Understanding welfare

reform changes

Find out how changes to council tax benefit,

housing benefit, universal credit and more might

affect you from April 2013.

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/welfarechanges

From April 2013 the

government is making big changes

to housing benefits. Council tax

benefit is also being replaced by a

new scheme. Find out more ...

In 2013 the government is making big

changes to housing benefit,

introducing a new benefits cap, and

launching universal credit that will see

people on a range of benefits getting a

single payment once a month.

The government has also asked us to

introduce a new local council tax

support scheme to replace council tax

benefit.

Under these new changes, people’s

housing benefit may go down, and lots

of working age people will have to pay

something towards their council tax,

even if they have never paid anything

before.

The government is also making

changes to pension credit, local

housing allowance and introducing a

new personal independence payment

for disabled people.

This booklet explains the

following changes:

Local council tax

support scheme

Pages 3 - 7

Housing benefit changes

Pages 8 - 10

Benefits cap

Page 11

Universal credit

Pages 12 - 13

Local housing allowance,

pension credit and personal

independence payments

Pages 14 - 15

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/welfarechanges 2

Did you

know?

The new

council tax

support

scheme

changes

won't affect

pensioners or

anyone who

receives a

war pension.

3

You might

have to pay

something

towards your

council tax from

April 2013 From 1 April 2013, lots of working age

people who have never had to pay

council tax before, might have to pay

something.

Why? The government has abolished the national council

tax benefit scheme. In its place it asked us to design a

local council tax support scheme that comes into

force on 1 April 2013. We wrote to everyone who

claimed council tax benefit last year, and took their

feedback into account when designing our new

scheme.

Under the new scheme most working age people will

have to pay something towards their council tax, even

if they never have before.

The government has told us our

new council tax support scheme

must protect pensioners and

vulnerable people. It must also

encourage people into work.

We will still calculate their entitlement

to council tax support based on 100% of

their council tax bill.

If you are disabled, but don't claim a

severe disability premium, this change

may affect you.

* What is a severe disability premium?

People have a severe disability premium

if they get disability living allowance,

receive a middle or higher rate care

component, live alone and no one

receives a carer's allowance for looking

after them.

Couples can also have a severe disability

premium if they both receive a middle

or higher rate care component, live

alone as a couple and no one receives a

carer's allowance for looking after

either of them.

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/welfarechanges 4

Our new scheme Our new scheme differs from the

current scheme in the following ways.

1. Most working age people

will have to pay something

towards their council tax bill

From April 2013 most working age who

previously claimed council tax benefit,

will have to pay the first 20%, or more,

of their council tax bill. The amount of

council tax support they then get, will

be calculated based on their income.

2. Pensioners, severely

disabled, war pensioners and

some young families won’t be

affected by the new scheme

The changes won't affect pensioners,

disabled people who qualify for a

severe disability premium*, people

with children under 5, and people who

receive a war widow’s or widower’s/

war disablement pension.

3. Working age people living in more

expensive homes will have to pay more

towards their council tax bill

Working age people living in a more expensive home

(council tax bands E, F, G or H) will have to pay the

difference between their council tax band and the

amount someone living in an average home (a band D

property) pays, before their council tax support is

calculated. This is on top of paying the first 20% of their

council tax bill (see point 1 on page 4).

What is a council tax band? Every home in the

district is placed in a council tax band that is based on

its value. The council tax band determines how much

the council tax bill for each home will be. The

cheapest council tax band is A and the most

expensive council tax band is H. An average house is

in a band D. To find out what band your house is in ,

look at your council tax bill, or visit

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/bandchecker and enter

your postcode, or call 01543 308900.

4. We are stopping the second

adult rebate for working age people

Under the previous scheme, if you lived in a home with

an adult on a low income, even if you were not

personally entitled to council tax benefit, you would

have been entitled to up to 25% off your council tax bill.

We are stopping this second adult rebate, so from 1

April 2013, anyone who currently claims it may have to

pay 100% of their council tax bill.

Please note The second adult rebate will still apply to

pensioners. The second adult rebate is not the same as

the single persons discount, which has not been

stopped - see page 7.

5

Did you

know?

You will find

out what you

will have to

pay towards

your council

tax in your

annual bill.

This was sent

to your home

in March.

