HB Training, March 2016

Transcription

1 HB Training, March 2016 Objectives By the end of the session, participants will be able to: Understand the Housing Benefit changes in 2016 Be more confident assessing Universal Credit Be aware of the new Risk Based Verification procedure 1

2 HB changes backdating restriction From 1 April 2016, the maximum period for which a Housing Benefit claim may be backdated for working age customers will reduce. Backdating claims of Housing Benefit will reduce from the maximum period of 6 months to 1 month. The good cause provisions have not changed, and working age customers still need to demonstrate good cause for the duration of the requested period. These new arrangements mean Housing Benefit cannot be backdated for more than one month if an application is made after 1 April Date of claim for persons over State Pension age will remain at a maximum of 3 months as per current regulations. 2

3 Example A working age claimant makes a claim for HB on 4 May The claimant submits a request for their claim to be backdated for 6 months prior to the claim date of 4 May As the regulations changed on 1 April 2016, the new rules apply. The maximum period for which backdating may be considered is one month. So, counting back one month from the date of claim backdating can only be considered from 4 April

4 New desk aid 2016/17 (double click on picture to open file) Comparison of main parameters for HB/ CTB/CTS Parameter HB CTB CTS Pensioner CTS Working age %liability used in calculation N/A 100% 100% 70%- all schemes except the vulnerable group (see scheme desk aid) 86%-vulnerable group Taper 65% 20% 20% 30% Capital tariff Pensioner - 1 for every 500 over 10,000 Working age - 1 for every 250 over 6,000 Pensioner - 1 for every 500 over 10,000 Working age - 1 for every 250 over for every 500 over 10,000 Minimum award 0.50 None None AR payable N/a Yes Yes No Maximum period claim can be backdated Pensioners 3 months Working age 1 month Underlying entitlement Calculated for all overpayments created What constitutes a claim Effective date of beneficial changes reported more than 1 mth after the event. (except for relevant benefit changes or where there is good cause for the delay) Harrow claim form online claim Shortened COA form Laid Laci Monday following date notified Pensioners 3 months Working age 6 months Calculated for all overpayments created Harrow claim form,online claim Shortened COA form Laid Laci Monday following date notified nil 3 months 3 months Not relevant as all changes are taken from the date of change regardless of when notified Harrow claim form, online claim Shortened COA form Date of change (regardless of how long ago the change occurred) Not applied Harrow claim form, online claim Shortened COA form Monday following date notified 4

5 HB changes temporary absence restriction From 30th May 2016, Housing Benefit paid under the temporary absence rule will change. The DWP has issued the proposed changes to the HB Regulations that reduce the time period that someone can be treated as occupying their home and therefore able to claim HB whilst abroad to 4 weeks (or longer in certain circumstances). The proposed rules are very similar to how the rules work under Universal Credit i.e. who can have the Housing Costs Element included in their Universal Credit award whilst abroad temporarily. The changes affect both the working age and Pension Credit age HB Regulations. The general time limit will be 4 weeks, i.e. HB will only be payable whilst someone is abroad if they intend to return within 4 weeks. 5

6 HB changes temporary absence restriction There are however, exceptions: The limit time is 26 weeks for: members of the armed forces away on operations continental shelf workers, and mariners. The time limit is also 26 weeks where: the claimant is in hospital or similar, the claimant, partner or dependent child is undergoing medical treatment, or the claimant is receiving medically approved care (other than in residential care). 6

7 HB changes temporary absence restriction The time limit of 4 weeks can be extended by up to a further 4 weeks where the reason for the absence from GB is in connection with the death of a close relative and the HB Office considers it unreasonable to expect the claimant to return to GB within 4 weeks. Going abroad for the purpose of these new rules means away from Great Britain - a change from the current rules where going abroad means away from the UK. So from April if a tenant on HB goes to Northern Ireland they will be considered to be abroad and will fall under the above rules. There is transitional protection for those already absent on 30 May 2016; this will end when they return to Great Britain. 7

8 What is the difference between Great Britain and The United Kingdom? Great Britain Great Britain is the official collective name of England, Scotland and Wales. It does not include Northern Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (to give its full name) refers to the political union between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. 8

9 Temporary absence desk aid Will be finalised and distributed at the next training session at the end of April Only draft regulations have been published to date so the rules may change slightly but the will broadly be as described 9

