over £76 million to claimants in the 2012/13 financial year £6m more than the previous year. The total figure is more than £12m higher than the £64m spent in 2009/10.
Housing convener John Alexander said the figures showed people in Dundee were struggling.
“That’s a huge concern,” he said.
“We have quite a few measures to mitigate the impact of the economy but people are still struggling. A £6m increase is a huge indicator of what’s happening across the city and across the whole country.
“Housing benefit is means-tested so to qualify for that you have to be on a low income.
“And if we’re seeing that huge an increase then that appears to be down to a lower income across the board, whether that’s because of pay freezes, the rising cost of fuel and food, or people losing their jobs.”
The figures, which were revealed under a Freedom of Information request, cover a period from before the so-called bedroom tax was introduced in April.
That is likely to see the council spend on housing benefit fall away dramatically by the end of the year.
£6m increase in housing benefits spending in Dundee