EVERY penny of government cash handed to Bolton to help vulnerable people pay their rents has been spent over the last three years.

Government figures have revealed none of the discretionary housing payment (DHP) funding given to Bolton was left unspent.

In contrast, Bury had an underspend of £17,775 last year and Wigan had one of £37,628.

Discretionary housing payments (DHP) can be claimed by anyone who receives housing or council tax benefits but are having difficulty paying the rest of their rents or council tax.

In 2011 to 2012 Bolton Council received £101,486, which almost doubled to £201,943 in 2012 to 2013, that figure has been more than trebled for the coming year to £623,659 with issues around government welfare reform such as under occupancy penalties — or “bedroom tax” as they have been branded by opponents — expected to lead to greater demand.

Lord Freud, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Welfare Reform, said: “There was less demand for DHPs in 2011-12 than originally envisaged, therefore the department agreed that local authorities could carry over unused funding from 2011-12 to 2012-13 to help a greater number of claimants.”