10 HB changes removal of the family premium from 1 st May 2016 From 1 May 2016, entitlement to family premiums will change. The family premium will no longer be included within the applicable amount for new claims for Housing Benefit from 1 May 2016 and for existing customers who have a child or become responsible for a child or young person after the 30 April For existing customers who are no longer responsible for a child or young person, the family premium can no longer be awarded. If responsibility for a child or young is regained after the 30 April 2016, the premium will not be included when calculating Housing Benefit entitlement. For existing customers who receive Housing Benefit, the family premium will no longer be included within the calculation if there is a break in entitlement for more than one week. 10

11 Benefit cap reducing The cap which is currently 26,000 per year is to be reduced to 23,000 for households living in London and to 20,000 for those outside London from Autumn 2016, when exactly you will be affected will depend on where you live. National Minimum Wage increased The National Minimum Wage will be 'rebranded' as the National Living Wage and will be increased to 7.20 per hour for those 25 or over from April It will reach 9.00 per hour by We should question when the claimant is paid below the National Minimum Wage /National Living Wage Personal tax allowance increased The Personal Tax Allowance, the amount you can earn before paying income tax, will be increased from 10,600 to 11,000 from April It will be further increased to 12,500 by 2020 and thereafter it will automatically be set at the same level as 30 times the National Living Wage (National Minimum Wage). 11

12 New Self-employed calculation sheet Saved here: O:\Revs&Bens\Assessments\Shared\Forms\Self-employed Notes: SELF EMPLOYED CALCULATION 2016/17 Name: HSG BEN REF >> GROSS PERIOD FROM >> TO >> GROSS PROFIT 0.00 A YEAR 1.00 days LESS OUTGOINGS AMOUNT PERSONAL% ANNUAL EX'S TOTAL NET PROFIT 0.00 WEEKLY GROSS 0.00 TAX Net income 0.00 Less personal 11, allowance TO 32, % , % 0.00 Total 0.00 WEEKLY 0.00 N.I. TOTAL TAX 0.00 CLASS 2 If net income is more than 5, WEEK 0.00 CLASS 4 If net income is more than 8,060 + Net income 0.00 Less 8, = 0.00 X 9.00% 0.00 WEEKLY 0.00 Class 2 + Class 4 TOTAL NI 0.00 WEEKLY MONTHLY ANNUAL PENSION CONT 0.00 TOTAL PEN DED GROSS TAX NI PEN NET INCOME

13 CTS exceptions Where the claimant is on ESA or ESA WR and receives DLA/PIP You need to add a person status as Vulnerable (person receives DLA/PIP) if DLA or PIP stops you will need to end the person status 13

14 Manual adjustments I world will automatically take as deduction of 6.60 for non deps on ESA C. You will have to create a manual adjustment for 3.30 so that the correct amount of benefit is awarded on the drop down list the you need to choose A Non Dep-Deduction ESA C

15 Customers receiving ESAC with WR If the customer is awarded ESA C and the WR component, the system will put them into the vulnerable group regardless of them receiving another qualifying benefit. If they should not be in the vulnerable group you need to do an award adjustment to correct this.

16 Universal Credit Processing Please make sure you are prioritising these cases, as if we delay in responding this can affect when someone is paid their UC Where we have been told the UC effective date and another DWP benefit is in payment, please ensure you cancel HB immediately (treating as a CIC) to prevent overlapping payments being sent out. If there is a gap between a DWP benefit ending and UC starting, please apply 999 per week as income and ask for proof of income covering the gap using the suspension letter. Once proof of income received, you can input. If nothing received, send termination letter. If the claim is already suspended due to a DWP benefit ending, pick up process, cancel the claim on NG, apply 999 for the gap and send a follow up letter (edit suspension letter) to ask for proof of income covering the gap. Once proof of income received, you can input. If nothing received, send termination letter. When we have been notified a claimant is entitled to UC and is liable for CT, please invite them to claim CTS online by sending a blank letter on Ctax civica: O:\Revs&Bens\Assessments\Shared\Forms\Invite to claim CTS for UC customers 16

17 Processing UC when it is a nondependant who is claiming If you have been informed that a ND is receiving UC, you should treat as you would any other income CIC. There is no NDD for a ND who is on UC on the basis they do not have any earned income Should take home pay be specified on the UC award letter, input the monthly net amount and write out for the ND s wage slips as we need to establish the gross income Once the wage slips have been received, calculate as a CIC (First contact and Info received date being the date the payslips were received). Any potential overpayment should therefore be marked as Claimant error. 17

18 UC claimants in LAHRA properties When you are dealing with the UC templates and come across claims for UC from LAHRA claimants, please could you send the following detail to Housing: Name Address HB claim ref As you know HB on these claims will have been paid directly to the rent account. Under UC, the default position is to send payments direct to tenants, therefore Housing understandably would like to be made aware of these cases so they can monitor rental income and request direct payments of UC where necessary Please either send through civica or upload a copy of your to civica 18

19 Risk Based Verification A fresh approach to claim verification

20 Verification Framework Verification is a huge part of the assessment process It s expensive It delays claims Detection rates vary across the country Average national detection rate was about 6%

21 What is Risk Based Verification?.. provides an individual risk rating for all claims, based on the likelihood of it being fraudulent or erroneous. Benefit Officers are then empowered to apply a verification process which is appropriate and proportionate to the risk posed by each claim.