7. We will help to make

working claimants better off

When assessing council tax support, we

don’t take all of a working person’s

earnings into account. Under the

national scheme, this was £5 for single

claimants a week, £10 for couples a

week, and £25 for lone parents a week.

To make things fairer, from 1 April 2013,

we are introducing a flat rate of £25 a

week for all types of household.

8. All adults living in a

household will be expected to

contribute to the household

When we calculate council tax support

we will take into account the adults

that live with you. If you have non-

dependent adults living with you, for

example adult children or parents, it’s

likely we will expect them to make a

contribution to the household, and we’ll

reduce the support you get as a result.

From 1 April 2013, if the non-dependent

adult living with you doesn’t work we’ll

reduce the amount of support you get

by £5 a week, or if he/she is working,

we’ll reduce it by £10 a week.

Please note: You won’t be affected by

this change if you currently don’t have

a deduction from your benefits as a

result of a non-dependent adult living

with you.

6

5. We will view child benefit

as income when we calculate

a claim

At the moment we don’t take child

benefit into account when we

work out someone's income. From 1

April 2013, we will count child benefit

as income, which will mean some

people will receive less council tax

support as a result.

6. Most people with over

£6,000 capital will not be able

get council tax support

From 1 April 2013 we are lowering the

amount of capital working age*

people can have from £16,000 down to

£6,000. So, if you have more than

£6,000, you will not be entitled to

council tax support, and may have to

pay 100% of your council tax bill.

*This change will not apply to

people on income support,

employment and support allowance

(income related), jobseekers

allowance (income based) or pension

credit (guarantee). This change will

also not affect pensioners.

Please note Capital means all the

money you have in bank

accounts, building society accounts,

shares etc, but not your home.

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/welfarechanges

7 www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/welfarechanges

To read some case studies

showing how the changes

might affect local people, visit

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/

supportexamples

There are a number of things

that will not change under

the new council tax discount

scheme. These are:

Pensioners will not be

affected The way we calculate pensioners'

council tax benefit will not change.

Pensioners will continue to be

assessed under a national scheme that

the government has said will be much

the same as the current scheme.

Child maintenance will not be

considered income Currently child maintenance payments

are not included as income when

calculating a claim. This won't change.

Single person discount

and exemptions for people

with severe mental

impairment These will not be affected by the

changes.

What to do now?

If you currently receive council tax

benefit, please make sure the

information we hold about you is

correct. This will help us to make sure

you don't have to pay more council tax

than you need to from 1 April 2013.

In particular, please let us know if:

• you have children and have not told

us about them.

• you receive a severe disability

premium in any benefit you get.

If you are unsure what information

we hold about you, please email

benefits@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call the

team on 01543 308900.

Questions?

What you have to pay towards your

council tax this year is detailed in your

annual council tax bill, which was sent

to your home in early March 2013. If

you have any questions, please email

benefits@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call the

team on 01543 308900.

Contact Citizens Advice Bureau for

help and support Call 08444 111 444.

Lines are open Monday - Friday,

9.30am - 4.30pm.

Did you

know?

These changes

to housing

benefit will

not apply to

you if you live

in a private

rented home.

Pensioners

will also not

be affected by

the changes.

Do you have

too many

bedrooms?

Will your

housing benefit

go down? The government is cutting the amount

of housing benefit working age people,

who live in a council or housing

association property, will get if they

have more bedrooms than their family

needs. This is referred to as the

‘bedroom tax’ and the change will come

into effect on 1 April 2013.

We will not make the decision on how many

bedrooms there are in your home. This will be the

responsibility of your landlord, who will be asked to

accurately describe your property, in line with the

rent charged. We will not be able to change this

decision. 8

1. How many bedrooms

am I entitled to?

If you are of working age, live in a

council or housing association home,

and claim housing benefits, under the

new rules that come into effect on 1

April 2013 you will be entitled to

housing benefit to cover one bedroom

for:

• every adult couple (married or

unmarried).

• any other adult aged 16 or over.

• any two children of the same sex

aged under 16.

• any two children aged under 10.

• a carer (or team of carers) who

provide overnight care

• any other child*

*If you foster a child, or look after a

child whose main home is elsewhere,

the child will not be included when

assessing the number of bedrooms you

require.

2. Some worked examples A couple or single person:

• with no children will need one

bedroom.

• with one child will need two

bedrooms.

• with a boy and girl aged under 10

will need two bedrooms.

