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Welfare Reforms
Allan Clifford
Welfare Reforms Manager
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Department for Work and Pensions
Welfare Reforms:
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Welfare Reforms Act.
Housing Benefit Reforms
Social Fund
Benefit Cap
Personal Independence Payment
Universal Credit
Department for Work and Pensions
Welfare Reforms Act.
• Introduces the most fundamental reforms to the
social security system for 60 years.
• Aims for a simpler, fairer benefits system & to
ensure work pays
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Department for Work and Pensions
Housing Benefit Reforms April 2013.
Social Sector Tenants:
Who have more bedrooms than they are entitled
to under the new size criteria rules have a
percentage deduction applied to their eligible
rent
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Department for Work and Pensions
Housing Benefit Reforms – April 2013
What do the changes mean ?
• A fixed percentage of Housing Benefit (full rent) cut if under accommodated.
• Set at 14% for one extra bedroom & 25% for two or more bedrooms
• One bedroom is allowed for:
• Each adult couple.
Any other adult aged 16 or over
Any two children of same sex under 16. Any two children under 10
(regardless of sex) Any other child.
• Exceptions for: Disabled tenant- overnight care
Severely disabled child. Foster Child. Non Dependant- Armed Forces
Priority – Where home has significant adaptations.
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Department for Work and Pensions
Social Fund
• From 1st April 2013 – Community Care Grants and Crisis loans for general
living expenses were abolished. Funding was transferred to devolved
administration in Scotland and be known as Scottish Welfare Fund
• From October 2013 – Budgeting loans will be replaced by budgeting
advances and be paid as part of Universal Credit
• ( In UC Pathfinder areas this commenced in April 2013 )
• Regulated Social Fund: Funeral Payments, Sure start maternity grant, Cold
weather payments will continue with Universal Credit as The qualifying
benefit.
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Department for Work and Pensions
Benefit Cap
• Limits benefit payments to a household to no more than average household
earnings – equivalent to a gross salary of £35,000. Cap excludes one-off
payments and non-cash benefits.
• Exemptions for households include recipients of Disability Living Allowance,
Attendance Allowance or Industrial Injuries Disability Benefit. War widows /
widowers and those in ESA Support Group also exempt.
• Housing benefit paid to households in supported exempt accommodation is
being disregarded for the Benefit Cap. Those entitled to Working Tax Credit
exempt.
• Roll-out startted in April 2013 in four Local Authority areas with full national
roll-out by the end of September 2013. DWP has contacted individual
claimants likely to be affected offering support to find work.
• An online calculator is available at www.gov.uk/benefit-cap
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Department for Work and Pensions
Example of impact of Benefit Cap.
• Couple and 7 children.
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Couple receive: JSA
Child Tax credit :
Child Benefit :
Rent:
Total Weekly amount:
£111.45
£354.59
£100.70
£100.00
£666.74
• From roll out of Benefit Cap:: Total amount received £566.74
• Rental Costs will not be paid
• From roll out of Universal Credit: Income will be reduced to £500.
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Department for Work and Pensions
Personal Independence Payment
• Disability Living Allowance will be replaced by Personal
Independence Payment
• Eligibility
• Components – Daily Living - Mobility
• Rates - Standard - Enhanced
• Assessment Criteria.
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Department for Work and Pensions
What is the Personal Independence Payment
Assessment?
• The PIP assessment considers people as individuals, focussing on the impact their
condition(s) has on their daily lives and over a range of different activities
• The PIP assessment is carried out by health professionals who consider evidence
provided by the claimant, along with any further evidence they think is needed against a
set of assessment criteria
• Most people will be asked to a face-to-face consultation with a health professional as part
of the assessment process
• Claimants will be encouraged to take somebody with them to the consultation
• Face-to-face consultations may not be necessary for everyone – for example, those who
are terminally ill may not have to have them
• Home visits will be available when necessary
• The health professional will send a report to the DWP following the assessment, for the
DWP Case Manager to make a decision.
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Department for Work and Pensions
How is Personal Independence Payment claimed?
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Thinking about claiming
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Making a claim
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How your disability affects you
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Assessment
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Decision
Information about PIP will be available from a range of sources, including online, via leaflets and
through support organisations.
Existing DLA claimants will be contacted individually to ask if they want to claim PIP.
Claimants (or those supporting them) phone DWP to make a claim to PIP. Paper claims won’t
normally be used, and online claims will not be available before 2014.
DWP will send claimants a form where they can explain how their disability affects them.
Special Rules claims will be dealt with more quickly
Claimant completes the ‘How your disability affects you’ form to explain how their condition affects
their daily life, both on good and bad days and over a range of activities.
Supporting evidence can be sent with this form, which they return to DWP by post .
Claim details, form and supporting evidence are passed to the health professional.
Most people will be asked to attend a face to face consultation The health professional reviews
the claim against a set of clear descriptors to assess the challenges faced by the individual.
A DWP Case Manager will use all the information in the claim form, from the health professional
and anything else that has been provided. They will make a reasoned decision on entitlement,
including the level and length of award.
Department for Work and Pensions
When will it change?
Personal Independence Payment is being introduced in stages:
• February 2013: DWP sent general info about PIP to all existing DLA
claimants in their DLA uprating letters.
• April 2013: New claims will be taken including from people living in
Cheshire Cumbria Merseyside, North West England, and North East
England
• 10th June 2013: New Claims National roll out
• Oct 2013: Reassessment- change in condition / end of fixed period of DLA.
• Oct 2015: Reassessment of existing DLA claimants between 16 and 64
year old
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Department for Work and Pensions
Universal CreditWhy do we need Universal Credit?
• we are simplifying a complex system of multiple benefits:
– the current system has over 10,000 pages of guidance for
advisors
– it is expensive to administer
• we are making work pay:
– more help for low income working families
– claimants will keep more of what they earn
– improving incentives to increase hours of work
– simplified system will make moving to work feel less ‘risky’
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Department for Work and Pensions
How is Universal Credit different?
Current System
Universal Credit
The welfare system has more
than 30 benefits each with their
own rules and criteria
Universal Credit provides a new single system
means-tested support for working-age people
who are in or out of work
Work incentives can be
very low, benefits are reduced
to take account of earnings but
different benefits have different
rules
Universal Credit will ensure that work pays.
Financial support will be reduced at a
consistent and predictable rate and people will
generally keep a higher proportion of their
earnings
Conditionality: some benefit
claimants are capable of working
but have no obligations to look
for work
Universal Credit will personalise conditions
according to people’s capability and
circumstances
Payments are paid to different
adults in a household and for
various periods
Universal Credit is a single monthly payment
to each household (Though we will retain the
ability to pay more frequently or to split
payment in exceptional circumstances)
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Department for Work and Pensions
Universal Credit – When will it change?
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APRIL 2013
Pathfinder Go-Live
OCT 2013
New claims from unemployed claimants start
APRIL 2014
New claims from in-work claimants start
Managed migrations start
2017
Managed migration activity completed
Department for Work and Pensions
Contact
Allan Clifford
Welfare Reforms Manager
[email protected]
01475 494021
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Department for Work and Pensions