The impact of welfare reform: how to support children affected.

Presentation to CYPSPB 15th July 2013

Welfare Reform overviewNew co

nditionality

Under-occu

pation

Benefit cap

goes li

ve

DLA transition to PIP(managed transition begins October 2015)Lo

cal su

pport & co

uncil tax l

ocalisa

tion

Universal credit(roll out expected in Lewisham from April

2014 – October 2017)

Wel

fare

refo

rm

timel

ine June 2013

WELFARE REFORM NUMBER OF LBL RESIDENTS AFFECTED ESTIMATED TOTAL FINANCIAL IMPACT

Under-occupationReduction of housing benefit entitlement for under-

occupied properties in the social rented sector (14% or 25%)

Number of under-occupied properties in Lewisham:

2736

TOTAL: £1.5mINDIVIDUAL: Average of c. £50 per affected resident but spread

unevenly)

Social fund localisationReplacement of national social fund scheme with locally

designed schemes with a funding cut equivalent to £0.3m

Number of applicants last year:12,000

TOTAL: £0.3mINDIVIDUAL: Award levels remain similar but stricter criteria

required to absorb 10% cutCouncil tax benefit localisation

Abolition of council tax benefit and reduction of grant funding equivalent to £2.5m

Number of council tax benefit claimants affected:24,648

TOTAL: £2.5mINDIVIDUAL: Average £6 per week

Benefit capCapping of out of work benefits to £350 for singles and

£500 a week for families

Estimated number of families affected by the cap:478

TOTAL: £2.5/£3mINDIVIDUAL: Significant range of loss – highest 70 losers will lose

over £10,000 per yearUniversal Credit

Replacement of current benefit system with a single credit paid monthly in arrears

Estimated total number of Lewisham residents transitioning to UC:

40,000

TOTAL: No financial lossINDIVIDUAL: Opportunities to keep more earnings through new

tapersDLA to PIP

Transition and re-assessment of all DLA claimants to PIP. Treasury estimates for a 20% cut in spending

Estimated number of DLA claimants who will fail reassessment based on 20% reduction:

1560

Detailed DWP figures are not available but indicative estimates are that this is the BIGGEST financial impact welfare reform in excess of

£3m per annum

Welfare reform Impacts

August

2013

Latest news on key welfare reforms

• Universal credit goes live for a limited number of people in a limited area

• The bedroom tax has been introduced. By week 7, 12.9% of Lewisham Homes residents were in arrears (compared to 0.46% for all households)

• Council Tax Reduction Scheme introduced…42% of households affected didn’t make first payment (but this is better than our original estimate)

• The social fund replacement scheme goes live…1130 applications received, but many mis-referred

• Benefit cap goes live…gradually…in Croydon, Bromley, Haringey and Enfield (and we’ve got a new list)

• PIP goes live for all new applications

Predicting timescales for local impacts

APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

£ LO

SS/

IMPA

CT

•Council

tax bills

sent o

ur

•Under-o

ccupation ru

le applied

•Benefit c

ap applied

•Notices s

eeking posse

ssion as a

result of u

nder-occu

pation

•Notices se

eking possessio

n

from PRS landlords as a

result of th

e benefit cap

Increase/ decline/ steady state?

•Court/

bailiff acti

on for

council tax b

ills m

ay

begin

What can residents do to prepare?

What can we do to help residents avoid or mitigate

the changes?

Topping up the shortfall –The council has some funding (in particular Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP)) and the council tax hardship scheme which it can use to make up short-falls in some cases

One off or short-term financial assistance –DHP and emergency loans under the

replacement social fund scheme can provide one off solutions to immediate problems. For example, a crisis loan for replacement items

after a disaster

Help residents to access paid employment – gaining paid employment (of at least 16 hrs a week) will exempt families from the benefit cap. The increased income from employment can be used to off-set the financial implications of other reforms – for example under-occupation

Help residents to claim exempting benefits or through their reassessment for a benefit – being in receipt of DLA will exempt families from the benefit cap. There is also a potential role for the local authority in supporting residents through PIP assessments.

