Update and Impact of Welfare Reform

Wednesday 20th November 2013

Welcome from Chair

Welfare Reform: The emerging picture

Allen GrahamChief Executive Rushcliffe Borough Council

Reforms to date

Localised Council Tax Support Schemes Local Housing Allowance Reform Under occupation penalty Benefit Cap Local Welfare Assistance Schemes

Welfare Reform Steering Group

Representatives of upper and lower tier authorities

Sharing experience, intelligence and good practice

Data collection exercise

The emerging East Midlands picture …. Localised Council Tax

Support Schemes

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Localised Council Tax Support Schemes analysis The data in the previous slide demonstrates that the benefit

claimant count in the East Midlands has increased or remains static. DWP position nationally is that benefit count should be falling due to

unemployment falling but the reason for the East Midlands profile may be due to many claimants in part time work or on zero hours contracts

Implications of other benefit changes are also impacting on low paid working families-Tax Credits

Collection rates vary between an increase of 0.59 in one district to a fall of 1.25% .

88.9% of respondents report a fall in collection Cost of recovery is increasing Initial rates of recovery are falling further down the year as more

people are finding it harder to pay

Local Housing Allowance Reform

LHA Caseloads

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Local Housing Allowance Reform Analysis Local authorities could lobby for additional

funding in respect of DHPs Have DHP budgets been profiled? Potential for local authorities to work as a

consortium providing support particularly for smaller authorities

Under Occupation Penalty

Under occupancy - Number with two extra bedrooms

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Under occupation penalty analysis

Numbers affected have come down There may be issues regarding initial data

accuracy due to discrepancies in local and central government data

Thought could be given to how the DHP criteria is drawn up in individual local authorities to support these vulnerable people

Stock profile-smaller properties are not immediately available?

Benefit Cap

Numbers of people affected by the benefit cap

Numbers affected by benefit cap

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Benefit Cap analysis

Numbers have fallen from those predicted due to improved data accuracy from initial predictions

Welfare Assistance Scheme Analysis Early issues with interpretation from DWP staff Local provision has led to more efficient delivery

of the fund Local authorities can react to local

circumstances Move away from cash to benefits in kind Most schemes have been reviewed. One

authority has withdrawn the scheme in 2014/15

Universal Credit

Where next?

Building a further suite of indicators including:- Homelessness presentations Empty residential properties Social Housing Rent arrears Advice and guidance services requests

East Midlands Labour Market

November DWP figures indicate falling unemployment 7.1% and rising employment 72.4%

A fall in the number of people claiming JSA (0.1%) but an increase in those claiming JSA for 12 months or more (5.2%) and 5.6% increase for those claiming for more than 24 months

National data confirms that increase in employment is particularly in part time employment

Key Issue for Members

Does this picture resonate? What are your key concerns despite what

the data may imply?

Local impacts of welfare reformRose Doran, Senior Adviser,

Local Government Association

East Midlands 20/112013 www.local.gov.uk

The welfare reforms• Changes to tax credits

• Changes to Housing Benefit (HB) for renters in the private sector

• Tightening of eligibility and the restriction of contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to one year

• The replacement of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

• The replacement of Council Tax Benefit with locally-determined Council Tax Support schemes

• The removal of the “spare room subsidy” for most HB recipients in social housing

• The introduction of a cap on total benefit receipt

• The uprating of benefits and tax credits by 1% instead of the CPI

• The replacement of the Social Fund with Local Welfare Support

• The introduction of Universal Credit

Breakdown of projected savings in 2015/16, Great Britain (£ million)

www.local.gov.uk

Universal Credit• UC replaces the following benefits/tax

credits:• Working Tax Credit, • Child Tax Credit, • Housing Benefit, • Income Support, • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.

• Will support working age adults and children• Monthly payment to household• Online claims and interface

The LGA will

• Help councils as they support their residents through the changes the government’s welfare reform programme will make

• Influence the government’s decisions about councils’ future role in the welfare system.

The local impacts of welfare reformThe LGA commissioned the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI) to look at the scale of overall aggregate gains / losses resulting from the reforms at local authority level and the scope for mitigation through a housing and / or employment route for those affected by reductions in household income.

Cumulative impact• Estimates that the income of households claiming benefit will

be on average lower by £1,615 a year – or £31 a week – in 2015/16 as a result of welfare reforms. This excludes the impact of Universal Credit.

