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THE STATE OF BEDFORD 2017

Citizens Advice BedfordResearch & Campaigns

Author: Charles Leslie

Bedford

Foreword

CAB is the recognised advice agency in Bedford Borough; the Citizens Advice brand is widely recognised and trusted at national and local level. It is recognised as an organisation that provides good quality advice without charge to anyone in need. CAB benefits from staff and volunteers who are well trained, enthusiastic and committed. As well as benefiting from nationally provided knowledge and reference sources, they also have specialist local knowledge which is valuable to clients.

Citizens Advice Bedford saw a total of 8,694 unique clients with 7,538 enquiries and had 26,757 contacts with, or on behalf of, these clients. In addition we responded to 1,738 emails and with the new local advice telephone service received 3,287 telephone calls.

The first step in leading any community is to understand the issues it faces and the concerns and problems of the families and individuals that make up that community, In short Bedford’s community leaders need to know the Borough and be able to work together to address its challenges. We have produced this report specifically to help in this process.

This paper builds on an earlier report and draws on Citizens Advice Bedford (CAB) casework data for 2016 to provide a picture of the main problems facing the borough’s residents as experienced by our volunteers and staff. We do not claim that they are representative: a similar report from a children’s charity, for example, may highlight a different set of issues reflecting their own area of focus. The problems and concerns are however real and can have a significant impact on the families and households affected.

I want to thank Charles Leslie, Research & Campaign volunteer for his hard work in producing a well research and balanced report into the state of Bedford.

Mark Sutcliffe MBEChief Executive

i

Contents

Page

Foreword i

Contents ii

1. Introduction 1

2. The CAB Workload 2

3. The Client Base 4

4. Issues & Concerns 9

Benefits 10

Debt 12

5. Other Issues & Developments 15

Universal Credit 15

Homelessness 15

6. Conclusions 18

Appendices

A. Tables of Data 19

B. Bedford Wards 29

C. Bedford Areas of Deprivation 30

D. Tables from CAB Trends Report July/Sept 2016 31

ii

The State of Bedford 2017

1 Introduction

1.1 The original Citizen’s Advice Bedford (CAB) report The State of Bedford was published in May 2015 to coincide with the Bedford Borough Council’s four yearly elections. Copies were sent to the elected Mayor and all councillors. It presented a picture of Bedford and the issues its citizens face using CAB data for the period Jan – Dec 2014.

1.2 The picture then was that:

a) While CAB clients came from all wards in the Borough, Cauldwell and Harpur wards alone accounted for nearly a quarter and these plus the Castle, Goldington, Kingsbrook and Queens Park wards provide over a half of all issues and clients. This picture of high demand from these few wards correlated closely with the pattern of deprivation in Bedford.

b) The main issues were to do with Benefits & Tax Credits, Debt, Employment, and Housing. There are clear links between these - many of the Debt issues concerned rent arrears and Housing Benefit is the largest single benefit issue. Those of the Bedford CAB clients who are in Employment tend to be in low paid jobs and/or part-time work.

c) Overall the picture was of a small but significant proportion of the Borough’s population that had difficulty coping with the situations they find themselves in, either generally because of some long-term disadvantage or vicious cycle; or temporarily because of some change in their circumstances. Most of this, in one form or another, comes down to a lack of money either because

• They do not know how to claim what they are entitled to.• They cannot manage the money they have.• They are in poorly paid jobs.• They have so little money they have to make impossible choices (e.g.

between rent, fuel or food)

1.3 The purpose of this report is to compare 2016 with 2014 to see what, if anything, has changed for the people of Bedford over the past two years.

3


2. The CAB Workload

2.1 The workload for CAB can be measured in “Contacts”: each time a member of staff (paid or volunteer) sees or contacts a client about an issue is counted as a Contact. This can be in a number of ways (e.g. telephone, e-mail, face-to-face) and at one of three levels:

i. Daysheet: a simple information request that can be dealt with immediately by the receptionist or telephonist

ii. Gateway Assessment: An initial interview to identify the client’s issue, assess their need and either provide advice or refer them on to an adviser if the issue is more complex.

iii. Enquiry: More complicated issues that may require a number of contacts with the client and other parties involved over a period of time.

2.2 As can be seen in Chart A below, although there has been little change in the overall number of Contacts (an increase of just 6%) there has been a significant change in the level of contacts. At the Enquiry level there has been a significant shift (around 10%) from Third Party contacts to the Client. At the other levels of Contact there has been an even greater shift, nearly 25%, from Gateway to Daysheets suggesting that staff are getting better at identifying and addressing these simpler information requests saving both client and staff time.

Chart A: Contacts by level of Work

2014 2016Total % Total %

Enquiry Contacts

Client 19,318 80.09 23,579 91.653rd Party 4,802 19.91 1,699 6.60Total 24,120 100.00 25,728 100.00

Gateway &

Daysheet

Gateway 6,225 97.11 5,167 75.04Daysheet 185 2.89 1,719 24.96Total 6,410 100.00 6,886 100.00

All Contacts 30,530 32,614For full breakdown see Appendix A Table 1

2.3 There has also been a change in the methods or channels used for Contacts. The proportion of Face-to-Face contact has dropped with a higher use of the telephone, probably linked to the development of the phone service over the past few years. Interestingly there has also been a drop in e-mail, possibly again linked to the development of the phone service, but an increase in the use of letters/mail.

2014

2016

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000

Chart B: All Contacts by Channels

Face to Face Adviceline Phone Telephone Letter/Mail Email

For full breakdown see Appendix A Table 2

4


2.4 Although the number of Contacts has gone up, and the number of Client contacts has also increased, the actual number of Clients over the year has remained similar. The reduction in those being dealt with at the Gateway or Enquiry level (i.e. requiring an interview) has been explained in para 2.2 above and those with on-going issues has remained fairly constant, suggesting that cases are becoming more complex and/or clients are requiring more support, hence the increase in Contacts.