FINANCIAL TOOLS SUPPORT TOOLS

Support to move to cheaper accommodation or to take in a lodgerReducing the costs of housing – i.e. through moving to a cheaper area of Lewisham/ London/ UK could reduce the impact of the changes (particularly under-occupation and the benefit cap

The total losses in Lewisham are over £10m… Financial support available is less than £2m

Universal Credit Pilot Objectives

1. To develop an evidence based definition of vulnerability for transition and access to Universal Credit

2. To develop triage mechanisms for identifying and assessing individuals affected

3. To test an approach for providing a holistic locally delivered face to face transition support service which improves the ability of claimants to:

• Budget and manage monthly payments• Sustain tenancies in the social and private rented sector• Transact with government services online• Access employment and work-focused training

Needs intensive support

Can transition independentlyNeeds transitional support

1

23

Phase 1: Overall customer contact numbers

There were 524 people in our sample group for the pilot, All of whom received written correspondence and two telephone calls from us to explain Universal Credit and the benefit cap, the impact on their household and what

they could do to prepare

We were successful in getting in contact with 418 of these customers, all of whom were taken through our triage assessment

143 were identified as being exempt from the benefit cap and did not require face to face support

249 were triaged as requiring further face to face support and had appointments booked for them

6 were identified as still being affected by the benefit cap were not vulnerable and did not require an appointment

20 were triaged as vulnerable but refused an appointment

Our overall

success rate

for contact

was 80%

Because we tested the

approach with claimants

affected by the benefit

cap, vulnerability levels

are higher than average

Phase 1 in numbers

Evaluation We are now in the process of pulling together the learning from phase 1 and writing an evaluation report. This includes making calls to the clients the team have seen and cross checking what impact the interventions have had.

As part of this we will also be contacting clients from the control group to assess their understanding of UC and the benefit cap. The evaluation report for phase one will be completed by the end of June.

UC pilot – what we have achieved

Learning about our residents: HOUSING

The overwhelming initial claimant response to the benefit cap is to try and find cheaper housing…but what people want is social housing.

For most families with more than four children, there is no housing solution to the benefit cap.

Mixed views on rent as a priority…‘I am not going to worry about these changes because I think they are ridiculous. I would rather buy things for my children then worry about the shortfall of my rent.’

31% have never been responsible for paying rent direct to their landlord.

39% are already in rent arrears.

Learning about our residents: EMPLOYMENT

Less than 3% of this group have been in paid employment in the last 12 months

40% say they are not looking for work.

43% cite childcare as the main barrier to work…but only 23% request help or advice to fund or find childcare at appointments, preferring to use informal or other childcare networks.

Strongly held belief that having children means work doesn’t pay…some even had example calculations from JCP in their hands to prove this to us at appointments. The benefit cap means they ALL will be better off…some significantly.

For most of these families, finding paid work is the only way to avoid the benefit cap. If they don’t they will not be afford to live and budgeting advice under UC becomes irrelevant.

48% have a bank account that supports direct debit and say they can cope with UC going into their account with some basic budgeting advice

Learning about our residents: FINANCIALBenefit cap loss ranges under £1 to over £200 a week…limited awareness of the personal impact and strategies for mitigating the impact. ‘Work does not pay’ is a widely held belief amongst this group.

11% have significant debt issues and have been referred to the CAB for intensive debt management advice.

46 referrals to the Credit Union (although relatively high existing membership levels)…when they show up, nearly all take on a service…but they aren’t showing up!

42% have applied for a crisis loan in the past

Learning about our residents: DIGITAL63% say they have internet access in their homes (not mobile) and can use it independently…although most only use it for social media at the moment

A further 24% say they have access in their homes and can use it with help from friends or family…language usually being the main barrier

This leaves 13% who need access and support…based on a 40,000 Lewisham caseload, this is 5,200 people needing access and support to complete a claim

The numbers needing support might be higher…the unknown at the moment is the complexity of the form.

Learning from the replacement social fund schemes…people will turn up if they have something urgent or are concerned…if they need to do something online, it needs to be close to where they present.

