When were you able to start claiming Universal Credit? Since April 2016 all job centres in all parts of the country have been accepting new claims onto Universal Credit live service. These new claims were subject to several gateway conditions. The second stage of the roll out is the conversion of the UC live service to UC full service (also known as digital service). This full service also applies to new claims only. Apart from families with three or more children, there are no gateway conditions. Chester went onto full service 7 July 2017 Winsford is due 1 November Northwich is due 13 December What is Universal Credit? It is a single monthly payment that replaces Housing benefit Income Support Income Based Jobseekers Allowance Income Related Employment and Support Allowance Child Tax Credit Working Tax Credit The idea of universal credit is that it can be claimed by people whether they are in or out of work. There's no limit to the number of hours worked per week under universal credit, but the payment reduces gradually as they earn more. Information on making a claim In full service the application process is digital. A claim has to be made on an electronic device. You register for an account and then submit your claim. Couples have to both register for an account and then submit a claim. Need photo ID for verification. If no photo ID, claimants will need to make an appointment with the Jobcentre Plus to verify in person. In live service, tenants have to verify their housing costs. This usually means them contacting us for a rent statement. In full service we are sent an electronic rent verification form which requires us to check our information against that which the customer has provided. Claimants will need o and email account o a mobile phone number o a bank account o to start paying their rent directly to us What triggers a UC claim? UC claims are triggered by certain events. For example: 1
Change to working hours / start work / leave work Become sick New child / child permanently leaves household Experience a bereavement Partner moves in / claimants separate Becoming a carer Youngest child turns 5 Three is a more detailed table at the end of this leaflet. What are waiting days? Most new claims for UC are subject to a seven day waiting period. This means that a customer is not entitled to UC until seven days have elapsed. Customers should lodge their claim immediately the change occurs to avoid further loss of benefit. The waiting period does not apply if they: Are a care leaver Are aged under 22, left care before reaching 18 and are claiming for the first time Are terminally ill Are a victim of or threatened with domestic violence in the past six months Have been a prisoner within the last month Were entitled to contributory JSA or ESA in the past 3 months Were entitled to income based JSA, income related ESA within the past 3 months and stopped getting it because they stated work Were entitled to a legacy benefit in the past month. The vast majority of our customers will not be affected as they will be transferring from a legacy benefit. Waiting days only apply to new claims, not to existing claims where there is a change of circumstance. Why is there a 6 week period between making a claim and receiving first payment? UC is paid monthly in arrears. Encourage customers to save small amounts over a long period. They could start to overpay on their rent account or they could open a savings or credit union account. Can a person choose to claim UC? Yes. It is possible for those on legacy benefits in a full service area to choose to claim UC without needing a change in circumstances. But they must seek advice first to ensure that this is the right decision for them. UC is a lobster pot once you are in you can not get out. Advance Payments Claimants are not always told they can apply for advance payments to bridge the gap from the start of the start of the claim to payment. 2
Claimants can apply for an advance when: o they make a new claim and can demonstrate hardship o they are transferring from legacy benefits o and change of circumstances occur that causes hardship o they have a one-off expense These payments are 50% of the estimated UC award Usually clawed back over 6 months Advance payments made for transfers from legacy benefits are paid back over 12 months making these more affordable o Claimants are not always given this option unless they explicitly ask for it. The rate at which total combined repayments are recovered is as high as 40% of the standard allowance. Such high repayment rates from a relatively low income can place a lot of strain on a claimant s finances. Explicit Consent Under full service a claimant must give explicit consent (either verbal or written consent) for a third party to access information. o We can not speak to DWP about any other issue o We can only speak about one issue at a time Help lines In live service there is a dedicated helpline for us to use. In full service this is no longer the case. We have to use the same escalation route as our customers. o The calls are limited to one issue per call o The helpline is not free to call o We might have to make calls on behalf of the tenant, but with explicit consent this might be tricky. APAs Alternative Payment Arrangements can be set up by the DWP for claimants who can not manage the usual, monthly payments of UC. There are three types of APA: o Direct payment of the rent to the landlord also known as Managed Payment to Landlord (MPTL) o Splitting payments between members of a couple o More frequent payments We can apply for an APA if there are rent arrears that are equal to or more than 2 months of the rent. There are APAs for vulnerability too. These are known as Tier 1 and Tier 2. They are only assessed in terms of money management skills. APAs are only a temporary arrangement. DWP set a review date. APAs under the Full Service Under the live service housing costs made under APAs were received as and when customers received their monthly UC payments. 3