22 Benefits of RBV Improved processing times Increased customer satisfaction Reduced customer contacts Change in customer engagement Reduction in post/ s out Reduction in scanning More of officers time spent on verifying higher risk cases Reduced wasted effort on defective claims Reduction in reconsiderations and appeals Ability to spend time on targeted activities more valuable than general verification Increased resource availability to deal with intervention work types- ATLAS, RTI, Welfare Reforms, HBMS, Interventions, Housekeeping, more complex in-work claims, multiple changes

23 How does it work? Probability Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with analysis of random phenomena Propensity Propensity, disposition, or tendency of a given type of situation to yield an outcome of a certain kind Behaviour or Demographics Risk Predicting the Likelihood of an outcome Objective, mathematical approach

24 IN ALL CASES, ID AND NINO MUST BE VERIFIED WITH ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS Risk Based Verification Low risk verification required of ID and NINO only Medium risk current verification regime (can accept copies of documents other than for proof of ID and NINO) High risk Current verification and additional checks verification plus

25 Risk Scoring The risk score is determined by tried and trusted mechanisms. We will still be using HBMS, RTI, Atlas and any other fraud prevention initiatives to identify undeclared income. This means that we will not allow assessors to override risk scores and request additional evidence. If exceptionally you have real concerns about a risk score please your manager An example would be where a claim has been marked as low risk and no income whatsoever has been declared on the form.

26 If there is no risk score displayed, please ask for the Coactiva system to be checked and request ID, NINO and proof as required as per normal VF procedure if the is no score.

27 Is RBV really safe? Risk models have been checked and accepted by the DWP By identifying claims at the greatest risk and exposing them to more scrutiny, detection rates can actually improve verification plus NINO matching can help to identify additional Fraud & Error

28 RBV Process Current process New process

29 RBV Baseline and Recording Error DWP requirement to establish robust baseline and accurately record error against it Identify any incorrect information on the claim form compared to evidence that affects entitlement Record the answer in the benefits system Crucially important

30 Use of the verification screen on Northgate Rules on completion Verified on should be the date the claim period was calculated but it can be done afterwards, however, the date verified should always be the date the claim was calculated. HB/CTB correct YES if we had only used the information on the claim to determine entitlement, the result would be the same as achieved following verification of evidence. HB/CTB correct NO if we had only used the information on the claim to determine entitlement, the result would be the DIFFERENT as achieved following verification of evidence. Double-click below to open guidance doc Use of the Verification Field on Northgate This field automatically asked to be completed when a new claim period is calculated, you can also access it through the verification area The fields to be completed are simply the date the claim was verified and whether the HB/CTB was correct Yes or No. The screen is asking if the claim details declared on the form were correct without additional evidence showing up discrepancies yes or no. Rules on completion Verified on should be the date the claim period was calculated but it can be done afterwards, however, the date verified should always be the date the claim was calculated. HB/CTB correct YES if we had only used the information on the claim to determine entitlement, the result would be the same as achieved following verification of evidence. NRI claims Set both HB/CTR to N if you have NRI d a claim HB/CTB correct NO if we had only used the information on the claim to determine entitlement, the result would be the DIFFERENT as achieved following verification of evidence. Set HB/CTR correct? to N if: Anything where the information on the form and the proof are different and that difference affects the amount of benefit payable. E.g. the Contractual rent is declared on the form as per week but the rent agreement shows per week. Otherwise set to Y Tax Credits If the amount quoted by the customer matches with any specified on CIS you can mark as Y Failure to complete the fields or failure to complete the field correctly will be included on the quality check as a non-financial error. NRI claims Set both HB/CTR to N if you have NRI d a claim 30

31 HB & CTR Verification Screen Benclm-109 Always navigate to this frame when assessing a New Claim Record error by using N and no error by using Y Could you have relied on the claim form without evidence to pay correct entitlement?

