Local Welfare Assistance policy

Local Welfare Assistance policy 1

Version control Version Version date Revised by Description 0.8 31 October 2014 K Kennard Final Contents Introduction... 3 Purpose... 3 Responsibility for Local Welfare Assistance within Portsmouth City Council... 4 Objectives... 4 Making an application for an award... 9 Factors when considering an award... 9 Nature of the award... 10 Method of payment... 10 Notification... 10 Changes of circumstances... 11 Reviews... 11 2

Introduction The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (the Act) ends the current provision of Community Care Grants (CCGs) and Crisis Loans (CLs) under the Discretionary Social Fund for living expenses, provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), at the end of March 2013. There is no statutory duty to provide this support however from 1 April 2013 Portsmouth City Council (PCC) is providing locally-administered assistance to vulnerable people. This scheme will be known as the Portsmouth Local Welfare Assistance Scheme (LWAS). The scheme is cash-limited to the amount of the funding provided by the Government. It doesn t replace the support mechanisms and budgets that exist elsewhere in the Council, or within wider organisations. Payments are discretionary and are not payments of benefit. There is no statutory right to receive assistance from the scheme. Awards under the scheme will be made to eligible applicants with the aim of relieving financial hardship. Not all eligible applicants will be granted an award. In order to ensure that this hardship fund is allocated to those who need it most in the city, the scheme will need to: a) take account of local need for people in financial hardship b) ensure any financial assistance is allocated as fairly as possible in accordance with the eligibility criteria c) ensure that there is sufficient financial assistance available throughout the whole year, including managing any spend on financial assistance within an appropriate financial model. Purpose This policy specifies how the scheme will be operated and indicates some of the factors that will be considered when deciding if an award will be made. The purpose of the service to be provided is: To help local people in financial crisis out of immediate financial hardship and to offer them advice and support to maintain their financial independence in the longer term PCC (through its commissioned provider) will consider making a LWAS award to applicants who meet the qualifying criteria, as specified in this policy, providing sufficient funding from the Government grant for this purpose is available at the time of the Council s decision. An LWAS award will normally be an urgent, one off provision used as a short term fix to prevent a long term problem, and we will seek to: prevent serious risk to the health, well-being or safety of the area s most vulnerable and financially excluded residents; ease severe financial pressure on families in certain situations; help those, without the necessary means, to either establish themselves in the community as a transition from care or prison or to remain in their community; give flexible financial help to those in genuine need. Each case will be treated strictly on its merits in accordance with the eligibility criteria and all applicants will be treated equally and fairly when the scheme is administered. 3

Responsibility for Local Welfare Assistance within Portsmouth City Council PCC has commissioned out the provision of its Local Welfare Assistance Scheme to an external organisation Northgate, who will deliver the core service, and who are working in partnership with the Family Fund in relation to the fulfilment requirements. Budget responsibility rests with the Council s Head of Revenues and Benefits, and the Contract Management rests with the Council s Tackling Poverty Co-ordinator. Decisions made on individual applications will take into account any information and evidence provided by the claimant, other relevant staff and agencies where appropriate. Key features of Portsmouth City Council s provision of local welfare assistance: it is discretionary; we are under no duty to make an award. Where funds are available from another source we will signpost the applicant to those sources rather than make an award. an applicant does not have a statutory right to a payment; the total expenditure in any one year resulting from awards under this scheme will not exceed the value of the funding received from the DWP; the operation of the scheme is for Portsmouth City Council to determine; the Council may choose to vary the way in which funds are allocated according to community needs and available funds; An applicant can apply for a review of a decision if they disagree with the decision. Objectives The over-riding principle of this service is one of a customer-focused approach to providing financial assistance to those in the city with the highest levels of need. This will require effective collaboration with the relevant agencies in the city, who, our consultation suggests, will already have a good understanding of customer need. The service will use this learning as part of a continuous improvement model and will be: a) Professional employing suitably qualified and trained staff who are able to engage positively with customers in order to meet their needs. b) Responsive so that people in the city who are in genuine hardship, which cannot be met through other means, are able to access the support that they need quickly and effectively. c) Enabling so that any support offered will focus on increasing independence, either to live in the community, or to gain financial independence. d) High quality - providing a user-friendly service which respects individuals, and seeks to signpost them into longer term sources of support. e) Collaborative so that the service, through PCC, works in partnership with other key agencies and sources of support in the city, to ensure that people are assessed and linked in with the right support out in the community that enables them to fix their problems longer term. This collaboration will involve working with other agencies to: a) Share and act on learning about what works in the provision of Portsmouth s Local Welfare Assistance Scheme; 4

