Transcript Housing Benefit / Council Tax Benefit Appeals

Landlords Forum
Held at City of Lincoln Council - 19th June 2012
Welfare Reform
Martin Walmsley
Head of Shared Revenues and Benefits
City of Lincoln Council and North Kesteven District
Council
City of Lincoln Council – Benefits Service
• Effect of economic downturn – live Housing
Benefit/Council Tax Benefit caseload has increased by
more than 17% since August 2008 – from 9,805 to over
11,500 (more than 1 in 4 households in Lincoln)
• Pay out £37million to Lincoln residents per annum, in
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit
• Claims assessment, Fraud detection and prevention,
Overpayments collection, Training, Quality Control
Welfare Reform – Context
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In 1999/2000 Housing Benefit bill was £14 billion
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In 2009/2010 the bill has risen by 50% to £21 billion
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The aim of the Government is to save the country
£11 billion by 2014-15 in Welfare Benefits
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Simplify the current system
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Improve incentives to work by ‘making work pay’
• Welfare Reform Bill received Royal Assent 8th March 2012
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) – i
• Introduced April 2008
• April 2011: 30th percentile rate, 5-bedroom rate removed,
£15 per week excess removed
• January 2012: Shared Room Rate for under 35s
• April 2012: Fixed annual (weekly) rates
– Shared/ Single Room: £56.50
– Single under 35s (exceptions): £56.50
– 1 Bedroom self-contained: £80.77
– 2 Bedroom: £100.38
– 3 Bedroom: £114.23
– 4 Bedroom: £150.00
www.lincoln.gov.uk/lha
LHA caps /
Discretionary Housing Payments
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April 2011:
Absolute Caps LHA rates cannot exceed:
£250 per week for a one bedroom property,
£290 per week for a two bedroom property,
£340 per week for a three bedroom property,
£400 per week for a four bedroom property
• Discretionary Housing Payments:
– Increase in Housing Benefit / Council Tax Benefit where customer needs
help with housing costs
– Application required
– Email: [email protected]
– Web: www.lincoln.gov.uk/benefits
– Tel 01522 873355
– City Hall
Universal Credit (UC) – Current Position
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UC made up of: Housing Benefit, Income-based Jobseekers
Allowance, Income-based Employment and Support Allowance,
Income Support, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit
‘Maximum’ credit of £500 per week (£26k per annum) for
couples/lone parents
‘Maximum’ credit of £350 per week (£18,200k per annum) for
single people
-----------------Housing Benefit for new claims (JSA) from October 2013, others
April 2014
Transition of all Housing Benefit claims between 2013 and 2017
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to administer from
outset, but local authority pilots
Customer applies for UC online wherever possible
Local authorities may have a role in assisting customers to make
UC claims
Direct Payment to customers
Bedroom rates capped in the Social Sector
• From April 2013
• Rules applied to private tenants being extended to working
age households living in social sector housing
• Nationally around 670,000 working age households will be
affected
• Does not affect those who have reached state pension age
• Size criteria, one bedroom (single/couple):
– Two children under 16 of same gender
– Two children under 10 regardless of gender
– Disabled tenant/partner with non resident overnight
carer
• Cut will be fixed % of Housing Benefit eligible rent: 14% for
1 extra bedroom, 25% for 2 or more extra bedrooms
• Average loss £13 per week (as per Government impact
assessment)
Overall Benefit Cap
• From April 2013
• Cap to be introduced on the total amount of benefit that
working age people can receive
• Cap will apply to combined income from a variety of
benefits (including HB and UC)
• Cap will be set at around £350 a week for single adults with
no children; and at around £500 a week for couples (with or
without dependant children) and lone parents with
dependant children
• Approx 67,000 households nationally affected
• Approx 50 households in Lincoln – have been written to by
DWP
• No phased approach
• May be 9-month exemption where have been in work
Other Changes
• April 2012: Increases in Non-Dependant
Deductions
• April 2013: Localised Council Tax Support
• Social Fund abolished – ‘Local Assistance’
scheme in place of Community Care Grants and
Crisis Loans
Summary
• Possibly the most fundamental changes to the Housing
costs rebate schemes since the 1980s
• Communication with customers and other key
stakeholders is vital
Any Questions?
• If you have any questions, please do not hesitate in
contacting our Benefits Service
• Reminder of e-mail address: [email protected]