Universal Credit and Universal

Support in Wandsworth

Purpose

To improve understanding of local Universal

Credit transition, impacts and thinking about

support

To appreciate our respective situations, the

environments we work within and unique

demands

To discuss whether we might meet again and

the extent to which we might work together to

support local people with the transition to

Universal Credit

Universal Credit

Benefit Cap

Bedroom Tax

Localised Welfare

Support

Localisation of

Council Tax

Support

Personal

Independence

Payments

A storm of reform

Care Act

Universal Credit Challenges

• “A major cultural transformation” (Lord Freud)

• Monthly payments

• Housing element paid to claimant not landlord

• Paid to one account per household

• Need a bank account

• Digital by default

Universal Credit Impact

Wandsworth:

• Number of working age households: 111,795 (source: Census 2011,

table QS111EW - HRP under 65)

• Estimated number of working age households claiming benefit: 29,527

• Proportion of working age households claiming benefit: 26%

• Research by Sheffield Hallam shows that welfare reform will mean an

average reduction in income of £397 per year per working age adult in

Wandsworth

http://www.shu.ac.uk/research/cresr/sites/shu.ac.uk/files/Welfare_Refor

m.xls

• We need to understand better the impact of UC in Wandsworth

• Can DWP tell us how many people will be affected in Wandsworth?

• How many people will need support?

• All working age benefits changing

• Increased complexity – multiple

systems in operation, transitional

protection

• Not just about benefits - increased

demand for debt & housing advice too

• Financial capability work

• Context of Legal Aid cuts

Impact on advice agencies

The Local Support Services Framework,

now known as ‘Universal Support’

• The LSSF or US sets out how the DWP will fund local support for

claimants with complex needs (e.g. people with mental health

needs, learning disability, homeless or who have addictions) who

will need extra help when making the transition to universal credit.

• First published Feb 2013, updated Dec 2013, next issue Autumn

2014?

• Funding will be available via Local Delivery Partnerships but LAs

expected to provide welfare advice and support, housing advice

and solutions to their residents from existing funding arrangements.

• July 2014, Lord Freud announced 11 partnerships that are trialling

aspects of Universal Support for a 12 month period from 1

September 2014 (inc. Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark,

Westminster and RB Kensington and Chelsea)

Universal Support

• Delivered locally in partnership between local

authority, DWP district manager and community

groups and based on existing local partnerships

• Anticipated support needs:

Triage and explaining the new services,

particularly while they are being introduced in

incremental stages;

Assistance with making claims online and

managing UC account online;

Advice to help claimants manage money under

UC’s monthly payment arrangements and ensure

that rent and cash flow is well managed

• See LSSF Appendix B

Local Support Services Update and

Trialling Plan, December 2013

• “Councils and DWP Jobcentre Plus (JCP) District managers

are encouraged to take the opportunity to start preparing for

the introduction of UC in their local area.”

• “We anticipate that JCP District and Partnership Managers will

work with councils and other local agencies, like Housing and

the VCS organisations, to plan and implement a holistic and

joined up approach to supporting all claimants, including those

with complex needs who currently receive support from

multiple agencies.”

• Has any partnership and preparation been instigated locally?

• Lots of examples of good practice/lessons learned in the Plan

• The Government has decided that Local Enterprise

Partnerships will develop strategies for accessing European

Union (EU) funds. These include the European Social Fund

(ESF). Any news on this locally?

Universal SupportSuccess criteria for Universal Support:

• Constructing a service that claimants, agents and

intermediaries view as easy to use, easy to understand and

easy to access - giving them confidence in the system;

• Helping individuals, especially those who need extra

support, to make and manage a claim to UC;

• Providing a joined up and holistic service to claimants

ensuring minimum hand-offs between different agencies

• Substantially improving work incentives and the recognition

that work pays; and

• Increasing the number of people in employment when

compared to the equivalent point of the previous economic

cycle.

• Which agencies need to work together in partnership

locally and how?

The scale of the challenge!

Managing Migration Pilot

In March 2013, Citizens Advice established its

Managing migration pilot to understand the level and

nature of support its clients will need in making the

transition to Universal Credit. It wanted to:

• Prepare its service delivery ahead of the roll out of

Universal Credit

• Gain an insight into what potential outcomes it could

expect for its clients

• Understand the barriers that might prevent them from

successfully moving on to Universal Credit without

additional support.

• A pilot with 3 bureau tested the approach:

Birmingham, North Dorset, Ynys Mon (Anglesey)

Headline figures from the baseline

• 50% of everyday CAB clients (1,779 of 3,460)

were identified as ‘Universal Credit relevant’.

