Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP's) were introduced on the 2nd July 2001 and:

• Can be made where the Benefit Section consider that you need additional help with your housing costs.
• Can only be made to increase Housing or Council Tax Benefit. This means that you have to be entitled to some benefit before you can receive any Discretionary Housing Payments.
• Cannot help you pay utility bills, for example water rates, fuel bills and so on.

The Government sets a limit as to how much in Discretionary Housing Payments we can award each year.

Appeals

If you disagree with any decision that we have made you can do any of the following:

• Ask for an explanation.
• Ask the Benefit Officer to reconsider the decision. You must do this in writing within one calendar month of the date the Benefit Officer sent the decision to you (not one month from the date you received it).
• Appeal against the decision. You must do this within one calendar month of the date the Benefit Officer sent the decision to you (not one month from the date you received it). If you do appeal the Benefit Officer will have to reconsider the decision before they pass it to the Appeals Service to arrange for it to be heard by an Appeals tribunal.

What will happen next?

If the Benefit Officer thinks the original decision was correct they will pass the appeal to the Appeals Service.

If the Benefit Officer thinks the original decision was incorrect and they change the benefit to your advantage they will write and tell you about the new decision. The appeal is not sent to the Appeals Service and you have fresh rights of appeal against the new decision.

If the Benefit Officer thinks the original decision was incorrect and they change the benefit to your disadvantage they will write and tell you about the new decision. You will be given one month to comment on the new decision. The new decision will then be passed to the Appeals Service to be heard by an Appeals Tribunal.

The Appeals Service is independent of the Council, an Appeals Tribunal will consist of one or two members, one of whom will be legally qualified.

If you have any questions about discretionary housing payments or appealing, please do not hesitate to ring the Benefit Section on 01803 861234.