• At a local authority level, the average impacts per claimant household are relatively evenly spread – with all regions except London seeing average losses between £1,500 and £1,650 per year. Larger impacts due to more people out of work and/ or on low incomes in work in the northern half of the country balanced by far higher housing costs in the southern half of the country.

• The impacts of reforms are likely to be most strongly felt in areas with the highest dependence on benefit

Impact of Housing Benefit reforms• Around one in ten working age households will be

impacted by one or more of the Housing Benefit reforms, with an average loss of £1,215 per year - or £23 per week . (If you exclude London, the average loss per household falls to £940 per year).

• 70% of which will be households where no one works.• Households are generally more likely to be impacted in

the north than the south of the country • Impacts per household are significantly greater in

southern England – reflecting the high costs of housing in these areas.

Strivers v skivers?• Overall, 45% of households of “working age” receive one

of the main state benefits (ie a department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit or tax credits)

• The report estimates that three fifths (59%) of all welfare reform reductions fall on households where somebody works. The reductions for working households are greater than the reductions for households where no one works in 314 of the 325 local authorities in this analysis

• Will Universal Credit improve work incentives?• Increasing local focus on the working poor

Mitigation• The Government’s own research suggests that behavioural

responses to welfare reforms have been limited so far

• CESI estimate that in their (relatively generous) central scenario 23% of the total households impacted by the key housing benefit reforms may be successful in taking steps to mitigate the impacts of reform through a housing or employment route

• Once plausible responses by tenants are taken into account DHPs would cover just £1 in every £7 of the impact of housing reforms on tenants.

For the reforms to work…• There is a need for greater local freedom and flexibility for

councils to address the under-supply of affordable housing

• There is a need for greater freedom and flexibility for councils to deliver strong local economies and support people into employment

• The is a need for local knowledge and discretion in supporting people with particular needs or vulnerabilities both with claiming Universal Credit and managing / mitigating the impact of the reforms – Community Budgets approach

• All of the above must be adequately and appropriately funded

Managing impact at the local level

• Local context: housing; employment; economy• Individuals and households: support with

claiming; debt advice; stability and resilience

Council and LGA concerns• Universal Credit

• Housing

• Employment

• SFIS

• Disability reforms

• Local welfare schemes; council tax support

• 12th December conference

Further information…

www.local.gov.uk/finance

www.cesi.org.uk

rose.doran@local.gov.uk

Understanding Community Concerns

Richard Evans & Helen Child

LeicesterShire Citizens Advice Bureau

@LeicsShireCAB

The National Picture

• 2,294,740 benefit enquiries in last 4 quarters– 36% total CAB enquiries– 191,994 in East Midlands = 39.4% of

enquiries

• 1,854,983 debt enquiries in last 4 quarters– 29% total CAB enquiries– 130,803 in East Midlands = 26.8% of

enquiries

The National Picture• Welfare Reform has reached the service

Enquiry Area Number of Issues (Q1 13-14) National

Number of Issues (Q1 13-14) LeicesterShire CAB

Personal Independence Payment

8,395 431

Localised support for council tax

25,080 678

Benefit cap 638 17

Welfare reform benefit loss

6,334 106*

Universal Credit is yet to reach Leicestershire – already advised 17 clients enquiries

National Trends

Benefit Change

• Under-occupancy• Universal Credit• PIP• Sanctions

Knock-on Impact

• Referrals to food banks• Energy price rises• Rising pay day lending

Under-occupancy nationally

• Huge concern about impact, particularly on vulnerable people

• Highlighted the lack of available alternative accommodation for people who do want to downsize

• The number of clients presenting with rent arrears owing to local authorities and housing associations are rising – up 10% and 6% on this time last year

Under-occupancy locally

• Single disabled client, prompted to move from 4 bed to 2 bed, but has been told she does not qualify for overnight carer exemption. Client can either move again or absorb payment of £11.91 p/w

• Single client with depression, he is carer for his adult son who lives with him. They have a 3 bed because client’s ex-partner and her children have only just moved out. Now struggling to pay 14% and NDD

Universal Credit nationally

• Conducted baseline research into UC

• Identified UC was relevant to 50% of clients

• Of those, 92% would need support to transition

• 85% would need help in more than one area of transition

• 81% of clients likely to be UC either unaware of UC, or unaware of impact

Universal Credit locally

• In Q1 47% of issues raised involved benefit which will be subsumed by UC – suggesting our client group will be significantly effected

• We already assist significant numbers of clients with forms – at least 175 in September alone

• Greater impact expected in Leicester – more clients who are not confident in reading/writing English

PIP nationally

• Q1 – 8,395 advice queries relating to PIP• Collecting evidence on processes and

decision• Concern about removal of lower rate care

equivalent• Loss of enhanced mobility component for

people who make effective use of mobility aids – motability equipment lost, independence compromised

PIP locally

• Limited roll out, but have already advised 431 people about PIP

• No local assessment centres – one client asked to go to Cardiff!

