Welfare Reforms and Housing Benefit Changes

This forms part of housing training programme which East Midlands Councils has developed with the Chartered Institute of Housing. It will be delivered by CIH Policy Officer Sam Lister, who has been described as “the UK’s number one housing benefit expert”. Sam has already delivered this course once for EMC early in 2012. The response from delegates was excellent so we are pleased to be able to offer this again for anyone who missed it first time around.

Background

Welfare Reform will create the biggest Social Security shake-up in forty years.

Universal Credit (UC) will become the Coalition Government’s flagship, replacing the existing “passport” benefits of Income Support, Job Seeker’s Allowance, and Employment Support Allowance for people of working age. Child Tax and Working Tax Credits will be abolished completely and responsibility for some of the Social Fund functions will transfer to local authorities or devolved governments.

Housing Benefit, which currently provides some £14 Billion to social landlords, will disappear and be absorbed as a housing element of UC. This may bring an end to direct payments and create in turn the associated need for extended payment facilities, more robust collection procedures and rent arrears management within Housing Associations and Co-ops.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) will assume responsibility for Universal Credit. It is anticipated claims will invariably be made online and there will be little or no local access for claimants or their representatives to submit or query claims.

This workshop will help practitioners to understand the changes and their likely impacts and to begin to prepare for them.

Learning Objectives

The implications of these changes will not be fully known until the detail is provided through secondary legislation. Councils, Housing Associations and Co-ops need to start planning ahead and consider what change, if any, they will need to make to organisational structures, policies and procedures, to take account of these changes. They also need to consider how to protect their tenants from an anticipated drop in income levels, and protect the organisation itself from potential losses in revenue arising from the abolition of Housing Benefit as we know it, and the critically important “direct payment” facility currently enjoyed by Social Landlord tenants which is anticipated will no longer be available.

Landlords in the private sector have already experienced significant cuts in housing benefit levels; the loss of tick box “direct payments”; and the application of the principal of “size criteria” to assess “eligible” rent for benefit purposes. These changes have created significant administrative issues; increases in rent arrears; and an associated increase in the number of repossession actions and rent arrears indebtedness.

The workshop will aim to identify first of all the key changes; the likely timescale to them becoming operational; how and on whom they are likely to have the most impact; and what action you can take to protect your tenants and the organisation itself from their potential impact. The tutor will also explain what has recently occurred in the private sector and how some of the key changes may simply be adopted for use in the social housing sector, with potentially dire consequences to revenue streams and organisation indebtedness.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this workshop delegates will be able to better understand:

• What is being proposed and the potential impact this could have on your tenants
• Which changes are most likely to affect tenants in different age groups
• Who, in fact, the changes are most likely to affect and to what extent they could be affected
• How the changes could impact on your tenants’ incomes and ability to meet their rent, heating & service charge obligations
• What you can do for the tenants most affected to protect them from losing out and running up rent arrears and other debts
• What you will need to do to alert tenants to what’s being proposed; the timescale of change; and how it could potentially affect them
• What, if anything, you should consider doing to your organisational structures, policies and procedures

If you require further information please contact cathy.jones@emcouncils.gov.uk

Cost (per delegate)

East Midlands Councils Members: £115 + VAT; Non-members: £250 + VAT

Lunch is included.