Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2019 to Question 252018 on Housing Benefit: Domestic Abuse, if she will make it her policy to collect data on the proportion of discretionary housing payment funding that is allocated to claimants affected by domestic abuse in each local authority area.
Individual-level benefit records available for analysis do not include information on claimants affected by domestic violence due to data sensitivity. Separately, the Department asks Local authorities to supply details of their use of Discretionary Housing Payments on a voluntary basis. This does not include the specific circumstances of the claimant (including whether they have been subject to domestic abuse). and there are no plans to ask for any additional information.