Clients 2014

Clients 2016

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000

Chart 3: Clients seen

Clients with a new gateway or enquiryClients helped with ongoing enquiriesDaysheet records (proxy for a client)


2.5 To summarise, there has been a small increase in CAB’s workload between 2014 and 2016 in terms of number of Contacts, and a higher proportion of these are with clients rather than third parties. Given there has been no increase in the overall number of clients, the conclusion is that cases have become more complex with clients requiring more support. On the other hand better use of telephone and changes in the handling of information requests in Reception is reducing the need for face-to-face interviews at the Gateway level.

5


3 The Client Base

3.1 Although actual Client number have not changed significantly, changes in work practices within CAB, in particular the greater use of Daysheets to record simple information requests, means that some client information is no longer recorded as much as it was in 2014. This will affect any comparison of actual figures.

3.2 There has been a small shift the gender balance of the client base over the two years. In 2014 there was an even split between male and female clients which broadly reflects the National Office of Statistics profile. In 2016 this had shifted to 58% female clients and 42% male (see Appendix A Table 5).

3.3 There has been no change in the age profile (see Chart 4 below). Compared to the Bedford population as a whole, CAB clients are most likely to be of working age and more likely to be at the younger end of this range. People of retirement age are underrepresented in the client base compared to the wider population. This pattern is probably a reflection of when people are facing the most pressure in terms of employment, housing, finance and family which is when they are likely to seek CAB a and support.

Age un-der 5

yrs

Age 5 to

9 yrs

Age 10 to 14 yrs

Age 15 to 19

yrs

Age 20 to 24 yrs

Age 25 to 29 yrs

Age 30 to 34 yrs

Age 35 to 39 yrs

Age 40 to 44 yrs

Age 45 to 49 yrs

Age 50 to 54 yrs

Age 55 to 59 yrs

Age 60 to 64 yrs

Age 65 to 69 yrs

Age 70 to 74 yrs

Age 75 to 79 yrs

Age 80 to 84 yrs

Age 85 to 89 yrs

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Chart 4 Age Profile by % Clients 2014

Clients 2016

Bedford Pop.


3.4 The ethnic mix of the client base is also broadly unchanged as summarised in Chart 5 below (for a detailed breakdown see Appendix A Table 7). 71% of clients in 2014 were White with the majority (59%) being White and British. In 2016 these figures were 70% and 56% respectively. The other ethnic groups show very little change either.

6


Asian or Asian British

Black or Black British

Mixed White UK White Other All Other0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Chart 5: Ethnic Origin % where known Clients 2014

Clients 2016


3.5 There has been a slight shift in the profile of Disabled clients. While the overall numbers have not changed much (see Chart 6) there has been some change in the pattern of the nature of the disability (see Chart 7). As a proportion of disabled clients there has been a significant increase in those with a non-sensory physical impairment, from 23% in 2014 to 27% in 2016. This may be due to changes in the benefits system. The drop in non-disabled clients shown in Chart 6 is balanced by an increase in those whose status is Unknown/Withheld and probably simply reflects a change in recording associated with the increase in the use of Daysheets discussed in Section 2.

Disabled Long-term health condition

Not disabled/no health problems

Unknown/withheld0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

5,000

Chart 6 Clients by Disability

Clients 2014 Clients 2016


7


Physical Impairment (non-sensory)

Long-Term Health Condition

Mental Health

Other Disability or Type Not Given

Deaf / hearing Impairment

Learning Difficulty

Multiple Impairments

Visual Impairment

CognitiveImpairment

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Chart 7 Nature of Disability %

% Clients 2016

% Clients 2014


3.6 Predictably over 93% of clients came from within Bedford Borough, the next largest group is from Central Bedfordshire and then other neighbouring councils (see Chart 8 below). Given CAB practice about referring people to their local Citizens Advice offices, this pattern probably reflects people’s work, shopping and travel patterns.

% of all Known 2014

% of all Known 2016

86.00 88.00 90.00 92.00 94.00 96.00 98.00 100.00

Chart 8: % Clients by Council Area

Bedford Borough Central Bedfordshire Luton Milton Keynes

East Northamptonshire Huntingdonshire Peterborough East Hertfordshire

Stevenage Watford St Albans All Other Council Areas


8


3.7 The 2015 report divided the Borough into three broad geographic areas: the urban wards of Bedford Town; the largely rural areas to the North and East; a semi-urban area covering Kempston and the South of the Borough. These are shown in Appendix B. Allowing for instances of rural poverty, the main areas of deprivation in Bedford are concentrated in a few wards around the town centre. Castle, Cauldwell and Harpur have neighbourhoods that are amongst the 10% most deprived areas in the country with Kingsbrook and Goldington have areas amongst the 10-20% most deprived (see Appendix C). Additionally the Queens Park ward has significant areas amongst the 20-30% most deprived. In 2014 these six wards accounted for over half of all CAB clients and Cauldwell and Harpur alone nearly a quarter. The report also compared client numbers to the adult population in each ward and commented that these six wards had the highest client/population ratios, ranging from 1:18 to 1:10. The average across Bedford Borough as a whole was 1:231

% of all 2014

% of all 2016

0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00 60.00 70.00 80.00 90.00 100.00

Chart 9 % Clients by Area

North & East Kempston & South Bedford Town Not recorded/not applicable


3.8 Chart 10 below compares the client numbers for 2014 and 2016 by ward where known. As can be clearly seen, although actual numbers have dropped (due to changes in data capture and greater use of Daysheets) the overall pattern is very similar with the six most deprived wards clearly dominating the client base. This dominance is more apparent if the wards are grouped into the Town, Kempston & South and North & East areas discussed previously (see Chart 9 above).

3.9 CAB’s clients equate to about 5% of the Borough’s overall adult population. Overall there has been little change in the Client profile between 2014 and 2016, the same groups and areas of need continue to be reflected in the CAB Client base. This is hardly surprising given there has been little change in the wider political direction and economic environment during this time.

