Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many local authorities in (a) Wales and (b) the UK returned unused discretionary housing payment to his Department in 2013-14.

In 2013-14, 240 local authorities in Great Britain spent less than 100% of their total Government contribution in DHP, of which 5 were in Wales. Thirteen local authorities, of which two were in Wales, reported expenditure which exactly matched their Government contribution.

In June, the Government published an analysis of local authority DHP expenditure in 2013-14, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/322455/use-of-discretionary-housing-payments-june-2014.pdf