• Capita missed 2 home visit appointments for one client, without any notice or explanation

• One client – a British national since birth – asked to send their original passport before a claim could be started

Sanctions nationally

• Q2 – 64% increase in problems with sanctions on last year

• Focus on the available options – increased demand for food banks and reliance on local welfare provision

Sanctions locally

• Client sanctioned for not attending an interview when he was told by potential employer – twice – that he should not attend because he lacked necessary skills for the role– Client has been left with no money coming

in. He has become reliant on local food banks. He feels he has been labelled a “scrounger” but was acting on the instructions he was given

Sanctions locally

• Client sanctioned for 3 months and not eligible for hardship payment– Client had no money for food or essential

bills. He could not wash himself or his clothes. He resorted to using disabled toilets with shower facilities and drying himself with paper towels

Sanctions locally

• Many clients report not being told about hardship payments

• Research in Leicester suggests people with mental health or addiction problems, and people who do not speak English confidently are over-represented in people receiving sanctions

Knock-on impacts

National• Referrals to food banks

– East Midlands CABx report 125% increase in referrals in last 6 months

• Rising energy prices– Choosing between heating

and eating• Pay day loans

– Clients struggling with benefit cuts or sanctions are using high cost loans. UC monthly payments likely to exacerbate this

Local• Local food banks report being

swamped – asking to be removed from referral lists

• Our own hardship funds used to buy energy credits

• One client using Wonga to pay the rent

Local welfare provision

Some local experiences...– ESA claim lost – no advance could be paid – welfare refused– not in receipt of qualifying benefit

– Client claiming but not receiving ESA – welfare refused

– not in receipt of qualifying benefit

– ESA appeal mysteriously cancelled – welfare refused

– not in receipt of qualifying benefit

Predictions

• Mandatory review – no payments during this period, no deadline for how long decisions can be reviewed– Likely to lead to more people with no income and

no access to local welfare provision• Claimant Commitment replacing the Job Seekers

Agreement– Likely to be more stringent – we could lose

volunteers – one volunteer now needing to apply for 30 jobs per fortnight

Increasing role for Citizens Advice

• Explanation – independent review of what changes mean to the individual client

• Options – holistic discussion about what client can do to minimise exposure

• Action – help with forms, accessing other support

• Training – over 20 of our staff and volunteers can now deliver financial capability training

• Debt advice – helping people stay in their homes, helping councils reduce the costs of debt recovery

Follow us on Twitter

twitter.com/CitizensAdvice

@LeicsShireCAB

Like us on Facebook

www.facebook.com/CitizensAdvice

LeicesterShire CAB

Watch our films on YouTube

youtube.com/CitizensAdvice

Advice and news 24 hours a day

www.adviceguide.org.uk

www.leicscab.org.uk

Richard.Evans@leicscab.org.uk

Helen.Child@leicscab.org.uk

Thank you

Welfare Reform: The Impact on Housing

Impact of the Bedroom Size Criteria

Impact of the Bedroom Size Criteria

Impact of the Bedroom Size Criteria

Engaging with hard-to-reach tenants is a big issue for us

Impact of JSA sanctions on tenants with high arrears

Mismatch between need and supply 60% of households on the Keyways register are

singles and couples but only 29% of our properties are one beds

Demand for larger homes is softening Five adverts to let a three bedroom house

Helping Our Tenants

Mutual Exchange£250 cash incentive payments

Tenancy Support

1-2-1 support to help tenants to keep their

tenancies

Move On, Move InLife skills

training for young tenants

Tenant Passport Scheme

Certifying good tenants

Reclassify Propertieswith bedrooms under 50 sq ft

Jam Jar Accounts

Working with East Midlands Credit Union

Boosting housing supply

More 1 and 2 beds

KeywaysMore priority for tenants looking to downsize

Working Closely With Partners

Points to Ponder.........

It’s still early days – what will be the impact of winter fuel bills?

Welfare reform means much higher costs for council landlords Communications, income management,

tenancy support and court costs

Is a single rented housing market now emerging?