1 See The State of Bedford CAB Local Issues paper (May 2015). paras 2.4 – 2.6

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3.10 The CAB Advice Trends Report (published in Jan 2017) commented on the Client profile for the July/ Sept period of 2016 – the second quarter. It provides some useful additional data on client households, employment and income: Housing & Households : Of those whose details were recorded:

o 67% lived in rented accommodation (27% with private landlords) and 13% were homeless or in some form of temporary accommodation (incl. staying with family or friends).

o 43% had dependent children – 23% of clients were single parents and 20% were couples with dependent children. 64% of clients were single people with or without dependent children

Employment & Incomeo Over a third (36%) were unemployed and 18% were in part-time work (less

than 30hrs per wk.) while 24% were in full-time employmento 30% of clients had an income of less than £400 per month. The average UK

household income is £2,300 per month: only 4% of clients earned this or more.

For the full data from the Trends report see Appendix D.

10


CauldwellCastle

KingsbrookHarpur

GoldingtonQueens Park

Kempston Central and EastBrickhill

NewnhamDe Parys

PutnoeKempston West

Kempston SouthKempston North

EastcottsGreat Barford

Kempston RuralElstow and Stewartby

ClaphamWootton

Bromham and BiddenhamWilshamstead

SharnbrookHarroldOakleyRiseley

Wyboston

0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00

Chart 10 Bedford Clients by Ward

% of all 2016

% of all 2014


3.11 Based on all this data the typical CAB client in 2016 is likely to be a white British man or woman of working age (most likely 25 – 40yrs) with no disability or long-term health issue, single, with or without children and living in rented accommodation within the town of Bedford. He/She is unlikely to be in full-time employment and will have a monthly income of £600-£700 (compared to the national average of £2,300).

11


4 Issues and Concerns

4.1 Clients present multiple issues. For example a client presenting a Debt problem may have three different types of Debt, each of which would be recorded as an issue. If, as is often the case, there are also concerns about their Benefit entitlement these too would be recorded as separate issues. Furthermore Issues are recorded at three levels:

1. The main issue area: e.g. Benefits, Debt, Housing2. The main focus within that area: e.g. the type of benefit (Universal Credit, Housing

Benefit), nature of the debt (Rent Arrears, Credit Card)3. The nature of the question or problem: e.g. questions of Eligibility for a Benefit

To avoid the risk of double counting clients this section is concerned with the number and range of issues CAB helps with rather than the number of clients. As such it presents a picture of the problems and concerns people have.

Debt

Employment

Relationships & family

Grand Total

Legal

Immigration & asylum

Utilities & communications

Tax

Education

Other

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000

Chart 11a: Issues Presented (Level 1)

2016 2014

-20.00

-10.00

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

Debt

Benefits & tax credits

EmploymentHousing

Relationships & fam-ily

All Other Issues

Chart 11b: Main Issues % Change 2014-16


4.2 Overall the number of issues CAB deals with increased by 10% between 2014 and 2016. In 2014 the most common issues concerned Debt and Benefits & Tax Credits, together these accounted for over half (60%) of all issues presented (see Chart 11a above and Appendix A Table 10). The next most common were Employment, Housing and Family & Relationships. This is still the case now but while most have remained fairly static or fallen, Benefits issues have increased by over 40% since 2014. This is more apparent when looking at the percentage change shown in Chart 11b.

12


Benefits & Tax Credits

4.3 This increase has not been uniform across all Benefits. Chart 12 below shows that while there has been an increase in the three main issues compared to 2014 (Employment Support Allowance 28%; Housing Benefit 17%; Working & Child Tax Credits 33%) and a more than doubling of issues involving Personal Independence payments (PIP) Council Tax Reductions and Child benefit cases, these showed an increase of 194%, 130% and 109% respectively.

Employment Support Allowance

Working & Child Tax Credits

Personal independence payment

Council tax reduction

Income Support

Child Benefit

Universal credit

State Retirement Pension

Localised social welfare

National Insurance

Other benefits issues

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1,000

Chart 12 Benefits & Tax credits, Issues by Type (Level 2)

2016 Issues2014 Issues


4.4 It is likely that some of these increases are due to people needing help given the changes in the Benefits system, notably the various Benefit Caps and the introduction of the “Bedroom Tax”. The increase in PIP2 cases for example almost certainly links to its replacement of the Disabled Living and the re-testing of claimants’ disabilities and chronically illnesses. As can be seen in Chart 13a below, all the main issues around PIP have seen an increase over the 2014-2016 period with questions of Eligibility continuing to be the main concern. In Child Benefit, on the other hand, (see Chart 13b) the increase has been almost entirely in questions about Eligibility and Entitlement. For Council Tax Reduction the increase has been mostly in issues around the entitlement of those of working age (see Chart 13c).

2 For a fuller discussion of the impact of PIP see Health & Wellbeing 2016: Bedford CAB Report.13


Eligibility - all

Making and managing a claim

Appeals

Backdating

Challenging a decision (not appeals)

Change of circumstances

Renewals & reviews

Additional evidence (medical or other)

All Other

Not recorded/not applicable

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500

Chart 13a Personal Independence Payment Issues

2016 Issues 2014 Issues

Eligibility, entitlement, calc.

Making and managing a claim

Other


0 40 80 120

160

200

Chart 13b: Child Benefit Issues

2016 Issues 2014 Issues

Entitlement working age

Entitlement pension age

Change of circumstances

Challenging a decision

Claiming process

All Other issues


0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Chart 13c Council Tax Reduction Issues

2016 Issues 2014 IssuesFor full breakdown see Appendix A Table 12

14


4.5 These increases are also reflected in the number of clients. The overall number of clients seeking advice on Benefits as a whole fell by 5%, from 1,974 in 2014 to 1,875 in 2016 (see Appendix A Table 13). However the numbers seeking support around these three specific Benefits more than doubled in number and significantly increased as a percentage of all Benefits clients (see Chart 14 below): in 2016 Council Tax reductions and PIP each accounted for over a fifth of all Benefits Clients compared to less than a tenth each in 2014. The increase in the number of Issues shown in Chart 12 above is not the result of the same number of people needing more help and therefore generating more issues: there are more people requiring advice and support in these specific areas.

