Ongoing News

Demonstration projects have been running since June 2012 to try to test out how direct payments of rent to tenants might work under Universal Credit. 

In December 2012 George Osborne announced the following intended Benefit changes-(£3.7 billion in cuts in 2015-16)

· Most working age benefits will rise at 1% per year from 2013 for 3 years(exceptions are pensions– will rise by 2.5%,  and benefits relating todisability and carers– will rise by inflation).

From 7/1/2013,  Child Benefit moves from being a Universal Benefit to a means tested one.  Critics say that although the new means test seems relatively cheap and simple it is unfair as it doesn’t look at joint income.

Soon we will be sending out a draft copy of our  Weekly Benefit Rates Poster 2013–14 to all our newsletter subscribers. To ensure you get a free copy,  subscribe here.

The following table shows how larger families will have very little money  available for housing costs under the Benefit Cap.   

If the parent is a carer then potentially they will have even less money  available for housing costs(around £32.60 per week less).

Tip - if someone in the household gets DLA then the Benefit Cap is avoided

Ian Duncan Smith has launched a consultation on how we define child poverty.

Ministers have announced that help toward housing costs for those living in  ‘exempt’ supported accommodation will be provided outside of the new Universal Credit(UC) system.   People in supported ‘exempt’ accommodation will still be able to claim and receive UC but their housing costs will be provided separately.

From 3/12/2012 new, tougher sanctions apply.  Employment and Support Allowance(ESA) claimants may be sanctioned if they do not:

• Attend or take part in a Work Focused Interview

• Carry out prescribed work-related activity

In the last newsletter we mentioned the new JSA sanctions introduced from 22/10/2012.  Here are some more details-  495,000 clients were sanctioned in the last year,  the sanctions will be similar to those under Universal Credit,  ‘there are three levels of sanctions: low, intermediate,

The DWP has notified Upper Tier local authorities in England, and the Scottish and Welsh Governments of their indicative funding for the introduction of Local Welfare Provision (LWP) from April 2013. Arrangements for LWP are not expected to replicate current Crisis Loan and Community Care Grant provision.

From April 2013 the government is proposing to localise support for council tax from 2013–14.  It will give grants to local authorities in England and to the Scottish and Welsh governments to design their own systems for providing support for council tax to low-income families.  Council Tax Benefit will be abolished affecting over 5 million claimants with an overall cut in the budget

Mark Hoban,  Minister of State DWP,  has indicated that from October 2013 Universal Credit a Freephone helpline for ‘how to claim’ and ‘online help’ (taking claimants to an agent) will be available.  As at present,  follow up calls will be chargeable.  There won’t be any extra  DWP offices to give ‘face to face’ help but extra help might be available through local

Thanks to all those who attended our briefings recently on Personal Independence Payment(PIP).  99% of the feedback was excellent/good.  One of the suggested responses to the cuts imposed by Welfare Reform was to make sure that clients maximise their entitlement to Disability Living Allowance(DLA) before PIP comes in.  You could potentially gain £1000’s for each client who has be