Local housing allowance final evaluation : implementation and delivery in North East Lincolnshire

This report is the last in a series evaluating the impact of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) on the Housing Benefit (HB) administration in the NE Lincolnshire Pathfinder. It provides an overview of the impacts of LHA on HB administration, the issues raised over the two-year period and seeks to answer the broad evaluation question of whether, overall, the LHA offers substantial administrative advantages. The key stakeholder groups in NE Lincolnshire that are involved in the delivery of the LHA, and are thus most likely to be affected by its implementation, were identified as HB administration, the Rent Offi cer Service and Jobcentre Plus. The Private Sector Housing section and Housing Strategy within the Council, and CARE Rent, a local charity, were also included in the Evaluation as stakeholders. Landlords were interviewed individually in the earlier stages of the evaluation and discussions were held with the newly launched Landlord Forum at Wave 3. A series of interviews was conducted by senior staff from the Centre for Research in Social Policy with individuals from the stakeholder groups in NE Lincolnshire. These followed a set of interview guides designed for each type of stakeholder (which were also used in the other eight Pathfinders).