Welfare Reform: The Impact on Housing

The impact of Welfare Reform

in Leicester

Karen WenlockRevenues & Benefits Manager

Content

• Outline of welfare reforms– Social housing sector under occupancy– Benefit Income capping

– Personal independence payments– Universal credit

• Impact for housing, children and adults

21/04/23

Under-occupancyImpact Analysis• 22,120 Council properties 2,448 identified in April by the end of September this has reduced to 2251• 7,482 Housing Benefit claims in Housing Association stock of which 1,115

identified as affected by this rule in April, by the end of September this has reduced to 984.

Reducing ? – changes to household make up, moved, no longer in receipt of benefits

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Number of rooms

Total % loss of Housing Benefit per week

Local average National average

One 2,617 14% £11.07 £12.00

Two or more 633 25% £19.97 £22.00

Impact On Rent Collection(LA)

Will the rent arrears increase? •The rent bad debt provision has been increased in recognition collecting this debt will be more difficult then in previous years.•In 11/12 16% of households had 2 or more weeks arrears of unpaid rent owing to the council. •We predict this may increase to 26% by the end of 2013/14.•Increase in debt to collect £2.3m (7.24%) Net debt to be collected 13/14 £32.1m compared to 12/13 £29.8m•Collection prediction this year is 96.28% compared to the same time last year 98.6%

Impact at service level•We have carried out extensive communication programme focusing on advise leaflets and fact sheets, direct mailing and telephone calls offering support•Telephone call volumes have significantly increased•Personal callers have increased.

What is the council doing to help?

• Written to each council tenant giving information & advice • We have amended the allocations policy. • Promoting Easy Move and council house exchanges. • Introduction and promotion of Credit Union Budgeting Accounts (CUBA)• Tackling tenancy fraud to release stock back into the market (From January 2012 to date we have 60 properties returned to stock, 2 Right to buy applications prevented and 4 formal prosecutions)• We have also been successful in winning funding from the Chartered institute of

Housing to provide additional tenancy support.• Re-classification of bed rooms – 29 in council stock so far• Promotion of DHP

Benefit Income capping• Income for working age benefit claimants will be restricted to £500 a week for

families/lone parents/couples and £350pw for singles.

• Any ‘benefit income’ above £500 will not be paid. Housing benefit is included in this but NOT Council Tax Reduction. The impact will be felt in 2 phases.

• Phase one: Housing Benefit payments will reduce to as little as 50 pence per week from August 2013

• Phase two: When Universal Credit (UC) comes in or a claim for UC is made/transferred over .

The household income from UC will be limited to the cap.

• Exemptions apply to households who are in receipt of Working Tax Credit, Disabled Living Allowance, (PIP), Attendance Allowance, Industrial Injury Benefits, War Widows Benefit and Employment Support Allowance (support element).

• Exemptions on tenure: Exempt accommodation such as extra care, voluntary sector hostels

Benefit Income Capping from August 2013

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How many households will be affected: DWP scans showed there 725 households that could face the Benefit Income Cap in July. By the end of September the actual number of households affected was 202

By how much will each household loose per week in Housing benefit? 46 households HB award has reduced to 50 pence per week.

84 household have lost between 50p and £50 a week67 households have lost between £50 and £10039 households have lost over £100 a week

Tenure: 103 households live in a privately rented property57 households live in council housing36 households live in housing association property

Benefit income cappingImpacts at Leicester

Family make up/gender:•110 couples with children•81 lone parent households•52 households have six or more children living there (20 are lone parents) (Disproportionate affect on females as most lone parent households are female)Ethnicity:•79 BME households•88 White or white British households•29 households where we do not known the ethnicity No disabled or pensioner households as these are exempt from the rule.Income:79 in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance61 in receipt of Income Support (likelihood is they have a child under 5 years old)46 in receipt od Employment Support Allowance 10 have other income sources such as maternity benefit or child tax credits(student households)

What support is there?• Help setting up arrangements to pay their rent • Help to move to cheaper accommodation should they wish

to. • DHP’s can help ensure they do not get into rent arrears

while they wait for suitable accommodation• Budgeting advice• JCP are assisting households back into work• Where they have not got in contact with us housing

management are looking to visit each household to offer housing advice and financial advice and support, as are other social landlords.