b) Support the development of more co-ordinated services, responsive to the range of local needs. Eligibility Criteria On the basis of the data and learning to date, applications in this first year of service will only be considered which: a) Offer financial support/living expenses in relation to an emergency or as a consequence of disaster to avoid damage or serious risk to health and safety of the applicant or a member of their family. b) Alleviate immediately the exceptional pressure being faced by a family or an individual. c) Help the applicant (or family member/carer) to remain living in the community where there is a high risk of the person needing to enter residential accommodation d) Help the applicant (or family member/carer) to establish his or herself in the community following a stay in residential accommodation where care was provided. e) Help the applicant (or family member/carer) to set up home as part of a planned resettlement programme (following an unsettled way of life) f) Assist with travel expenses to visit a relative who is terminally ill or a relative s funeral, to ease a domestic crisis, to visit a child who is living with another parent pending a court decision or to move to more suitable accommodation. g) Allow an applicant or partner to care for a prisoner or young offender on a temporary license An application will only be considered where the applicant satisfies one of the above, plus each of the following criteria: a) The applicant must be aged 16 or over; b) The applicant must be able to demonstrate a settled residence in Portsmouth or, in the case of someone leaving prison or care, be about to move into Portsmouth; c) The applicant must not have savings that can be relied upon to meet the need to which they are presenting; d) The applicant must not be excluded from applying for public funds on the basis of immigration status; e) The applicant must not have received more than one LWAS award in the last year, unless they can demonstrate significant exceptional need; f) The applicant must be without sufficient resources which would in turn cause serious risk to their own, or their family s health or safety or well-being; g) The applicant must not be eligible to receive or have received assistance for the requested funding or loans from other public funds; Payments of awards to claimants will be considered in line with this policy. All claims will be treated on their individual merits, in accordance with the eligibility criteria. Items and expenses that can be funded by the scheme Community Care Awards Community Care Awards will be considered for people on certain benefits (Income 5

Support, Income-Based Job Seekers Allowance, Pension Credit, Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit or payment on account of such benefits facing difficulty arising from special circumstances, and in particular to support the policy of care in the community). A Community Care Award may be paid in order help people: a) Return to the community after being in care b) Stay in their home rather than go into care c) Set up home in the community after having an unsettled way of life (as part of a planned programme of resettlement) d) Care for a prisoner or a young offender when they leave prison on a temporary license e) Ease immediately the exceptional pressures being faced by families or individuals; or f) Pay for certain travel expenses like going to a family funeral or visiting someone who is ill Community Care Awards will not be awarded to replace statutory provision, or to replace provision that already exists within other organisations and/or other parts of the community. Community Care Awards will be considered for items such as: a) Bedding and clothing b) Furniture (e.g. beds, sofas) c) Household equipment (e.g. fridges, cookers) d) Travel costs e) Removal expenses f) Storage charges g) Installation charges Crisis Awards A Crisis Award may be paid for certain expenses that have come about as a result of an emergency or disaster. Under the previous DWP provision, these were granted as loans which had to be paid back. Under the Portsmouth Local Welfare Assistance Scheme, these awards will not need to be paid back. This will make it all the more important to make sure that we get these awards to the people who need them the most in the city. People will only be considered for a Crisis Award when it is the only way to avoid serious damage or risk to the health and safety of them or a member of their family. Examples of a disaster are a fire or a flood. A person fleeing domestic abuse would be an example of someone avoiding serious risk to the health and safety of them and/or a member of a family. You do not have to be on benefits to apply for a Crisis Award, but you will be asked to evidence that you are on a low income, and do not have other financial means that you can access. In an emergency, people will be considered for a Crisis Award for: a) Living expenses b) Charges for board and lodgings accommodation, but not deposits c) Travel expenses when stranded away from home 6

