Transcript Presentation heading goes here Sub heading goes here Date

Welfare Reform Briefing
Welfare Reform Update
Jim Burns,
Jobcentre Plus, West of Scotland District
Topics to cover.
• Welfare Reform Act
• Benefits
• Service Delivery
• Employment support
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Department for Work and Pensions
Welfare Reform Act - overview
• Introduces the most fundamental reforms to the social security system for 60
years.
• Aims for a simpler, fairer benefits system & to ensure work pays
• Universal Credit
• Personal Independence Payment
• ESA time-limiting
• Benefits cap
• Social Fund changes
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Department for Work and Pensions
Universal Credit - overview
• Will replace a range of working age benefits with a single payment that
provides both in-work and out-of-work support
• Designed to ensure that work will always pay
• Expect Universal Credit to begin in 2013, with existing claims transferred to
the new system by the end of 2017
• Tougher sanctions regime will be introduced ahead of Universal Credit
• Aspects of the Social Fund will be incorporated within Universal Credit while
others will be delivered by Local Authorities in England and devolved
administrations in Scotland and Wales
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Department for Work and Pensions
Universal Credit - timetable
• Preparatory tests this year.
• Expect Universal Credit to begin in 2013.
• 2014-15 – begin moving those existing claimants with most to gain from
being on UC.
• 2016 & 2017 – transfer existing claims to UC. Migration based on local
authority boundary.
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Department for Work and Pensions
Incapacity Benefit Reassessment
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) introduced in
Oct 2008 for new claims
• Change from Personal Capability Assessment to Work
Capability Assessment
• Existing IB claimants to be assessed for ESA
• Process to be completed by May 2014
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Department for Work and Pensions
Work Capability Assessment improvements
• DWP is committed to continuously improving the Work Capability
Assessment (WCA) to ensure that it is fair and effective
• Professor Malcolm Harrington is currently undertaking his third independent
review of the WCA System
• All recommendations from the November 2010 review implemented.
• Second review reported November 2011. All recommendations have been
accepted, including:
 Monitoring the impact of the year one recommendations and identifying
further opportunities for improvement
 Improving descriptors for mental health and other fluctuating conditions
 Regular monitoring of DWP and Atos staff performance to ensure
consistency in assessments and decisions.
 More details on DWP Website.
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Department for Work and Pensions
ESA changes – from 30th April 2012
• 12 month limit for contribution-based ESA in the work related activity group.
Support Group not affected.
• Makes ESA more consistent with JSA which has 6 month limit on
contribution-based entitlement.
• About 60% of those claiming ESA end claim within a year.
• Estimate 60% of those affected by time-limiting will be eligible for incomerelated ESA – rest can claim on credits-only basis to maintain NI record and
access Work Programme.
• Estimate 90% of those affected by change to ESA Youth will be able to claim
income-related ESA.
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Department for Work and Pensions
Helping disabled people live full,
active & independent lives.
An introduction to
Personal Independence
Payment.
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Department for Work and Pensions
What is changing?
 Personal Independence Payment will replace Disability Living Allowance
(DLA) for people of working age from April 2013
• Retains the key features of DLA - non means tested and non taxable
payable both in and out of work
• More objective assessment process
• Awards will be based on the:
- individual circumstances of the person claiming
- impact of their disability / health condition
- extent to which they are able to live independently and participate in
society
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Department for Work and Pensions
Why is it changing?
• DLA has been in place for almost 20 year largely unchanged
• Personal Independence Payment will better reflect today’s understanding
of disability which has changed a lot in 2 decades
• DLA was:
– Unsustainable in the long term
– Complex and confusing
– Used little independent evidence
– Had no systematic review to make sure an award still met the claimants
needs
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Department for Work and Pensions
When will it change?
Personal Independence Payment is being introduced in stages:
• April 2013: Initially take a few thousand new claims in areas including Merseyside,
North West England, Cumbria, Cheshire and North East England
– During this period new claimants in all other parts of the country will continue to
claim Disability Living Allowance as now
• June 2013: We plan to take new claims from all claimants in all parts of the country
• Oct 2013: Oct 2013: Start to reassess cases that are approaching the end of a fixed
period award or who report a change on their needs. We will also start to reassess
cases with an indefinite award - around 10k per month, chosen by random selection.
• Jan 2014: Full national reassessment likely to begin
• March 2016: All current DLA claimants of working age will have been contacted about
claiming Personal Independence Payment
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Department for Work and Pensions
What is PIP made up of?
Personal Independence Payment is made up of:
• a Daily Living component
• a Mobility component
Awards will be made up of one or both of these components.
Each component will have two rates:
• standard
• enhanced
The amount for each rate is still to be decided.
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Department for Work and Pensions
Benefit cap
• Limits benefit payments to a household to no more than average household
earnings – currently equivalent to a gross salary of £35,000.
• Cap excludes one-off payments and non-cash benefits.
• Exemptions for households including recipients of Disability Living
Allowance, Attendance Allowance or Constant Attendance Allowance.
• War widows/widowers and those in ESA Support Group also exempt.
• Those entitled to Working Tax Credit exempt.
• Effective from April 2013 – already contacting individual claimants in those
households likely to be affected offering support to find work.
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Department for Work and Pensions
Lone Parents
• Extending jobseeking support to more lone parents.
• Lone parents with a youngest child aged five or over no longer entitled to
Income Support if they are claiming solely on the grounds of being a lone
parent
• Applied to new and repeat claims from 21st May 2012
• Introduced in stages for existing lone parents, up to 20th August 2012
• Work Focused support also available for those on Income Support.
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Department for Work and Pensions
Jobcentre Plus support
• Greater focus on diagnosing customers’ individual needs
• More flexibility and responsibility for Jobcentre advisers
• Increased flexibility for local managers
• Raised expectations of customer commitment to finding work
• Extending range of digital services
• Clear focus on getting customers off benefits and into jobs
• New sanctions regime to be introduced
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Department for Work and Pensions
Exercise – Welfare Reforms
• How will these reforms impact on your
customers?
• How will you support them?
• What further support do you need?
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Department for Work and Pensions
Feedback
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Department for Work and Pensions
Sources of Information
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Department for Work and Pensions
Touchbase e-zine (for DWP stakeholders)
Directgov the official UK Government Website
Skills Development Scotland for advice on careers,
training, modern apprenticeships etc
• Jim Burns contact details
Telephone - 01294 406172
E-mail mailto:[email protected]
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Department for Work and Pensions