• NB) Eviction policy - Families in social housing are in the cheapest available accommodation

2013/14 Discretionary fund allocation

Local Authority 2012/13 2013/14 Maximum fund

Leicester City 209,549 813,252 2,033,130

Nottingham City

211,880 696,031

Derby City 234,767 560,754

Coventry City 329,445 798,643

Local Authority's are allocated a base fund for DHP’s. For Leicester in 2013/14 this is £813,252.

We can choose to increase the value of this fund through a general fund contribution up to a maximum of £2,033,130.

NB) used 1/3 of budget so far, projected to spend full amount by the end of theFinancial year (BIC from Aug). 1900 applications so far/ 456 in total last year. 7% spend increased to 56% for disabled 70

Discretionary fund– Local Discretion

Working with our colleagues in Housing, Adult social care and Children's services the Discretionary Housing payment fund will consider supporting:Helping households moving to smaller accommodationFoster carers with a second spare room. Care leavers up to 22 years old or 25 if at universityCarers –Disabled claimants where a room is used to store medical equipment such as a dialysis machine. Absent parent or shared care – we will consider helping cover the costs of this room in order to support family relationshipsProspective Foster carer/adoptive parents - we could consider covering the bedroom tax for these households for up to 6 months while the assessment is undertaken. Supported households on the think family programme.Family households where the children are under 10 years of age, currently required to share a room, different genders, one of the children is nearly nine.Lone parents- more difficulty finding work due to child care commitments

NB) Each case is considered on its own merits

Community Support Grant

• Local Welfare Assistance from April 2013

Welfare reforms • Food• UtilitiesMapping provision, developing a strategy

What affect are the changes having on households with children?

CHILDRENS SERVICES•65,198 pupils attending schools in the city

•13,006 Council Tax Reduction Scheme households have dependent children, •of these 7,279 are lone parent households

•15,272 Housing Benefit households have dependents children, •of these 8,522 are lone parent households.

•1294 Households subject to the under-occupancy rules and have children living in the property, •of these 849 are lone parent households.

•197 households where benefit income capping applies and children live at the property

Impact on Children's services• Projected increases in domestic violence and statutory child protection activity

may increase because of increase in family tension following financial crisis• Greater impact maybe felt by care leavers who have no home to return to if they

are homeless as a result of the reforms. • For care leavers the council funds a setting up home grant of £1,500. there maybe

a greater call on this support• There will be a greater call on all discretionary funds for additional help for

vulnerable families particularly with disabled residents• A mobile population with families separating and moving to Leicester will increase

the pressure on stretched services. Tracking safeguarding households will be more difficult.

• Planning for school places is problematic. Children may join school population from outside the housing options route therefore our ability to monitor and therefore apply a rational strategy for planned increases is difficult.

• As more families seek work to improve their financial position is the child care provision out there affordable, accessible and of a sufficient standard to support these aspirations?

Personal independence payments

• Gradually replaces disability living allowance.• Roll out in Leicester began June 2013• Affects children reaching 16 years old and all new

‘working age’ claimants• Migration of existing DLA claims from October 2015• Tougher test, significant numbers will lose this

benefit. • If they do not qualify for PIP then all the associated

benefits from exemptions, free services will be lost.

What affect will it have on our services?

• We anticipate an increase of calls on• Advice and support from welfare Rights and advocacy

work• Demand on the emergency duty team • Increase in referrals to Single Point Of Contact• Increase in safeguarding referrals• Increase in mental health referrals• Increase in crime and theft

Universal Credit roll outNew timetable for roll out has not yet been agreed.Many of the changes made so far are paving the way for universal credit eg housing allowance/maximum income level

Impacts will continue to be felt. Lone parents who find work are likely to receive a more generous allowance under the UC so until UC comes in they may find it more difficult to move into work.

NB)New single tier pension -2016 so housing credit element of Pension Credit to be put back to 2017/18 at earliest

Supporting Councillors

• Regular meetings/updates with service councillor leads

• Training and information sessions• Information packs giving advice & information to

enable councillors to assist or signpost constituents

• Pack included:- CT recovery billing procedures, Housing Management guidance on advice /help available including contact details, Advice booklet re provision of specialist free advice in the city.

• Mapping of provisions, job clubs etc to check long term provisions needed when UC is introduced.

Thank you

• Any questions?

• My contact details are:

Karen WenlockRevenues & Benefits ManagerKaren.wenlock@leicester.gov.uk

Event Round Up

Looking forward………….

The next Regional Briefing for Councillors will take place on:

Date: 29th January 2014

Topic: Planning - the councillor role in planning today