East Kent Social Policy Group Monday 4 March 2013

Transcription

1 East Kent Social Policy Group Monday 4 March 2013 Notes Attenders: Sarah Thomas APEK, Andy Ball - APEK, Karen McAthy APEK, Dawn Hardingham Age Concern Sandwich/Age UK Dover, John Andrews Advice Services Alliance & Tax-help for Older People, Clive Bassant Thanet CAB, Belinda Rogers Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, Alan Thompson Deal Area Emergency Foodbank, Lynn Marchant Kent Mindful Employer, Roger Kendall, Epilepsy Here, Monica Kendall Epilepsy Here, Ann Hopper - HOPE (Kent) Ltd, David Chadwick Age UK Ashford, Penny Dadds Thanet area Jobcentre Plus Apologies: Simone Field - Canterbury District CAB, Fiona Spall Thanet CAB, Vivien Owston Ashford CAB, Sheila Harrison Canterbury District CAB (Herne Bay), Lynda Smith Thanet CAB, Amanda French Age UK Folkestone, Tricia Cole Carers Support (Dover District & Thanet), Lynne Murphy Relate Kent, Derek Kirton University of Kent 1. Welcome, apologies and introductions Sarah opened the meeting at 10.30am and welcomed everyone, especially the guest speaker, Penny Dadds, the Thanet Area Partnership Manager for Jobcentre Plus. All present introduced themselves. 2. Notes of the last meeting and matters arising not on agenda The notes from the last meeting were agreed as being correct. Matters arising from the action points were as follows: Disrepair It had been intended to enter into discussion with Shelter on some joint work, but due to the announcement of the potential closure of their East Kent offices, Shelter was not taking on any extra issues at this time. Harrington review Sarah had circulated a summary of the latest Harrington review, but if anyone had not seen it, she would be happy to make it available. Lettings agencies Sarah had been to a further meeting with Herne Bay CAB to progress the work on the comparison of lettings agencies application processes and fees. John Andrews mentioned there had been a debate in Parliament recently involving Damian Collins, MP for Folkestone, particularly focused on lettings processes, which had highlighted the big variations between agents. The debate discussed the possibility of regulating the industry. Sarah would read the transcript of the debate and look to communicate with Damian Collins. 1

2 Bailiffs Sarah was hoping to receive further information from partners of relevant contacts at bailiff firms in all East Kent districts but in the meantime would circulate details of the ones she was aware of. Sarah and group members to action Social Policy Group meeting format In response to a request for someone from Jobcentre Plus (JCP) to attend to talk about changes to welfare benefits, Sarah had arranged for Penny Dadds to some to the meeting. She had extended the invitation to attend to the whole partnership because of the relevance of the topic to many partners. Karen asked that any partners who were not currently part of the Social Policy Group and wished to receive future briefings and meeting invitations to let her know so that they could be added to that circulation list. Partners to action Social Policy reports Sarah had obtained some 2012 social policy statistics, but there had been a delay in obtaining data for the whole year. Once she had all the 2012 data, as well as producing a report for the year, Sarah also intended to make a comparison with previous reports to illustrate any major changes. In future, issues would be recorded via the Petra case recording system, currently being implemented in all bureaux, and it was not yet known how the relevant statistics would be obtained. 3. Guest speaker Penny Dadds on changes to welfare benefits Penny began by saying that although JCP did not administer or calculate benefits, it was accepted that in practice it was the public face of the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP). She commented that the pace of change of welfare reform was extremely fast, with amendments seemingly on a daily basis. Penny also mentioned that JCP was subject to cuts of its own. Penny confirmed that as well as the issues of the introduction of Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) replacing Disability Living Allowance, there were other imminent changes as a result of the Welfare Reform Act including Council Tax Benefit, caps to benefits and the abolition of giro payments. She said that the changes were all steps towards the implementation of Universal Credit, which required all claimants to take on board more personal money management. Many partners were concerned that those with reduced financial capability, particularly the more vulnerable, would find themselves in increased debt situations. It was thought inevitable there would be more demand on advice services as a result. PIP for new claims would be introduced in pilot areas from April 2013, and from June 2013 for the remainder of the UK. Current DLA claimants with a change of circumstances would be re-assessed for PIP from October Others currently in receipt of DLA would have to apply for PIP from 2015 onwards. Penny said that claimants often tended to ignore letters requiring action which might affect their right to benefit, in the hope that it might not happen. There was an online checker where DLA or potential PIP claimants could find out when they were likely to be affected which could be found at Penny said the benefit cap of 500 per week for couples or single people with children, and 350 per week for single persons would apply to people under 60, except those in receipt of DLA or PIP. It was thought that vulnerable clients were likely to be in receipt of more benefits and therefore again most likely to have their benefit reduced. Those affected by the cap were being written to and invited in for a meeting to 2

