Transcript Document

Stockton Council
Scrutiny Review of Financial Inclusion &
Welfare Reform
23 January 2014
Kath Heathcote – Director of Financial Inclusion & Housing
Nicola Hall – Director of Communications & Performance
Five Lamps - Integrated Service Portfolio
Youth Services
To provide NEET young
people with skills and
qualifications to prepare
them for employment.
Economic
Development
Employability
To have a positive impact
and increase employment
figures in Stockton- onTees, by supporting
people to access training
and sustainable job
opportunities
Enterprise
To have a positive impact
and increase employment
figures within the Tees
Valley, by supporting
people to start their own
businesses.
Evening and weekend
youth club activities
To provide a range of
evening and weekend
activities for young people
to raise their confidence
and aspiration.
Personal Loans
Financial Inclusion
& Housing
Get On In Life (GOIL)
Work Programme
Family Wise
New Enterprise
Allowance Loan and
Mentoring Service
Enterprise Workshops
Helping Hand
Welfare Assistance
Start-Up Loan Fund
Warm Homes Healthy
People
Mybnk
HMP Kirklevington
Empty Homes
To provide affordable
credit and financial
support to financially
excluded individuals
across the North East,
enabling them to move
away from their reliance
on unaffordable or illegal
credit.
To reduce the number of
long term empty
properties
Financial Inclusion
• Personal loans
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15,000 loans to financially excluded individuals
APR 49.9% - 89.9%
7 day turnaround
42% of the UK CDFI lending by loan volume
Responsible lending
• Debt Advice
– First stage debt advice
– Capacity Builders
– Mybnk
• Energy Debt Advice
– Warm Homes Healthy People
– Big Energy Savings Network
Welfare Assistance
• Abolition of the DWP discretionary Crisis Loan and Community Care Grant
elements
• Local Authorities have commissioned new Welfare Assistance schemes
• Five Lamps have been successful in securing contracts to deliver services for
three local authorities, in varying capacities, which in turn has provided the
organisation with invaluable data including emerging themes and key
trends.
– Back on Track (Stockton Council)
– HAND (Durham Council)
– NETs (Northumberland Council)
Back on Track: Aims
Crisis Support
This may be awarded when there is an immediate need for items or services
such as food, fuel payments, baby consumables, clothing or emergency travel.
Settlement Support
For those applicants who find themselves in a period of transition or
resettlement, such as moving back into the community after a stay in supported
or unsettled accommodation and can be assisted with the provision of items
including white goods, furniture and flooring etc.
Back on Track – Progress to date
Comparison with other schemes
No. of Approved Applications
Number of Awarded Applications by Local Authority
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Stockton Approved
LA 1 Approved
LA2 Approved
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
Comparison with other schemes
Total Spend by Local Authority Area
40,000.00
Value of Awards (£)
35,000.00
30,000.00
25,000.00
Stockton Spend
20,000.00
LA1 Spend
15,000.00
LA2 Spend
10,000.00
5,000.00
0.00
April
May
June
July
August
September October
November
Level of Demand – Key Findings
The anticipated floodgates did not open on 1st April 2013
Figures produced by DWP were not comparable to the way Local Authorities set
up and administered their funds and therefore like for like spend cannot
justifiably be compared
“Social Fund” culture
Some argue that the decrease in number of awards from the DWP scheme is
owing to the scheme being administered more robustly and the fact that needs
are met by means other than a cash payment.
Additional factors to consider, notably a lack of awareness of schemes
Level of Demand – Key Findings
Common themes presented by applicants submitting eligible applications
include;
Crisis/Emergency Support
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Lost or stolen wallet/purse
Poor budgeting skills
On-going debt issues
Ongoing benefit issues including sanctions, appeals, rapid reclaims etc.
Settlement/Transitional Support
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Issues with private landlords
Family breakdown
Fleeing domestic violence
Release from short/long term hospital care/prison
Unable to continue with maintenance and upkeep of exiting residence
Back on Track: Reasons for customers not
being eligible for support
Back on Track - Signposting
Back on Track - Awards
The future of social fund as a local service
Challenges
• Only 6 months operational data
• Has impact of welfare reform hit yet?
• Reviewing pilot and criteria
• Gaps in provision – paper submitted to Officers for further discussion
• Anticipated spend v actual
• Links with other discretionary funds
• Funding post March 2015
Concluding thoughts
• Five Lamps due to publish report “Lessons learned & best practice in WA
provision” March 14
• Some authorities have found stakeholder consultation events useful in
reviewing and amending schemes
• Continuing financial pressures – possibility for shared LA scheme –
economies of scale
• Opportunities for WA schemes to be broadened to meet other needs as a
consequence of welfare reform