The Discretionary Housing Payments Review Advisory Panel was scheduled to meet on Thursday 26 March 2026. The primary item on the agenda was the review of refusals to grant Discretionary Housing Payments, with three confidential requests listed for consideration. The meeting was also scheduled to note any changes to the panel's membership.

Review of Refusal to Grant Discretionary Housing Payment

The panel was scheduled to consider three confidential requests for a review of decisions to refuse Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs). These payments are a form of financial assistance provided by local authorities to help people on low incomes with housing costs, particularly those who are struggling to meet rent payments due to specific circumstances. The report pack indicated that these reviews would involve information relating to individuals, and therefore, the public and press were recommended to be excluded from this part of the meeting. This recommendation was made under Section 100(A)(4) and Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, on the grounds that the disclosure of exempt information was likely. The report pack stated that in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. ¹

The agenda for the meeting can be found in the Agenda frontsheet 26th-Mar-2026 10.30 Discretionary Housing Payments Review Advisory Panel, and the associated reports are available in the Public reports pack 26th-Mar-2026 10.30 Discretionary Housing Payments Review Advisory Panel.