Council tax reduction Personal independence payment

Child Benefit0.00

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

Chart 14: Unique Clients as % of All Benefits Clients

2014 2016


Patterns of Debt

4.6 The other major area with regards to Issues and concerns is Debt. Although the overall number of Debt issues has remained fairly constant (see Chart 11a & 11b above), again the pattern of the issues within the broad heading have changed, the most significant of these can be seen in Chart 15 above, while Chart 16 below shows the percentage change. As can be seen the overall number of Debt cases has hardly changed at all while those related to Magistrates fines and Telephone/Broadband debts, both major areas in 2014 have dropped by over 50%. On the other hand debts due to overpayments of Housing and Council Tax benefits have significantly increased. Of possible greater concern is the increase in debt due to rent arrears to Housing Associations and Council Tax both of which have increased by over 50%, possibly due to the introduction of the “Bedroom Tax”. Arrears to Private Landlords has also increased by a third (see Appendix A Table 14). Despite the increase in Benefits issues, Debts due to benefit overpayments have largely dropped - except for overpayments of Working and Child tax Credits.

15


Rent arrears - housing associations

Overpts. Housing & Council Tax Bens.

Council tax arrears

Water supply & sewerage debts

Bankruptcy

Debt Relief Order

Mag. Cts. - fines & comp.ord. arrears

Telephone & broadband debts

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Issues 2016

Issues 2014

Chart 15 Debt - Main Areas of Change


-100.00 -80.00 -60.00 -40.00 -20.00 0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00

Rent arrears - housing associa-

tions

Overpts. Housing & Council Tax

Bens.

Council tax arrears

Water supply & sewerage debts

Debt Relief Order

Telephone & broadband debts

All Debt

Chart 16: Debt Issues 2014 / 16 % Change


16


07 R

ent a

rrears

- ho

using

asso

ciatio

ns

20 O

verpt

s. Hou

sing &

Cou

ncil T

ax B

ens.

09 C

ounc

il tax

arrea

rs

16 W

ater s

upply

& se

werage

debts

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

Chart 17: Unique Clients as % of All Debt Clients

Clients 2014 Clients 2016For full breakdown see Appendix A Table 13

4.7 The number of clients with debt issues has also dropped overall, though the four main Debt areas also show a rise corresponding to the increase in issues. Overall the number of Debt issues per Debt client has remained the same at roughly 3.9 issues per client.

4.8 It is difficult to attribute Debt directly to the reported issue. The question is how the individual chooses to spend their available income and which areas they allow the debt to develop. The increase in rent arrears to Housing Associations may be because this is perceived to be a better option than going into debt with, for example, gas and electricity providers. All we can really say is that Debt continues to be a major issue for a significant proportion of Bedford’s citizens and the changing pattern is a reflection of which bills they decide to give priority to.

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5 Other Issues & Developments

Universal Credit

5.1 Universal Credit is a new benefit introduced in 2015 to replace Income Support, Housing Benefit, Working & Child Tax credits, Jobseekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance. However its introduction has been very gradual with only new cases for specific groups going onto it, others have continued to go on the older benefit systems. The main roll-out is due in May 2017. The overall number of clients and issues is thus still very low, but is enough to give some indication of its possible impact.

Y Making and managing a claim

A Eligibility, entitlement, calc.

All Other


0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Chart 18 Universal Credit Issues 2016


5.2 Chart 18 above shows the main types of issues around Universal Credit. Although it is too early in the process to be definitive about the impact of Universal Credit one interesting aspect of the pattern of issues is that the single biggest concerns is Making and Managing a Claim - for all the other benefit areas the main concerns are about Eligibility & Entitlement. One problem is that Universal Credit payments are adjusted month by month to take account of an individual’s earnings, but it relates to earnings in the previous four/six weeks. This may not be an issue for those on a regular, if low, income but for people on zero hours contracts or with more casual employment patterns it can create problems as their weekly or monthly income can vary widely and their benefit payments will also vary according to their pay in the previous period. They may also be penalised for not informing the Department of changes in their employment or income. All this can make it difficult to keep to a regular budget and may explain why managing a claim is such an issue.

Homelessness

5.3 On 25th February 2016The Department for Communities and Local Government released the autumn 2015 figures for rough sleeping. These showed that, compared to 2014, there had been a 30% increase of rough sleepers across England as a whole with a 38% increase in the Eastern region. Bedford Borough itself reported 51 rough sleepers: an increase of 104% over the previous year. Compared to all other councils across England, Bedford was listed as having the eighth highest number of sleepers.

5.4 In an attempt to get behind these numbers and to construct a fuller picture of the

18


Homeless in Bedford3, CAB conducted a survey consisting of three elements: A qualitative survey of a sample of rough sleepers in Bedford town centre

conducted on the evening of Tuesday 8th March 2016 An analysis of the Enquiries4 handled by Citizens Advice Bedford (CAB) during

May 2016 when staff were specifically asked to check the housing status of clients

An analysis of the Enquiries handled by CAB during January- April 2016

5.5 Of the rough sleepers approached about half were willing to talk to the interviewers, the 9 interviews equates to just over 17% of Bedford’s rough sleepers, as such it can be used to create a picture of this group of Bedford’s homeless people. The most dominating factors appeared to be mental health and family breakdown.

All the interviewees were White British and all but one were Male. There was some variation in age, though most were aged 26-40

Some, but by no means all, had health issues and most of these were mental health or behavioural conditions rather than physical illnesses or disabilities

Despite concern in the past about ex-service personnel and the problems of adjusting to civilian life, none of the interviewees had served in the Armed Forces

Most had a link to Bedford: five had lived here prior to being homeless and three others had family connections elsewhere in the county or the bordering areas. Only one had no connection at all with the area.

