Transcript Welfare Rights Advice in Difficult Times

Welfare Rights Advice in
Difficult Times
Neath Port Talbot Welfare Rights
Unit
Why Welfare Rights??
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“can’t the DWP be relied on to
ensure that everyone gets the
money they are entitled to?”
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“Is this an appropriate service
for the Local Authority to be
offering?”
Why Welfare Rights??
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In these difficult times it is not
enough to show that a Welfare
Rights Unit has an extremely
beneficial effect on local people.
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It is a question of proving your
worth to the Council as well!
Welfare Rights Unit role
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Independent advice and
advocacy role – increasingly
important due to remote call
centres in DWP
Holistic income maximisation
service including 1st and Upper
Tier appeal representation and
debt advice
CLS Quality Mark
Second Tier Work
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Provide comprehensive training
to strategic staff of the Authority
and partner organisations.
Ensure that up to date
information is disseminated to
appropriate people.
Preventative work that enables
the LA to make savings eg.
Reducing rent arrears.
Strategically targeted work
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Work strategically to the specific
aims of the LA and WAG.
This can result in savings to the
LA as well as extra income for
families eg. Sheltered
housing/extra care
accommodation, Warm Wales,
Communities First.
Not a Statutory Service?
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The LA does have some duties to
give benefit/financial advice to
service users
Chronically Sick and Disabled
Persons Act 1970 – contains a duty
to provide information to clients
LA Social Services Act 1970 – WAG
fairer charging guidance requires LA
to ensure benefit advice available
from staff.
Not a Statutory Service?
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Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 – a
duty to help care leavers including
appropriate benefits advice
Courts consider whether benefits
advice has been offered to tenants
facing repossession
WAG have indicated a strong policy
intention on action for child poverty
to include financial advice.
Welfare Rights Service
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Strategically a Welfare Rights
income maximisation service can
have a big impact on some of the
LA’s aims eg. Health, Social Care
and Wellbeing strategy, Children and
Young Person’s plan, WAG
proposals on child poverty and
Communities First
Also more local schemes such as
extra care, domiciliary care, Adult
Family Placement.
Income Generation
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One of the main objectives of the
Welfare Rights Unit
Benefits not only the individual but
the wider community
Multiplier effect in the local
community – subject of economic
research in the past.
Every £1 million raised in benefits
supports a certain number of jobs in
local small businesses.
Income Generation
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Extra benefits gained for
domiciliary care service users is
likely to lead to extra income for
LA
Adult Family Placement and
Independent Living Fund also
show how changes in benefits
received can save money on
services provided by LA.
Low Take Up of Benefits
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Welfare Rights work is a good
way to transfer money from
Central Government to local
areas.
A Welfare Rights worker will
cost LA around £35,000 but will
raise benefits to the level of
approximately £400,000.
LA Budget Settlement
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This is favourably affected by the
numbers of people in receipt of
certain benefits – eg. Income
Support, Pension Credit, Disability
Living Allowance.
NPT has a particularly high
proportion of recipients of DLA –
partly due to the work of the unit.
This should mean the LA will receive
a more favourable settlement than
may otherwise have been the case.
NPT Welfare Rights Unit
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Benefits raised in excess of £4
million in current financial year.
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Open case load of 1000
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January 2010 represented at 31
appeal tribunals
NPT Welfare Rights Unit
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Training – over the years we have
developed and promoted our training
programme to external agencies
Places are either available on our
own training programme or we tailor
make courses which can be
delivered in house to a variety of
agencies
These are mainly other LA’s with no
Welfare Rights provision or
supported housing providers.
Training and NVQ’s
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A new departure for the Welfare
Rights Unit
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Now able to offer the NVQ in
Advice and Guidance at Levels
2, 3 & 4 to both internal and
external candidates.
Consultancy role
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We have developed good
partnership working
arrangements with a number of
voluntary sector agencies.
We provide support and
supervision for benefit workers
within these organisations.
Specific Projects
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Communities First Welfare Rights
Project – a recent successful bid to
the Outcomes Fund was made with
the support of Communities First
Central Support Team and all the
Communities First Partnerships. Bid
was for 2 Welfare Rights/Debt
Advisers, 1 trainee Welfare Rights
Officer and 0.5 Admin post – Welfare
Rights Unit to provide match funding
in kind via supervision etc.
Scottish Power Energy People
Trust
• Scottish Power Energy People Trust funds not-for-profit
groups that help people whose lives are affected by fuel
poverty
• Funded by Scottish Power and voluntary donations from
independant suporters
• Types of funding granted – Income maximisation, Crisis
funding, Energy efficiency
• Decisions to award funding are decided by a board of
trustees
Application Form
• Application form asks for information on your –
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Organisation Objectives
Project Title and description
Target group helped and why
Timetable & Milestones
Geographic Area
Amount of funding being requested
Total project costs
How remainder of project will be funded
Description of how grant funding will be used
Expected number of vulnerable people/households helped
Period of time funding will be used
Fuelling kids – Project Description
• To raise awareness and maximise benefit income
amongst families most at risk of fuel poverty
• To work in partnership with schools and Communities
First areas to ensure maximum take-up of free school
meals, alongside benefit checks and advice on energy
efficiency, social tariffs and debt
• Being present at school events such as parents
evenings, parent/teacher association events, school
fetes, sports days etc to promote help available
• To take on case work in Welfare Benefits (up to appeal
representation) and debt
Fuelling Kids
• Project was awarded £72,000 over 2 years
• The project was launched in May 2009
• Stats
– Current cases opened – 171
– Closed cases – 66
– Pending - 105
Amount raised so far - £244,526.70
Projected amount on pending cases - £389,019.75
Average of £3704.00 per case
Macmillan Welfare Rights
Officer
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1 full time Welfare Rights Officer and part
time admin support.
Works in partnership with Macmillan, NPT
and local Cancer Support Centre - Y
Rhosyn.
Launch of the post was in March 2009 at Y
Rhosyn and has been publicised in the
press and via posters at hospitals.
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Three Year Project initially with the
expectation that it would attract further
funding from partner organisations!!!
Macmillan research shows that those with
a cancer diagnosis experience financial
difficulties very quickly.
Runs surgeries in Y Rhosyn as well as
home visits as required to those with a
diagnosis of cancer.
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Referrals are taken from a range of
professionals namely Specialist Nurses,
District Nurses, Y Rhosyn and from
members of the public
Assist with benefit claims and debt advice.
As a Macmillan Welfare Rights Officer able
to access their grants and also assist in
accessing other charitable organisations
for grants.
Macmillan Update
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To date have assisted 137 clients to access
over £490,000 in benefits.
82 Macmillan Grants have been submitted
and only 4 have been unsuccessful.
Total monies raised through Macmillan
Grants is £29,240 and this has been for a
range of items such as help with heating
costs, clothing, bedding and specialist
items such as recliner chairs and beds.
What next?
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CLACs/CLANs – dead duck??
What about new contracts?
Quality Marks – what are they
worth?
Training for staff – NVQ’s/ NOS
Development issues – where do
we see the future
Any other ideas!
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If anybody has any other ideas
of how to promote Welfare
Rights services and fund their
future –
please share it with us!