3 discuss possible ways to mitigate the effects. Her concern was that claimants were not responding to repeated requests so community events were being held and promotional work done in Gateway locations to raise awareness of the changes. Penny confirmed that anyone in receipt of Housing Benefit would have their benefit reduced by the amount above the cap. There could be an additional reduction if also affected by the under-occupancy criteria (known as the bedroom tax ) applied to council and housing association tenants. Clive voiced concerns that those with a disability who required additional bedrooms for carers or other issues pertaining to their disability were not exempt from the new rules. Clive had met recently with Roger Gale, MP for Thanet North, and had been surprised to find that he seemed unaware how the welfare reforms would affect disabled people in particular. Roger Gale had promised to bring the concerns to the attention of the Housing Minister. Penny also outlined the changes that would happen in April 2013, when Council Tax Benefit was withdrawn. It would be replaced by a claim for a Council Tax reduction, implemented by local authorities. The amount of reduction would differ from district to district. The intention was that everyone of working age would have to pay some council tax, although the actual figures for East Kent had not yet been confirmed. Penny said that local authorities would also be taking responsibility for payments from the Social Fund and these would no longer be in cash. Vouchers would be issued, to be used for food or other household needs from designated suppliers, charities, supermarkets or food banks. Alan from Deal Foodbank confirmed he was attending a meeting about this later in March. Penny said that some people would qualify for an advance on their benefit payments. Attendees expressed concerns over the need to travel to specific suppliers, which might be physically or financially prohibitive for some people. Penny said that claims for Universal Credit could only be made online, with some discretion for certain vulnerable groups. JCP had some limited resources to assist with this, including providing computers for public use at some of its branches. She said that JCP had carried out a survey in Thanet which showed that 80% of claimants had access to computers. Attendees felt this still left a significant proportion that did not, and that having access to a computer did not mean 80% of people had the ability to complete an online benefit application. It was expected that the voluntary sector would be the first port of call for assistance with online applications and queries on new claims. John Andrews said that DWP had published the Universal Credit local support services framework which included some support with online applications see p13 at Penny outlined the benefits which were being absorbed into Universal Credit; Income-based JSA, Incomebased ESA, Income Support, Working Tax Credits, Child Tax Credits and Housing Benefit. Penny confirmed that the big drive was to move more people into work and that Universal Credit would be paid in real time to make it work alongside part-time, full-time and temporary working to accommodate changes in work patterns. Clive asked Penny how many job vacancies were available in Thanet in comparison to the number of unemployed. Penny said unfortunately JCP no longer had those statistics available, but did say that there were more people in work than ever before. Clive did wonder however if that was because people had to settle for part-time jobs even though they were seeking full-time work which was unavailable. 3

4 Penny also said that JCP was currently involved in a programme working with local authorities to support families with multiple issues by introducing them to European Social Fund provision through family intervention services and projects. Attendees said it was difficult for voluntary sector organisations to provide support and assistance to their service users with the uncertainty of constantly changing information and could therefore only refer people to JCP and CABx. Clive was concerned there had been an absence of an overall impact assessment having been carried out prior to the benefits changes, and a lack of media coverage on the real impact of the benefit cuts on the vulnerable. Lynn said that there had been a number of small specific impact assessments on aspects of the changes, but it was thought unlikely that these would have any major influence until MPs saw a large increase in their caseloads, with constituents affected by the changes. Alan wondered if it would be possible to find out the relevant contacts at local councils to get an idea of the likely number of people affected by the changes. Sarah would try to find out. Lynn mentioned the Social Innovation Lab for Kent (SILK) scheme that had worked well at Parkwood in Maidstone, where social media had been use to engage with clients and deliver services in new ways, one of which was a time bank system. Sarah would find out more. John expressed concern about the increased conditionality and new sanction regimes being introduced, with levels of sanctions ranging from withdrawal of benefits from one month to three years. Penny confirmed that this was the case. John pointed out that the whole Universal Credit system was reliant on the Real Time Information system working effectively, which he believed would take at least a year. Penny was pleased to note that the upcoming changes had meant that statutory agencies, councils and voluntary sector organisations were working together increasingly and more effectively to help the public. She felt that this was a step towards building positive relationships for the future. Sarah thanked Penny for coming to speak at the meeting, for the information she had given and for answering questions. 4. Delay in sending ESA appeals to tribunals Sarah said that an increase in the time taken to process ESA appeals and reconsideration requests had been raised as an issue, and that notification had been received that reconsiderations were taking a year. There were also issues around the costs of a second appeal and untimely delays in the awards being made to clients. Partners felt that unwarranted delays could be a way of taking people out of the benefit statistics and Penny said that although she understood it could be viewed that way, there was no deliberate attempt to do this. 5. Mobile homes This issue had been raised by Sarah Sayer and discussed at the previous meeting. It had now been taken up nationally by Citizens Advice and Sarah Sayer would not be pursing it at a local level. Sarah had noted that 4