Total in Sample Male Female White British Mental Health Issues

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Chart 19: Rough Sleepers & Other HomelessRough Sleepers

Other Homeless

5.6 During May 2016 CAB interviewed 174 clients at the Enquiry level, of these 5.75% (10 clients) were identified as homeless with most staying with friends or relatives

The issues presented were mainly around access to Benefits or various forms of Debt: only one client had a different sort of issue which related to residential care

Unlike the rough sleepers, this was a much more mixed group both in terms of Gender and Ethnicity: half were male and half female; seven were White or White British with the other three being Black or Asian British

However, like the rough sleepers most (9 out of the 10) were British/UK nationals (the other being Italian).

3 See Homeless in Bedford CAB Report (July 2016)4 Enquiries are the 2nd level of contact where clients are interviewed by general or specialist advisers and receive more detailed advice or support with their issues.

19


Chart 19 above compares the two samples. What is perhaps most telling is that only one of the ten was in a relationship (co-habiting), of the others two were divorced and seven single. This suggest that, like the rough sleepers, family or relationship breakdown is a factor in homelessness. A further similarity with the rough sleepers is the high proportion (60%) reporting mental health issues or learning difficulties suggesting that this too is a key factor. It also suggests that female homeless are more likely to be offered shelter by friends or family.

5.7 Chart 20 below is an analysis of clients during January to April 2016. It shows that about two thirds of those identified as homeless are staying with friends or relatives showing that this is by far the most common way of finding shelter.

Chart 20: Homeless Clients by Housing Type (Jan-April 2016)Housing Type No %

Homeless (incl B&B) 5 6.25Hostel 6 9.38Other 15 20.31Staying with Relatives/Friends (Paying Rent) 14 17.19Staying with Relatives/Friends (Rent Free) 32 43.75Staying with relatives / friends arr, unknown 2 3.13TOTAL 64

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6 Conclusions: The State of Bedford

6.1 Looking at things from the perspective of Citizens Advice Bedford, the state of Bedford has not improved over the period 2014-2016 and in some ways it has got worse. Although the overall number of clients has not changed significantly there has been a 10% increase in the number of issues dealt with and a 6% increase in the number of “contacts”, suggesting that those who come to CAB need more advice and support than before.

6.2 The profile of CAB clients has not changed with most coming from the same six wards in Bedford town. These coincide with the areas of greatest deprivation. The typical client is likely to be:

a white British man or woman of working age (most likely 25 – 40yrs) with no disability or long-term health issue, single, with or without children and living in rented accommodation within the town of Bedford. He/She is unlikely to be in full-time employment and will have a monthly income of £600-£700

6.3 Benefits and Debt continue to be the main issues CAB is presented with. However the type of issue has changed within these: Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Council Tax Reductions for those in work have seen the biggest increase. Employment Support Allowance and Housing Benefit continue to be a major area of concern for people. In Debt there has been a rise in rent arrears to Housing Associations and Council Tax. It is likely that the increasing focus on Benefits in the workload is due to the changes in the Benefit system, notably the introduction of PIP, the Benefits Cap and the “Bedroom Tax”. It is possible that these developments are also causing the changes in the pattern of Debt

6.4 The wider introduction of Universal Credit during the course of 2017 or may not cause an increase in cases but there are suggestions that it will shift the balance of work with an increasing need to help people manage their claims, possibly as an on-going requirement.

6.5 There are indications that homelessness is on the increase with a significant number of people being accommodated in one way or another by family and friends rather than going into hostels, B&Bs or sleeping rough.

6.6 The overall picture is that there is a body of Bedford’s citizens struggling to cope on a low income. Not all of these are entirely dependent upon benefits, some will be in part-time and/or low-paid employment. Although this group does not appear to be getting larger, the increase in Benefits Issues and the shift in patterns of Debt, suggests that they are finding it harder to cope.

21

APPENDIX A: TABLES OF DATA

Table 1 CAB Workload: Contacts by Nature of ContactEnquiry Contacts

By Work type2014 2016

Client Third Party Total Client Third Party TotalFace to Face 2,955 76 3,031 1,679 21 1,700Phone call 3,900 1,889 5,789 4,406 1,179 5,585Letter 12,314 2,704 15,018 17,403 412 17,815Email 149 133 282 91 87 178Total 19,318 4,802 24,120 23,579 1,699 25,278

Gateway and Daysheet Contacts

by channel

2014 2016

Gateway Daysheet Total Gateway Daysheet Total

Face to Face 4,715 167 4,882 2,994 1,553 4,547Adviceline Phone 76 3 79 30 17 47Telephone 312 1 313 1,481 124 1,605Letter/Mail 8 0 8 4 0 4Email 1,114 14 1,128 658 25 683Total 6,225 185 6,410 5,167 1,719 6,886

Table 2: CAB Workload: Contacts by Channel

Total Contacts by channel

2014 2016

Client Third Party

Casework Prep Total Client Third

PartyCasework

Prep Total

Face to Face 7,837 76 11 7,924 6,226 21 4 6,251Adviceline Phone 79 0 0 79 47 0 0 47

Telephone 4,213 1,889 8 6,110 6,011 1,179 203 7,393

Letter/Mail 12,322 2,704 732 15,758 17,407 412 759 18,578Email 1,277 133 67 1,477 774 87 2 863Total 25,728 4,802 818 31,348 30,465 1,699 968 33,132% of All 82.07 15.32 2.61 100.00 91.95 5.13 2.92 100.00

Table 3: Clients SeenClient Numbers % of All

Clients 2014 Clients 2016 % 2014 % 2016Clients with a new gateway or enquiry 6,562 4,925 93% 71%Clients helped with ongoing enquiries 327 317 5% 5%Daysheet records (proxy for a client) 185 1,719 3% 25%Total clients seen in the period 7,074 6,961 100% 100%