• with a boy and girl aged 11 and 15

will need three bedrooms.

• with two children of the same sex

aged 11 and 15 will need two

bedrooms.

• with two children of the same sex

aged 13 and 16 will need three

bedrooms.

3. What if I have too many

bedrooms?

From 1 April 2013:

• if you have one bedroom too many,

your housing benefit will be cut by the

equivalent of 14% of your rent.

• if you have two, or more bedrooms

too many, your housing benefit will be

cut by the equivalent of 25% of your

rent.

Please note if you only get partial

housing benefit, and you have one

bedroom too many (for example), you

could lose all your housing benefit if the

amount of benefit you get is currently

less than 14% of the rent you pay.

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/welfarechanges 9

4. What if I have a bedroom

for a carer?

If you have an extra bedroom for an

overnight carer, your benefit may not

be cut as a result of your carer's

bedroom.

If you have a extra bedroom that is

only used by carers during the day, or

for medical purposes, you will not be

entitled to housing benefit for this

bedroom.

5. What if I am recently

bereaved?

There are exceptions for people who

have too many bedrooms because of a

recent bereavement.

6. What if I am pregnant?

If you are pregnant and have an empty

bedroom ready for your unborn child,

your benefit will be reduced until your

child is born.

What to do now?

Make sure we hold the right

information about the number of

people living in your home

This may affect the number of

bedrooms you are entitled to. Our team

can also explain the changes in detail.

Contact our team on 01543 308900 or

email benefits@lichfielddc.gov.uk

Contact your housing association to

discuss your options

If you are affected by the change, we

recommend you talk to your housing

association about the changes and your

possible options.

Speak to the Citizens Advice Bureau for

help and support

The Citizens Advice Bureau may be able

to provide you with help, support and

information on your options,

budgeting, financial support and more.

Call the Staffordshire advice line on

08444 111 444. Lines are open Monday

- Friday, 9.30am - 4.30pm.

The exact amount your benefit

will reduce by will depend on

the amount of rent you pay your

housing association.

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/welfarechanges 10

Did you

know?

We’re still

waiting to

hear from the

government

when the

benefits cap

will be

introduced

in Lichfield

District.

The government

is introducing a

benefits cap In late 2013, a limit on the amount of

benefits a single person or family can

get is set to be introduced. The maximum

financial support/benefits people will be

able to claim is £500 a week for a family,

and £350 a week for a single

person.

If you get more than this at the moment, your housing

benefit will be reduced and you may have to pay more

towards your rent, or find cheaper housing.

The benefit cap does not apply where any household

member receives:

• Disability living allowance

• Personal independence payments

• Attendance allowance

• The support part of employment and support

allowance

• Working tax credit

• War widows/widowers pensions

As soon as we know when the changes will be

introduced, we’ll update www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/

welfarechanges. For more background information

about the changes visit www.dwp.gov.uk/gov

11

Did you

know?

If you

already get

benefits, the

Department

for Work &

Pensions will

contact you

to tell you

when you are

moving to

universal

credit.

One monthly

payment of

universal credit

from October

2013 From as early as October 2013 the

following benefits will be replaced with

a single benefit, called universal credit:

• income support

• income based jobseekers allowance

• income related employment and support

allowance

• housing benefit

• tax credits

When you claim universal credit :

• you will be paid monthly in arrears into your bank

account, like a wage.

• you’ll need to make arrangements to pay your rent

and housing bills out of your universal credit

payment.

12

Things to start

thinking about

If you are a tenant, you will need to

think about how you are going to

budget and also make arrangements to

pay your weekly or monthly rent from

your universal credit payment.

You'll need to make sure you have a

bank account for your universal credit

to be paid into, and for your bills to be

paid out of.

You'll need to set up arrangements to

pay your bills out of your bank account,

including your rent.

The Citizens Advice Bureau may be able

to provide you with help, support and

information. Call the Staffordshire

advice line on 08444 111 444. Lines are

open Monday - Friday, 9.30am -

4.30pm.

Find out more

Find out more about the plans for

universal credit on www.dwp.gov.uk/

gov

The website includes a handy

frequently asked questions sheet.

1. I already claim benefits -

when will I move across to

universal credit?

If you already claim the benefits listed

on page 12, the Department of Work

and Pensions will contact you directly

to tell you about the changes and

when they will affect you.