d) Repaying emergency credit on a pre-payment fuel meter In the case of a disaster such as a fire or flood, as well as the expenses already mentioned, people may also be considered for a Crisis Award to meet other expenses, like replacing household items and clothing. The Portsmouth Local Welfare Assistance Scheme will not be funding rent in advance, or rent deposits. There are a number of avenues for this for example Discretionary Housing Payment, if the person is already claiming Housing Benefit, or support through Rent Deposit Schemes for the homeless, via Housing Options, and also through DWP s Budgeting Loans if the criteria is met. For the purposes of this policy A child is a person under the age of 18 years. Exceptional pressures are considered to be acute needs arising from circumstances that may be eased by financial means. Exceptional pressures may include acute domestic difficulties for example, the breakdown of a relationship (especially where domestic violence is involved), or the onset of, or deterioration in, a disability of a member of the household. Exceptional pressures may also arise from unforeseen calamities or natural disasters for example, a house fire or a natural disaster such as flooding. Portsmouth s Local Welfare Assistance Scheme will help with household items that are essential for basic living, health, safety or sanitation. This includes, but is not limited to: MMUNITY GRANTS Beds & bedding Washing machines, cooker or microwave, fridge freezer Cooking and eating essentials (crockery, pots and pans, utensils, cutlery) Essential furniture (table and chairs, upholstered chairs or sofa) Portable heating appliances Items essential for cleanliness and sanitation (basic vacuum cleaner, brooms, mop and bucket etc) Goods essential for the health and safety of a dependent child (fireguard, stair safety gates etc) Emergency house repairs that will if not repaired present an immediate threat to health safety or security (available for owner occupiers only) Exceptional travelling expenses where they are essential to the applicant s well-being and assist them in establishing or maintaining a home in the community and where assistance is not provided from another source Any other item or service at the Council s sole discretion considered essential to assist a family experiencing exceptional pressure establish or maintain a home in the community and that is not an excepted item Where grants are provided for household goods the grant will be calculated as the amount required to purchase a basic model of the item. Expenses except where the person would not be able to establish or maintain a home in the community without assistance with travelling costs. 4. HOME IN THE COMMUNITY GRANTS An award will NOT be given for any of the following: 7

a need which occurs outside the United Kingdom an educational or training need including clothing and tools a distinctive school uniform or sports clothes for use at school or equipment to be used at school travelling expenses to or from school school meals taken during school holidays by children who are entitled to free school meals expenses in connection with court (legal proceedings) such as legal fees, court fees, fines, costs, damages, subsistence or travelling expenses removal or storage charges if you are being rehoused following a compulsory purchase order, a redevelopment or closing order, a compulsory exchange of tenancies, or under homelessness legislation domestic assistance and respite care a medical, surgical, optical, aural or dental item or service (note that needs under all of these headings can be provided free of charge by the National Health Service, if you are getting Income Support, income based Jobseeker s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance (income-related), or Pension Credit) work related expenses investments costs of purchasing, renting or installing a telephone, broadband (with the exception of the purchase of pay as you go mobiles in certain circumstances) Connection, cable television or satellite television and any associated charges any expense which any public body has a statutory duty to meet housing costs or arrears of rent other than minor repairs and improvements to the applicant s own property essential for health, safety or security. taxes or other statutory payments debts or insolvency costs home decoration TV licence care provision holidays garaging, parking, purchase, and running costs of any motor vehicle except where the payment is being considered for emergency travel expenses where the customer has sufficient income, savings or access to a reasonable source of credit costs met by other forms of financial support including state support (e.g. Council Tax Support, Housing Benefit or Universal Credit (see below)) This list is not intended to be exhaustive and the omission of an item from this list does not imply that an award will be provided for such an item. This fund will not pay for expenditure or items that are already covered by any alternative funding provision including but not limited to, Discretionary Housing Payments, Disability Care Allowances within Adult Social Care, state benefits (Housing Benefit, and Universal Credit etc), and Disabled Access Grants. Ensuring the fund is a last port of call Both the website information about the scheme, and the application process itself, builds in 8

signposting questions and information to ensure both the public and professionals are made aware of the advice and support that is available to them in their local community, which may help them to find a longer term answer to their problems. For example, the following questions are asked (with the relevant signposting information attached): o Have you accessed money, benefits and/or debt advice? (with signposting into money advice services) o Would getting employment, or additional hours, improve your financial situation? (with signposting into job clubs, job centre plus, CV support etc) o Are you struggling with the day-to-day stresses of bringing up children not just financially, but more widely (with signposting into Children s Centres, CHAT etc) o Do you need someone to talk to about your underlying problems? (with signposting into money advice services, mental health services, GP etc) o Are you waiting for a benefits payment? (with signposting into DWP short term advances) o Do you need a loan for a non-emergency item (with signposting into DWP, Credit Union etc) Any award from the scheme should generally be seen as a short-term solution. Making an application for an award To claim an award an application must be made. The claimant will be required to provide details of their current circumstances and provide reasonable evidence to support their claim e.g. evidence of any outgoings or medical circumstances etc. Further evidence may be requested to support the application. If the claimant is unable to or does not provide all /any of the required evidence the application will be considered and a decision made based on the information supplied. Any other evidence including that held on file will be taken into account. Applicants will be able to apply either online or over the phone, in person, or through an agency/professional on their behalf. Maximum numbers of awards The maximum number of awards a person will be able to receive is two in a 12 month period. Maximum amount of awards For Community Care Awards, the maximum amount for any one award will be 1,400. For a Crisis Award it is 250 (dependent on family size). Factors when considering an award In deciding whether to make an award, the following will be taken into account: any sources of credit such as cash cards, store cards, credit cards, cheque cards, cheque accounts, overdraft facilities, loan arrangements; 9