22

Table 4: Clients by Age GroupClients 2014 Clients 2016 Bedford Population

Age Profile No % No % No. %0-4 5 0 2 0 11,069 75-9 0 0 0 0 10,774 610-14 0 0 1 0 9,766 615-19 18 0 65 1 10,280 620-24 409 6 330 7 9,482 625-29 789 12 541 11 10,009 630-34 846 13 590 12 11,075 735-39 804 12 608 12 10,950 740-44 669 10 492 10 11,395 745-49 691 11 545 11 12,280 750-54 648 10 517 10 11,855 755-59 496 8 413 8 10,059 660-64 411 6 314 6 8,615 565-69 256 4 194 4 8,862 570-74 166 3 109 2 6,503 475-79 131 2 96 2 5,194 380-84 100 2 70 1 4,015 285-89 48 1 56 1 2,628 290-94 26 0 20 0 1,441 195-99 7 0 9 0100-104 1 0 2 0Not Recorded 553 1,987Total 7,074 6,961 166,252Total 15yrs and over 134,643Source: National Office of Statistics Mid 2015 estimate

Table 5: Clients by GenderClients 2014 Clients 2016 Bedford

populationGender No % No % No %Female 3,356 50% 2,988 58% 8,4182 49%Male 3,420 50% 2,178 42% 8,2070 51%Trans 1 0% 5 0%Unknown\Not Recorded 297 1,790Total 7,074 100% 6,961 100% 166,252

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Table 6: Clients by DisabilityClients 2014 Clients 2016

Disability No % No %Disabled 543 10% 572 14%Long-term health condition 709 13% 502 12%Not disabled/no health problems 4,365 78% 3,016 74%Unknown/withheld 1,456 2,870Not recorded/not applicable 1 1Total 7,074 100% 6,961 100%

Nature of Disability Clients % Clients %

Cognitive Impairment 12 1% 9 1%Deaf 3 0% 4 0%Hearing Impairment 20 2% 23 2%

Learning Difficulty 85 7% 65 6%Mental Health 277 22% 231 22%Physical Impairment (non-sensory) 282 23% 287 27%Visual Impairment 27 2% 24 2%Long-Term Health Condition 289 23% 227 21%Multiple Impairments 55 4% 57 5%Other Disability or Type Not Given 202 16% 147 14%Not recorded/not applicable 5,822 5,887Total 7,074 100% 6,961 100%

24

Table 7: Clients by Ethnic OriginClients 2014 Clients 2016

Ethnic Origin No % No %Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi 187 3% 134 3%Asian or Asian British - Chinese 17 0% 12 0%Asian or Asian British - Indian 323 5% 266 6%Asian or Asian British - Other 87 1% 56 1%Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 180 3% 116 3%Black or Black British - African 302 5% 242 5%Black or Black British - Caribbean 293 5% 186 4%Black or Black British - Other 84 1% 76 2%Mixed - Other 79 1% 31 1%Mixed - White & Asian 38 1% 35 1%Mixed - White & Black African 46 1% 32 1%Mixed - White & Black Caribbean 145 2% 107 2%White - British 3,624 56% 2,452 54%White - English 107 2% 59 1%White - Irish 79 1% 37 1%White - Northern Irish 3 0% 0 0%White - Scottish 7 0% 8 0%White - Welsh 1 0% 1 0%White - Other 803 12% 641 14%White - Gypsy or Irish Traveller 7 0% 0 0%Other - Any Other 71 1% 63 1%Other - Arab 8 0% 7 0%Declined to Reply 63 49Unknown 334 631Not recorded/not applicable 186 1,720Total 7,074 100% 6,961 100%

Table 8: Clients by Council Area

Local AuthorityClients 2014

Clients 2016

% of all Known 2014

% of all Known 2016

Bedford Borough 5,380 4,604 90.97 93.58Central Bedfordshire 274 169 4.63 3.43Luton 38 16 0.64 0.33Milton Keynes 33 22 0.56 0.45East Northamptonshire 19 19 0.32 0.39Huntingdonshire 16 1 0.27 0.02Peterborough 8 3 0.14 0.06East Hertfordshire 5 1 0.08 0.02Stevenage 6 1 0.10 0.02Watford 7 2 0.12 0.04St Albans 4 1 0.07 0.02All Other Council Areas 124 81 2.10 1.65x Not recorded/not applicable 900 225Total of Known 5,914 4,920Table 9: Bedford Clients by Ward

25

Bedford Ward Clients 2014 Clients 2016 % of all

2014% of all 2016

Bromham and Biddenham 82 76 1.52 1.65

Clapham 102 81 1.90 1.76Great Barford 116 116 2.16 2.52Harrold 38 45 0.71 0.98Oakley 40 42 0.74 0.91Riseley 38 39 0.71 0.85Sharnbrook 45 47 0.84 1.02Wyboston 44 37 0.82 0.80North & East sub total 505 483 9.39 10.49Eastcotts 120 122 2.23 2.65Elstow and Stewartby 108 85 2.01 1.85Kempston Central and East 288 215 5.35 4.67Kempston North 167 126 3.10 2.74Kempston Rural 105 116 1.95 2.52Kempston South 118 139 2.19 3.02Kempston West 177 156 3.29 3.39Wilshamstead 84 58 1.56 1.26Wootton 73 80 1.36 1.74Kempston & South Subtotal 1,240 1,097 23.05 23.83Brickhill 237 213 4.41 4.63Castle 506 413 9.41 8.97Cauldwell 554 454 10.30 9.86De Parys 214 162 3.98 3.52Goldington 433 353 8.05 7.67Harpur 451 379 8.38 8.23Kingsbrook 478 402 8.88 8.73Newnham 189 174 3.51 3.78Putnoe 158 158 2.94 3.43Queens Park 413 313 7.68 6.80Bedford Town Sub total 3,633 3,021 67.53 65.62Not recorded/not applicable 2 3 0.04 0.07TOTAL Clients 5,380 4,604 100 100