32 Please ask your manager to raise the risk score from low risk if you are unable to process cases due to information being incomplete. Then ask for evidence as per a medium risk case

33 New claims evidence checklist (doubleclick on picture to open) NINO New claims evidence checklist Does the NINO for the claimant/partner match on CIS? If not, please query with them. ID Have you been provided with an old style birth certificate? (example, see overleaf) If so, do not accept and ask for further proof of ID. If signed by John French, John Finch, Joan Finch or similar? If so, please refer to a senior. Rent Is spelling correct on tenancy agreement? Are the names of tenant(s) and landlord/agent spelled correctly? Is the landlord registered as owner of the property on Ctax records? If not, do a Land Reg. enquiry to establish owner. Income Is the tax code correct? 747L was a code used in 2011/12 and does not apply any more. If this is quoted beyond 2011/12, please write and query this. Does the company exist? Google to verify. Capital Is spacing of text on statement aligned? General note Do credits and debits alter balance accurately? Are there payments to T Mobile, Asda, Legal and General and Currys? If so, please refer to a senior. Has all information required supporting a successful claim without assessor intervention? If the claim looks too perfect please double-check supporting evidence and refer to a senior if you are suspicious. 33

34 Recent example 34

35 Procedure for assessors Key guidance for all cases ID, NINO proof (originals only) CIS interest marker enter number If evidence has been provided, we must accept it and used on NG to determine entitlement Low risk No further proof required Medium Risk Photocopies of earnings/capital/residency etc. as per current procedure High Risk Originals of earnings/capital/residency etc. as per current procedure Check Audit Trail Document for discrepancies and take appropriate action and Request a Land Reg to be completed on all cases, Check credit report for anomalies. Scrutinise the information provided and documents Consider referral to SFIS/CAFT

36 Procedure for New claims received electronically and subject to RBV To be distributed after training sessions have been delivered, before 1 st April.

37 Risk Based Verification Procedure Evidential requirements double click to open Type of Evidence Sub-category of evidence Low Risk Medium Risk High Risk Identity and National Identity Insurance Number (S19) National Insurance Number (S19) Originals required Originals accepted except where legislation allows s19 to not be applied Originals required Originals accepted except where legislation allows s19 to not be applied Originals required Originals accepted except where legislation allows s19 to not be applied Residency/Rent Private Tenants Not required Originals or photocopies Originals required required Social Landlords Not required Originals or photocopies required Originals required Public Sector Not required Rent verification received Rent verification through internal electronic received through processes Residency verified via original or photocopy documents where required internal electronic processes Residency verified via original documents where required Registered Not required Originals or photocopies required Originals required Household Composition Partner ID Originals Originals Originals required Partner NINO/Income/Capital Originals accepted except where legislation allows s19 to not be applied Originals accepted except where legislation allows s19 to not be applied Dependants under 18 Not required Originals or photocopies required Non-dependants - remunerative work Non-dependants passported benefit Not required Originals or photocopies required Originals accepted except where legislation allows s19 to not be applied Originals required Originals required Not required Obtained via DWP systems or originals or Obtained via DWP systems or originals photocopies required from required from claimant claimant Originals required Non-dependant - student Not required Originals or photocopies required Non-dependant - not in remunerative work/other Not required Originals or photocopies required Originals required Income State Benefits Not required Obtained via DWP systems or originals or Obtained via DWP systems or originals photocopies required from required from claimant claimant Earnings/SMP/SSP Not required Originals or photocopies Originals required required Self employed earnings Not required Originals or photocopies required Originals required Child Care Costs Not required Originals or photocopies required Student Status Income also required Not required Originals or photocopies required Originals required Originals required Capital Below lower capital limit Not required Originals or photocopies Originals if over 5500 required if over 5500 for for Working Age or over Working Age or over 9500 for State Pension 9500 for Elderly - not required if under these Credit age - not required if amounts under these amounts Above lower capital limit Not required Originals or photocopies Originals required required Property Not required Originals or photocopies required Originals required

38 Performance Monitoring

39 Top level Credit Check information

40 Review From 1 st April 2016, how far back can you backdate a working age HB claim? Backdating claims of Housing Benefit will reduce from the maximum period of 6 months to 1 month. In what circumstances could you extend temporary absence from 4 weeks? The time limit of 4 weeks can be extended by up to a further 4 weeks where the reason for the absence from GB is in connection with the death of a close relative and the HB Office considers it unreasonable to expect the claimant to return to GB within 4 weeks. What documentary proof is required of low risk claims? Original Proof of ID and Nino for claimant and partner required. 40

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