any help which is likely to be available from other funds, such as Short Term Advances and Budgeting Loans/Advances issued by the Department for Work and Pensions; the financial circumstances of the applicant, any partner, their dependants and other occupiers of their household; the income and reasonable expenditure of the applicant, any partner, their dependants and other occupiers of their household; any income that may be disregarded in an award calculation any savings or capital of the applicant and if appropriate their family the level of indebtedness of the applicant and their family; any medical issues, or other exceptional needs, of the applicant, partner or dependants, or other members of their household; whether the circumstances of the applicant are such that an award would alleviate the problems of the applicant; whether there are relevant funds available in the LWAS budget; the possible impact on the Council of not making such an award, e.g. the applicant becoming homeless and the costs associated with this; any other special circumstance of which we become aware of during the application process. We will decide how much to award based on all of the applicant s circumstances and the LWAS funds available, and we will be mindful of the likely total calls on the LWAS fund. Each case will be treated strictly on its own merits in accordance with the eligibility criteria. Nature of the award In the majority of cases, awards will be made via voucher, rather than cash. Cash awards will only be made in very exceptional circumstances. Vouchers will be available for white goods (through Euronics), for furniture/household items (through Argos and Homebase) and through Park Clothing (for clothes accepted in a wide range of clothes stores). Method of payment The scheme decision maker will decide the most appropriate method of payment based on the circumstances of each case. The methods may include: vouchers (as above) bank account credit to the applicant or some other person as appropriate; PayPoint payment. Notification Completed Community Care Award applications will usually be processed within 5 working days. Crisis Awards will usually be processed the same day if received before 4pm; and the next day if received after 4pm. We will notify the applicant of the outcome of their request on the day the decision is made. This may be by letter, email, SMS (text) or a combination of these methods. Where the application has been successful, the applicant will be advised of the following: 10

The amount of the award To whom it will be paid, and how The method of payment The applicant will then need to decide whether to accept the award. If the request for an award has been unsuccessful or not met in full we will explain the applicant s right to request a review of the decision please refer to the section titled Reviews. We may, with the applicant s permission, also inform a support worker or advice agency of a decision. Changes of circumstances Any award may need to be revised where the claimant s circumstances have changed. Reviews There is no right of appeal, however, the applicant can ask for the decision to be reviewed. We will operate the following policy for dealing with review requests about either the decision not to make an award or the amount of an award. A review is a request for a decision to be re-considered and could be for a number of reasons, such as: No award given application unsuccessful due to not meeting the criteria. No award given application unsuccessful but further information or change to circumstances means applicant feels decision could be changed. Applicant feels not enough grant has been awarded for their needs. Item awarded was not what applicant expected white goods gift card, when cash was expected. An applicant (or their representative) who disagrees with a decision may request a review of the decision, via the following means: In an email, to: LWPAppeal@northgate-is.com In writing, to the address below: Reviews Portsmouth Welfare Assistance Scheme PO Box 352 Hartlepool TS24 4FH Via E-mail or in writing with the help of a support worker, the Council or other third party, e.g. Advice Service. Any request for explanation or review must be made as stated and must be made within 21 days of the decision being notified to the applicant. The officer reviewing the decision will not have been involved in the making of the original decision. The outcome of the review will be communicated to the applicant or their representative in writing, explaining the reasons for the decision. 11

Overpayments In the event that it comes to Portsmouth City Council s attention that a grant has been awarded as a result of misleading information, deception or fraud the Council will seek repayment of the monetary value of the grant from the recipient. The Council may take action to recover the sum through the appropriate legal processes and in accordance with its Fair Debt Collection Policy. Punitive action may also be undertaken in accordance with the Council s Anti-Fraud Strategy. Where it comes to the Council s attention that the applicant has received a grant, payment or loan from another source for the same purpose as that for which a grant has been awarded under this Policy the Council may seek repayment of the monetary value of the grant. Where it comes to the Council s attention that the applicant has used a grant for a purpose other than that for which the grant was awarded the Council may seek repayment of the monetary value of the grant. Where it comes to the Council s attention that the applicant has sold an item for which a grant was provided (except where the item can reasonably be expected to be at the end of its useful life) the Council may seek repayment of the monetary value of the grant. Fraud The Council is committed to the fight against fraud in all its forms. Any applicant who tries to fraudulently claim a Portsmouth LWAS award might have committed an offence under the Fraud Act 2006. If we suspect that fraud may have occurred, the matter will be investigated as appropriate and this could lead to criminal proceedings. Publicity We will publicise the scheme and provide information to relevant agencies, stakeholders and other Council services. 12