Table 10: Main Issues at Level 1

26

2014 2016

Issue AIC Part 1 Issues % Issues Issues%

Issues

2016 as % of 2014

% Change

Debt 5,102 33.64 5,087 30.27 99.71 -0.29

Benefits & tax credits 4,230 27.89 5,975 35.55 141.25 41.25

Employment 1,305 8.60 1,155 6.87 88.51 -11.49

Housing 1,255 8.27 1,165 6.93 92.83 -7.17

Relationships & family 877 5.78 851 5.06 97.04 -2.96

All Other Issues 2,399 15.82 2,573 15.31 107.25 7.25

Grand Total 15,168 100 16,806 100.00 110.80 10.80

Table 11: Benefits & Tax Credits (Level2)

AIC Part22014

Issues2016

Issues2014/2016 Change

2016 as % of 2014 % Change

Discrimination 1 -1 0Income Support 153 145 -8 94.77 -5.23Pension Credit 163 174 11 106.75 6.75Social Fund Loans-Budgeting 45 20 -25 44.44 -55.56SF Community Care grants 2 -2 0.00Housing Benefit 608 715 107 117.60 17.60Child Benefit 115 241 126 209.57 109.57Council Tax Benefit 2 -2 0.00Working & Child Tax Credits 408 546 138 133.82 33.82Jobseekers Allowance 307 237 -70 77.20 -22.80National Insurance 16 9 -7 56.25 -43.75State Retirement Pension 42 58 16 138.10 38.10Incapacity Benefit 19 2 -17 10.53 -89.47Disability Living Allowance 260 261 1 100.38 0.38DLA-Mobility Component 32 0 -32 0.00Attendance Allowance 147 171 24 116.33 16.33Carers Allowance 80 147 67 183.75 83.75Employment Support Allowance 669 859 190 128.40 28.40Universal credit n/a 109 108Personal independence payment 289 851 562 294.46 194.46Localised social welfare 25 9 -16 36.00 -64.00Council tax reduction 218 502 284 230.28 130.28Benefit cap 6 6Welfare reform benefit loss 3 -3 0.00Complaints 1 6 5 600.00 500.00Passported benefits 3 32 29 1066.67 966.67Other benefits issues 595 566 -29 95.13 -4.87Not recorded/not applicable 26 309 283 1188.46 1088.46

4,230 5,975 1,745 141.25 41.25

Table 12: Benefits & Tax Credits: Main areas of concern at level 327

AIC Part2 AIC Part3 2014 Issues

2016 Issues

Housing Benefit

Eligibility, entitlement, calculation 261 405Changes of circumstances 64 54Discretionary payments 36 10Appeals 31 15B Challenging a decision (not appeals) 28 41Making and managing a claim 25 64Backdating 15 19Other 83 23Not recorded/not applicable 65 84TOTAL 608 715

Child Benefit

Eligibility, entitlement, calc. 65 180Making and managing a claim 18 28Other 13 12Not recorded/not applicable 19 21TOTAL 115 241

Working & Child Tax Credits

Eligib, entitl & calc - ALL 217 266Change of circumstances 37 24Appeals 26 23Making and managing a claim 20 65Alleged fraud 13 18Backdating 4 14All Other 34 25Not recorded/not applicable 57 111TOTAL 408 546

Employment Support

Allowance

Eligibility, entitlement, calculation 255 234Appeals 70 55Making and managing a claim 43 205Work capability assesment (all aspects) 37 20Challenging a decision (not appeals) 34 47Change of circumstances 21 22Incorrect group allocation 19 212 month limit to contribution-based ESA 13 9Backdating 11 20Permitted work 6 17Housing costs 3 13Premium 2 55All Other 90 51Not recorded/not applicable 65 109TOTAL 669 859

Contd. Table 12: Benefits & Tax Credits: Main areas of concern at level 3

AIC Part2 AIC Part3 2014 Issues

2016 Issues

Universal Credit

Making and managing a claim 27Eligibility, entitlement, calc. 18

28

All Other 1 40Not recorded/not applicable 1 24

2 109

Personal Independence

Payment

Eligibility - all 199 460Making and managing a claim 45 138Appeals 3 57Backdating 1 36Challenging a decision (not appeals) 28Change of circumstances 4 12Renewals & reviews 10Additional evidence (medical or other) 10All Other 21 19Not recorded/not applicable 16 81TOTAL 289 851

Council Tax Reduction

Entitlement working age 91 342Entitlement pension age 34 61Change of circumstances 33 28Challenging a decision 20 28Claiming process 19 13All Other issues 15 11Not recorded/not applicable 6 19TOTAL 218 502

Table 13: Unique ClientsClient Numbers presenting an issue - total allowing for those presenting more than one issue

2014 2016 2016 as % of 2014No. As % No. %

Benefits & Tax Credits

All Benefits & Tax credits 1,974 100.00 1,875 100 94.98

Council tax reduction 196 9.93 438 23.36 223.47

Personal independence payment 156 7.90 420 22.40 269.23

Child Benefit 94 4.76 199 10.61 211.70

Debt

All Debt 1,850 100.00 1,305 100.00 70.5407 Rent arrears - housing associations 255 13.78 353 27.05 138.43