This is not the case under full service o They are more unreliable o Processing times are longer o If we apply for a third party payment (previously known are rent arrears direct) the APA payments are made to landlords according to the third party payment cycle i.e. 4 weekly. There are 13 payment dates under a 4 week payment cycle We receive the monthly housing costs, but every 4 weeks This means that whilst we receive 13 APA batch payment dates a year, each claimant will be missing from one of these. o When payments are received the APA payment system requires landlords to manually upload payment details to rent account this is a length exercise. Council Tax Support This is separate from UC and must be applied for separately via the council What is the difference between Live Service and Full Service? This table gives a quick overview of the key differences between the live and full services. Rent verification Digital access Alternative payment arrangements Data sharing Errors and accountability Live We don t receive a notification when a customer claims universal credit. Claims are managed offline, via interaction with the jobcentre, and through a universal credit telephone helpline. We receive housing cost payments for individual customers, as and when they receive their full universal credit payment. Full/digital We receive a rent verification form via email; this acts as a notification, and gives an opportunity to verify details entered by the claimant and send back to the DWP. Claims are managed via an online journal; claimants can make entries and access "to do notifications detailing work-search requirements. We can t access automatically, but could access with the claimant. Payment schedules are electronic, but can be difficult to access. If we also apply for third-party payments, APAs are paid on 4- weekly payment cycles. We receive a month s worth of money every 4 weeks. This means that, for each tenant, one payment of the 13 payments made yearly will be missed. Implicit consent is fine. This is where Explicit consent needed i.e. claimant needs to give consent consent is implied by the caller being able (verbally or in writing) for every individual interaction. to quote customer information and facts/details about the claim. A dedicated phone line exists for landlords to make queries No clear, separate route for landlords to raise queries or complaints.. Email inbox for complaints. 4
Some examples of what might trigger a UC claim: What could happen before UC? What happens in a full service UC area? Change in employment status On IB-JSA / IS / IR-ESA and start or increase working hours to satisfy WTC amount (to 16, 24 or 30 hours) On legacy benefit, e.g. IB-JSA and HB, and start work but not enough hours to satisfy WTC Claim WTC Legacy benefits adjusted Choice remain on adjusted legacy benefit or claim UC if better off. On WTC and hours fall below 16 Claim IS / IB-JSA On CTC only and start work to satisfy WTC rules Claim WTC Remain on CTC and claim WTC On WTC and increase hours Stay on WTC See choice above On WTC and becomes sick Claim IR-ESA Change in family circumstances On IS / IR-ESA / IB-JSA / HB and household become Claim CTC responsible for a first child On WTC only and household become responsible for a Remain on TC and claim CTC See choice above first child Lone parent on IS and youngest child turns 5 Unless another reason to stay on IS, claim IB-JSA Unless another reason for staying on IS, claim UC On IB-JSA and baby due within 11 weeks Claim IS Couple on TC separate Make separate claims for Both claim UC legacy benefits Lone parent on IS becomes a couple Claim e.g. IB-JSA or IR-ESA Couple on IB-JSA with child under 5 becomes a lone parent Claim IS / IB-JSA Both claim UC Carers Satisfies Carer s Allowance rules which means a new legacy benefit claim On IS and stops being a carer Sickness (see also Change in employment status above) Claim the relevant benefit legacy benefit(s) e.g. IS Unless another reason to stay on IS, claim IB-JSA On IR-ESA and fails Work Capability Assessment (WCA) iii Claim IB-JSA On IB-JSA and becomes sick Claim IR-ESA Moving area / taking up a tenancy (if claimant challenges WCA and wins, remains on UC) HB claimant moves into full service area (different New claim for HB Local Authority) HB claimant moves into full service area (same Local Remain on HB See choice above Authority) On TC / IS / IR-ESA / IB-JSA and takes up a tenancy Claim HB 5
Advice you can offer customers How to manage for 6 weeks with no money Customers could pay extra on their rent to bring their account into advance Start saving now Use West Cheshire Credit Union o http://wccu.co.uk/ o 01244 399006 o info@wccu.co.uk o You can save, or apply for a child benefit loan for upto 500 Consider an Advance Payment, but only if the claw back is affordable to the customer. How to be ready for UC have an email account have a mobile phone number open a bank account start paying your rent by direct debit Referrals Support and Wellbeing supportteam@wvht.co.uk ; 813440 Work and Enterprise Team Workteam@wvht.co.uk ; 813547; 813546 CAB cwcab.org.uk ; 03444 772 121 P3 Chester 01244 405930; Winsford 01606 599201; Northwich 01606 723620 Other free to use debt agencies can be found on the internet. 6