5 the Mobile Homes bill was going through Parliament and was currently in the House of Lords. She would monitor any developments. Dawn gave an example where the warm homes discount on fuel costs did not apply when charges were included in the site fees, so there was no way to mitigate a rise when implemented by the site owner. She said that because the costs charged by the site were not itemised, the residents could not claim Housing Benefit. She mentioned that a site owner had recently passed on a 20% VAT cost to a client who could not get his benefit award adjusted part way through a year. He was currently applying for a discretionary housing payment. There was some concern by group members that the site owner might not be acting correctly and John offered to look into it for Dawn. Dawn and John to action 6. Employment issues The Ashford CAB Social Policy Co-ordinator had raised the issue of employers not following correct procedures in some circumstances. She had not been able attend this meeting, so Sarah would look into getting some information from her to circulate to the group as appropriate. 7. Private sector tenancy Sarah had amended the tenants rights leaflet to reflect the additional information gained through the research done in Herne Bay and updated legislation in the last year. She had attended anterbury Christ Church University Accommodation Fairs at the Canterbury and Broadstairs campuses, where over 150 leaflets had been distributed to students. Sarah explained that the leaflet was applicable to all tenants and not just for students. There were separate ones for each district, as they gave contact details of the local relevant advice agencies. Sarah offered to make these available on the APEK website for partners to download and print for their own use. 8. Update on social policy work John mentioned that the Social Security Advisory Committee was doing some work on the definition of vulnerability, looking at the circumstances that lead to people being considered to be vulnerable. John asked for group members input for particular examples of vulnerable client groups. Attendees present cited travellers, ex-offenders and people with uncontrolled epilepsy as examples, as well as those whose life experience was chaotic and unmanaged, or people who were geographically or digitally excluded. John asked that any other suggestions be submitted to him via APEK. Group members to action 9. Any other business Concern was raised at the loss of discretion in the assessment of benefit claims. Andy reported that some wording had been added to the PIP assessment guidance, which would mean the assessment would be based on what could be done safely, reliably, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period. Andy mentioned that ATOS was outsourcing some PIP assessments to external contractors, including sports injury clinics and the NHS. However, the published list does not have any obvious East Kent providers. See 5

6 Roger reminded partners that under the Health and Social Care Act, with effect from 1 April 2013, the Local Involvement Networks (LINks) would evolve into local HealthWatch bodies. There would be contact points at some Citizens Advice bureaux, but further details were yet to be confirmed. John mentioned that he had recently made a trip to Northern Ireland, visiting JCPs and other related organisations in areas that had experienced continued problems relating to past and current conflict. The specific nature of the issues meant that some different rules would apply to Universal Credit. Examples included the consideration of fortnightly payments and direct benefit payments to landlords. Sarah asked to be contacted with any suggestions for topics and/or guest speakers for future meetings. It was thought a follow-up presentation to the one given at a previous Partners Forum by a local Clinical Commissioning Group could be useful, if an update were available. Group members and 10. Date of next meeting The next meeting would be on Monday 10 June 2013 at 10.30am. Future meeting dates Monday 10 June at 10.30am Monday 9 September at 10.30am Monday 9 December at 10.30am All meetings take place at APEK s offices in Dover. Map: Dates were also available on the APEK website. 6