Benefit Cap & Universal Credit

Digital Financial

HousingEmployment

We will be developing a complex needs support model for people who fail to find solutions to the benefit cap by August 2013. We will be testing this model from July to October 2013.

This will be a case –work model focused on ‘gluing’ elements of welfare reform and impacts together and ensuring individuals remain engaged in their referral pathways. This will focus on sustaining the impact and behaviour change (resilience, tenacity, responsibility).

Post go live, initial enquiries and queries about the cap will be channelled through the existing Housing Benefits and Housing Services. Links will then be made to the UC pilot team if further assistance is required, with this process eventually forming the offer under the Local Support Services Framework (LSSF).

What we will be doing next?

July to October Supporting Children affected by welfare reform

We have identified cap claimants that are known to CSC are we’re liaising with them.

Conducted briefings on UC and Welfare Reform at Children Centre’s area partnership meetings.

In phase 2 we will be advising customers to contact their local children’s centres for support/advice (particularly around sourcing child care)

Supporting children affected by welfare reform

• Targeted Family Support Service offer tailored support to the families they work with who need help in areas such as getting into work or training, money management and benefits advice

• Initial matching done of some families accessing Children’s Centres who may be affected by the welfare reforms

• Information about the support available from local Children’s Centre services included on the Council’s benefit changes online support pages

Steps being taken in Children’s Centres

Supporting children affected by welfare reform

• Providing the Universal Credit Pilot Scheme coordinators with information about the support that Children’s Centres can offer families

• Delivering training to the Housing Benefits Service and the Universal Credit Team to support them to provide their clients with information about local Children’s Centre support available

Steps being taken in Children’s Centres

• Facilitating a meeting between the Housing Benefits Service, the Universal Credit Team, Children’s Centres and Targeted Family Support to enable effective joint working

Supporting children affected by welfare reform

• Weekly job clubs providing advice on getting into work, including training and support with job applications, interview techniques and CV writing

• Jobcentre workshops where parents can speak directly to Jobcentre staff about skills, training, job opportunities and help with returning to work

• Training courses for parents looking to find employment including childcare and ESOL classes as well as training that has a specific back to work focus

Examples of benefits and employment support offered by Children’s Centres

Supporting children affected by welfare reform

• Drop in sessions focusing on housing support and money advice

• Individual advice sessions with advisors from the Money Advice Service focusing on budgeting, money management and benefits

• Weekly sessions providing support and advice on managing debt with additional signposting to agencies that offer assistance with debt management

Examples of benefits and employment support offered by Children’s Centres

Early Intervention ServiceEarly Intervention Service

Schools’/GPs’/HVs’/Early YearsSchools’/GPs’/HVs’/Early Years Settings’ support mechanismsSettings’ support mechanisms

Children’s Centres orChildren’s Centres or Targeted Family support or other servicesTargeted Family support or other services

Early Intervention Early Intervention PanelsPanels

Support available for Teams AroundSupport available for Teams Around the Child/Teams Around the Familythe Child/Teams Around the Family

Early Intervention ServiceEarly Intervention Service

Schools’/GPs’/HVs’/Early YearsSchools’/GPs’/HVs’/Early Years Settings’ support mechanismsSettings’ support mechanisms

Children’s Centres orChildren’s Centres or Targeted Family support or other servicesTargeted Family support or other services

Early Intervention Early Intervention PanelsPanels

Support available for Teams AroundSupport available for Teams Around the Child/Teams Around the Familythe Child/Teams Around the Family

Identifying families in needIdentifying families in needTracking impactTracking impact

Supporting children affected by welfare reform

Children’s Children’s Centres Centres and TFS and TFS

Advantage 42 Advantage 42 entrepreneurial entrepreneurial

skills skills programmeprogramme

Existing Provision and

Troubled Families

Families into Families into WorkWork

Early Early Intervention Intervention

ServicesServices

Family Family BudgetsBudgets

Work Work Programme Programme

& ESF& ESF

Local Local VCSVCS