keep The Discretionary Housing Payments (Grants) Order 2001
This Order establishes the administrative framework for the Secretary of State to make grants to relevant authorities (local authorities) towards the cost of discretionary housing payments under section 70 of the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000. It prescribes claim procedures, audit requirements, record-keeping obligations, certification by finance officers, and a spending limit of 2.5 times the grant amount. Claims must be submitted by specific deadlines with certified accounts, and payments are made by instalments subject to compliance conditions.
This Order merely establishes administrative machinery for distributing Parliament-authorised grants to local authorities administering discretionary housing payments. While discretionary housing payments are themselves a form of housing subsidy with potential market-distorting effects, those effects derive from the underlying policy decision by Parliament, not from this procedural Order. Deleting this administrative framework would not reduce welfare spending or remove government intervention—it would simply prevent the authorized scheme from functioning, leaving vulnerable households without support and local authorities without reimbursement for expenditures Parliament has already approved. The compliance costs (audits, record-keeping, claims procedures) are proportional administrative requirements that ensure public money is properly accounted for rather than wasted through fraud or error. If the underlying policy is objectionable, the appropriate remedy is repeal of the primary legislation, not removal of the grant distribution mechanism.