These are clients who receive benefits that will

transfer into Universal Credit

• 92% of those clients identified as ‘Universal

Credit relevant’ (1,644 of 1,779) need support to

be able to make the migration on to Universal

Credit. These clients require support in one or

more of the following areas: budgeting, banking,

staying informed, and getting online

CAB support improved capacity

and skills for over half of clients;

23% disengaged; 20% have not

progressed

Barriers to successful transition

Key findings on the barriers around the transition

to Universal credit include:

• 95 per cent agree they would benefit from

having a choice to be paid fortnightly.

• 80 per cent agree they would benefit from

having rent paid directly to their landlord.

• 21 per cent would struggle having their benefit

paid to one bank account in the household.

Services identified

• Benefits advice, with specific guidance on

Universal Credit

• Debt advice

• Financial capability work – which has

been offered on either a group or a one-

to-one basis

• One-to-one digital assistance in the form

of signposting digital assistance, and

providing guidance about getting onlinehttp://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/policy/policy_publications/er_b

enefitsandtaxcredits/managing_migration_pilot_final_results.htm

• Debt advice

• Grant finding service

• Over 60’s benefit service

• Financial capability

• Welfare benefits

• Welfare reform roadshows

Supporting delivery

Working together

• Local network referral systems

• Partnership groups/boards

• Partnerships with housing associations

• Staff secondment

Making welfare work locally policy project

• Strong partnerships build on trust and

understanding of common aims were really

important in developing a work programme that

supported claimants through change.

• Co-ordination and consistent messaging from

different partner organisations is important to

convey accurately and clearly the real impact of

changes and options for people affected

• Despite the intensive resources required, tailored

face to face support played a key role in delivering

information and advice to tenants. Letters and

phone calls work for some, but is difficult to get high

levels of engagement without quite persistent door

knocking.

Making welfare work locally policy project

Learning for social landlords:

• Holistic support - recognising that issue is wider than

simply ensuring rent gets paid and that clients may have

other problems that need to be sorted such as debt, lack

of access to financial services, childcare/training as a

barrier to employment. Failing to help with problems

early on can mean more intensive and expensive

support later e.g. if things get to stage of eviction

proceedings, homelessness, children's services

involvement etc.

• Data sharing – early sharing of who would be affected

enabled early planning and intervention, ahead of

implementation. It also enabled tenants to get a holistic

service without having to complete separate

assessments repeatedly.

Digital support

• Digital by default

• Our research shows 66% of UC claimants are not

ready to claim on-line and will need help to

manage their account

• DWP says 30% of current claimants would be

able to make online claims without support, 33%

with some support and 37% who need significant

support.

• Our local intelligence is that large numbers of our

clients will require assistance and support with

on-line claims, in line with DWP estimates

Digital Support: how we can help

• WCABx and partners could provide help with on-

line claims in a range of settings, including

libraries, nurseries and schools, health centres

in addition to our established centres

• We could run ‘UC claim clinics’, helping people

to claim, and demonstrating entitlement and the

effects of taking paid employment

Money advice

• 78% of benefits claimants who come to their local CAB

are not ready to manage changes in money they receive

• 74% of claimants who come to their local CAB are not

ready to keep track of their money on a monthly basis

• Lord Freud: the most “interesting” finding from the Direct

Payment Demonstration Projects is that it is going to be

“quite resource intensive to support tenants”

• 25% of housing association tenants said they would

need support to manage under UC, 43% of those

wanted a great deal of support and 70% wanted it face

to face.

• 41% say monthly payment will make budgeting harder,

10% easier & 40% no difference.

Money Advice: How we can help

• WCABx has good experience of delivering financial

capability training for the public. As a result of workshops

we ran recently, over 75% felt better able to manage their

money and debt, 80% had taken action: 56% set up a

budget; 47% shared information from training with family

and friends; 39% made household economies.

• With additional resources, we could deliver targeted

financial capability training (‘UC budgeting clubs’) in a

range of settings

• We could also provide general and specialist debt advice

for those UC claimants that require it. The withdrawal of

legal aid funding for debt advice means that advice

agencies need additional funding to maintain specialist

debt advice services

A single point of contact about Universal

Credit in Wandsworth?

• Wandsworth CABx could be the single

gateway for UC support services in the

borough

• This could provide a single client journey

through the support needed to make the

change to UC and hopefully paid employment

and debt free independence

Single client journey

John comes to WCABx worried about what UC means for him as he is already struggling with debt

WCABx advisor explains UC and helps him get online

WCABx arranges for him to have advice and/or training on how to manage a monthly budget, advice on managing debts and introduces him to the Credit Union

As John is worried that his current debts mean he will not be able to manage paying his own rent. The WCABx advisor helps him make his case to DWP that for a short time he needs to have his housing benefit paid directly to his social landlord. The advisor explains his entitlement and how paid work will affect it.

John feels more confident with managing money and now can manage to pay his own rent and manage his UC account. He also knows how getting paid work will affect him.