20 Overpts. Housing & Council Tax Bens. 64 3.46 93 7.13 145.31

09 Council tax arrears 345 18.65 394 30.19 114.2016 Water supply & sewerage debts 222 12.00 287 21.99 129.28

29

Table 14: Debt IssuesMain areas of change highlighted

Debt AIC Part22014

Issues2016

Issues2016 issues as % of 2014

Rent arrears - housing associations 371 619 166.85Overpts. Housing & Council Tax Bens. 83 131 157.83Council tax arrears 518 750 144.79Water supply & sewerage debts 298 430 144.30Catalogue & mail order debts 116 156 134.48Rent arrears - private landlords 133 177 133.08Overpayments of WTC & CTC 90 119 132.22Credit, store & charge card debts 402 495 123.13Fuel debts 217 260 119.82Arrears of income tax, VAT or NI contributions 41 46 112.20Unpaid parking penalty & cong. chgs. 88 89 101.14Overpayments of other benefits 18 17 94.44Overpayments of IS/JSA/ESA 37 33 89.19Payday loan debts 90 75 83.33Maintenance & child maintenance arrears 17 14 82.35Unsecured personal loan debts 377 306 81.173rd party debt collection excl. bailiffs 14 105 750.00Individual Voluntary Arrangement 14 11 78.57Hire purchase arrears 59 46 77.97Bank & building society overdrafts 273 171 62.64Other legal remedies 5 3 60.00Mortgage & secured loan arrears 127 73 57.48Social Fund debts 28 16 57.14Rent arrears - LAs or ALMOs 36 15 41.67Bankruptcy 107 41 38.32Debt Relief Order 235 74 31.49Mag. Cts. - fines & comp.ord. arrears 570 120 21.05Telephone & broadband debts 311 54 17.36Discrimination 2 0.00 Logbook/bill of sale loan debts 3 0.00Private Bailiffs 16Debts to loan sharks/illegal lenders 1Pawnbroker debts 2Mobile phone debt 99Other telecoms debt (landline, broadband, bundle, TV) 56Debts to friends and family 47Other 389 372 95.63Not recorded/not applicable 17 64 376.47All Debt 5,102 5,087 99.71

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Table 15: Universal Credit Issues

Issue (AIC 3) No. Issues % of AllUnique Clients

Eligibility, entitlement, calc. 18 16.5% 17Eligibility to disability elements 1 0.9% 1Alleged fraud, error and disputes 1 0.9% 1Poor administration 3 2.8% 3Changes of circumstances 5 4.6% 5Civil penalties 1 0.9% 1Challenging a decision (not appeals) 4 3.7% 3Rental - discretionary housing payments 2 1.8% 2Rental element - social rented sector restrictions (under occupation) 3 2.8% 3Rental element - LHA restrictions 1 0.9% 1Sanctions and hardship loans/payments 4 3.7% 4Not recorded/not applicable 24 22.0% 24APA - frequency 1 0.9% 1Advance payments (budgeting advance) 7 6.4% 6APA - direct to landlord 6 5.5% 6Making and managing a claim 27 24.8% 23Other 1 0.9% 1 Total 109 100.0% 64

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APPENDIX B

Bedford Wards by Geographic area

Bedford TownBrickhillCastleCauldwellDe ParysGoldingtonHarpurKingsbrookNewnhamPutnoeQueens Park

North & EastBromham and BiddenhamClaphamGreat BarfordHarroldOakleyRiseleySharnbrookWyboston

Kempston & SouthEastcottsElstow and StewartbyKempston Central and EastKempston NorthKempston RuralKempston SouthKempston WestWilshamsteadWootton

32

APPENDIX C

Bedford Areas of Deprivation Most Deprived LSOAs in Bedford Borough, IMD 2010

Source: Bedford Borough Council, based on Indices of Deprivation 2010, Department for Communities and Local Government

The Indices of Deprivation 2010 measure deprivation at the Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) geography. Of the 102 LSOAs in Bedford Borough, 4 are among the 10% most deprived areas in England on the IMD (these are LSOAs in parts of Castle (2), Cauldwell and Harpur wards).

A further 7 LSOAs are among the 10-20% most deprived nationally, with 11 more among the 20-30% most deprived. Areas among the 0-10%, 10-20% and 20-30% most deprived in England are shaded red, orange and yellow in the table and on the map: all 22 of these LSOAs are in Bedford or Kempston towns, with the greatest deprivation centred on Castle, Cauldwell, Goldington and Kingsbrook wards

Text from Bedford Council webpage: http://www.bedford.gov.uk/health_and_social_care/bedford_borough_jsna/wider_determinants/deprivation.aspx

33

APPENDIX D

Data from CAB Trends Report July-Sept 2016

Household Tenure Clients Percentage

Buying Home (Mortgage, etc) 86 8%

Council/ALMO Tenant 91 8%

Homeless (incl. B & B Tenant) 9 1%

Hostel 6 1%

Housed Through Job/Business 1 0%

Housing Association/RSL Tenant 357 32%

Other 15 1%

Own Outright 106 10%

Private Tenant 303 27%

Residential Accommodation (Nursing/Care homes) 1 0%

Shared Ownership 4 0%

Staying with Relatives/Friends (Paying Rent) 44 4%

Staying with Relatives/Friends (Rent Free) 79 7%

Total 1,102 100%

Household Type Clients Percentage

Couple 131 12%

Couple With Dependent Children 208 20%

Couple With Non-Dependent Children 25 2%

Other Adults Only 15 1%

Other With Dependent Children 2 0%

Single Person 398 38%

Single Person With Dependent Children 249 23%

Single Person With Non-Dependent Children 33 3%

Total 1,061 100%

34

Occupation (self-defined) Clients Percentage

Carer – children 13 1%

Carer – elderly/disabled 9 1%

Employed - under 30 hrs. p/w 160 18%

Employed - 30 hrs. p/w or over 218 24%

Permanently sick/disabled 38 4%

Retired 75 8%

Self-employed 25 3%

Student 13 1%

Unemployed 331 36%

Other 44 4%

Total 926 100%

Income profile Clients

< £ 400 pcm 156 30%

£ 400 - £ 599 pcm 75 15%

£ 600 - £ 799 pcm 56 11%

£ 800 - £ 999 pcm 66 13%

£ 1000 - £ 1499 pcm 103 20%

£ 1500 - £ 1999 pcm 36 7%

£ 2000 - £ 2499 pcm 12 2%

£ 2500 - £ 2999 pcm 6 1%

> £ 3000 pcm 4 1%

Total 514 100%

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