It is expected that it will take up to

2017 to move everyone across to

universal credit.

2. When will I move to

universal credit if I submit a

new claim for benefits?

The government hasn’t yet published

information about when the changes

will affect new claimants.

We’ll update www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/

welfarechanges as soon

as we find out more from the

government.

You can also visit the Department of

Work & Pensions website to find out

more www.dwp.gov.uk/gov

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/welfarechanges 13

Did you

know?

Local housing

allowance

payments, for

people living in

private rented

homes, is

unlikely to

increase each

year as it has

in the past.

Payments

could even go

down.

Other changes Local housing allowance for

private tenants

The way local housing allowance rates are worked

out has changed. The change means most local

housing allowance rates will not increase as much

year on year, as they have done in the past.

Local housing allowance rates are no longer

reviewed by the government throughout the year.

New rates are now published once a year in April.

Visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/lha to read the most

up to date local housing allowance rates and to find

out more.

Pension credit changes

From as early as October 2014, if you are a

pensioner and claim housing benefit, it could be

paid as a housing credit, as part of your pension

credit.

The change is unlikely to affect the amount you

receive, but it does mean you’ll claim support for

your housing costs from the Pensions Service, rather

than your local council.

You’ll receive a letter to tell you more about the

change, or you can visit www.dwp.gov.uk/gov 14

Personal independence

payments (PIP)

From 8 April 2013 the government is

introducing a new benefit called

personal independence payment (PIP)

to replace disability living allowance

(DLA). To find out more visit

www.dwp.gov.uk/pip

To get PIP you must:

• be between 16 and 64 years of age.

• be able to satisfy the daily living/

mobility tests for three months prior

to claiming.

• be likely to satisfy the daily living/

mobility tests for at least nine

months after claiming.

How much PIP will I get?

The payment you receive will be made

up of:

A daily living element

• Standard rate - if you have a limited

ability to carry out daily living. • Enhanced rate - if you have a

severely limited ability to carry out

daily living activities.

Mobility element

• Standard rate - if you have a limited

ability to carry out mobility activities. • Enhanced rate - if you have a se-

verely limited ability to carry out mobility activities.

People who are terminally ill, and where

life expectancy is less than six months,

will not have to satisfy the period

condition for the mobility element.

How will PIP be assessed? PIP will be assessed on a points basis.

Visit www.dwp.gov.uk/pip for details.

When will PIP be introduced?

Personal independence payments will

be introduced in four stages:

April 2013 The government is running a

pilot in Merseyside, north west

England, Cumbria, Cheshire and north

east England.

From June 2013 If you submit a new

claim for disability support, you will be

asked to submit a claim for a personal

independence payment.

From October 2013 If you currently

claim disability living allowance and

report a change in your health condition

or disability, the Department of Work &

Pensions will invite you to submit a

claim for a personal independence

payment.

From 2015 The Department of Work &

Pensions will write to everyone else

receiving disability living allowance

(unless you report a change, or your

award is due to end before 2015) to

invite them to submit a claim for a

personal independence payment.

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/welfarechanges 15

www.lichfielddc.gov.ukwelfarechanges

Help and support

Department for Work & Pensions

www.dwp.gov.uk/gov

Jobcentre plus

www.jobseekers.direct.gov.uk

Speak to the Citizens Advice Bureau The

Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to

provide you with help,

support and information. Call the

Staffordshire advice line on 08444 111

444. Lines are open Monday - Friday,

9.30am - 4.30pm.

For impartial local money advice visit

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/

manageyourmoney

For local housing advice visit

www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/housingoptions

This leaflet covers the major

changes to national benefits from

April 2013, as a result of the

Welfare Reform Act.

There are other changes planned to

tax credits, child benefits, council

tax exemption, and the

employment and support allowance

for young people. To find out more,

visit www.dwp.gov.uk/gov

If you have any questions about the

changes to council tax benefit, or

about the bedroom tax, please email

benefits@lichfielddc.gov.uk or call

01543 308900, Monday - Friday,

8.45am - 5pm.

16

If you would like this document in large

print or another format please call our

team on 01543 308900

It’s vital

you pay

your rent

If you have problems paying your rent, speak to your

landlord as soon as you can. If you are evicted because

you don’t pay your rent, it is likely you will be classed as

intentionally homeless and the council will not have to

provide you with new permanent accommodation.