(13) The Scottish Executive should pursue with the Department for Work and Pensions how to meet the general need for more information about the operation of the benefits system in Scotland and for research into the impact of benefits policy on homeless people in Scotland. |
RAG status: Amber | Delivery contact: SE- DD |
Progress to date: - Executive has liaised with DWP but no definite action has been agreed.
- Officials from DWP and Jobcentre Plus have attended a meeting of the Homelessness Monitoring Group to discuss work relevant to the Task Force's recommendations and have also provided information subsequently.
- Welfare Reform Green Paper A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering People to work recognises that there are significant differences between the social housing sectors of the UK devolved administrations which will need to be taken into account in any future roll-out of the Local Housing Allowance to social housing or consideration of any other options to support greater choice and responsibility.
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Action required & by whom: - Scottish Executive to reflect recommendation in response to consultation on Welfare Reform Green Paper.
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Key milestones: - Welfare Reform Green Paper "A new deal for welfare: Emplowering people to work" published January 2006; consultation closes 21 April 2006.
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(14) The Department for Work and Pensions should be asked (a) to review the adequacy of welfare benefits payable to 16-24 year olds generally and to the young homeless people specifically, (b) to pursue ways of making agencies involved in helping homeless people more aware of the full scope of community care grant provision, (c) to consider making an adjustment to the regulations to permit applications for community care grants to be made prior to the offer of a tenancy, (d) to review whether the overall provision through the Social Fund is helping vulnerable and homeless people in the best way, (e) to consider making homeless people, and people resettling from temporary into permanent accommodation, a priority for funding , and (f) to review non-dependant deductions. |
RAG status: Amber | Delivery contacts: (a) Benefits Reform Division, DWP; (b)-(e) LPPD Social Fund Division, DWP; (f) Housing Support Division, DWP |
Progress to date: (a) Welfare benefits to 16-24 year olds - In Budget 2003 the Chancellor announced a review of financial support for 16-19 year olds to ensure all young people have the support and incentives they need to participate in education and training after the age of 16 - whether in school, college or the workplace. Supporting Young People to Achieve, the report of the review (available at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/financialsupport), sets out a number of changes designed to improve the financial support system for 16-19 year olds. The first changes will be introduced from April 2006, with the coming into force of regulations and changes to guidance that introduce significant changes to benefits paid for, or to, young people.
(b) Awareness of community care grant provision - Full information on the community grant scheme is available on the DWP intranet; DWP review communication and publicity regularly.
(c) Adjustment of community care grant regulations - DWP advise there is no requirement that a tenancy must have been granted before a community care grant is awarded, although the decision maker must have evidence of the applicant's future circumstances when determining the nature, extent and urgency of the need being applied for.
(d) & (e) Overall provision of Social Fund & prioritising homeless people - The needs of homeless people will be factored into ongoing consideration of the Social Fund though specific outcomes can in no way be guaranteed.
(f) Non-dependant deductions - Although no formal review of non-dependant deductions has taken place, DWP is currently looking at the rules for non-dependant deductions with a view to simplifying them. This is part of wider ongoing work to try and simplify the HB/ CTB rules to make them easier to understand, administer and less prone to fraud and error. In the past, changes have been considered but reform is very expensive and any change to non-dependant deductions in the near future is likely to be incremental rather than a radical change
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Action required & by whom: (a) Welfare benefits to 16-24 year olds - DWP to implement first tranche of changes from Supporting Young People to Achieve from April 2006, comprising:
Child Benefit and Income Support: Changes to Child Benefit and income-related benefits (Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit which will remove the distinction between education and unwaged training; result in more young people achieving their qualifications rather than dropping out at 19 due to financial pressures; improve the levels of financial support available; and provide genuine choice of post-16 learning options. Further detail is available at www.hmrc.gov.uk/childbenefit. Jobseeker's Allowance: Revised guidance for decision makers to improve and simplify the JSA claims process, particularly in relation to the estrangement & hardship exemptions. Guidance for parents and young people: Distribution of Learning and Skills Council's guide: Financial Help for Young People, produced in collaboration with DfES, DWP and HMRC. The guide is available online at www.direct.gov.uk/youngpeoplefinance. - DWP to take forward longer term aim of jointly (with HMT, HMRC, DfES & the devolved administrations) devising a radically simplified financial support system for 16-19 year olds which will support post-16 choices and transitions; deliver decent minimum income levels; and be accessible
- Scottish Executive & HMG to ensure this work takes account of developments in Scotland and the Task Force recommendations.
(b) Awareness of community care grant provision - Scottish Executive & HMG to consider whether further awareness raising required.
(d) & (e) Overall provision of Social Fund & prioritising homeless people - DWP to take account of these recommendations in ongoing consideration of reform of the Social Fund.
(f) Non-dependent deductions - DWP to consider non-dependent deductions as part of ongoing work to simplify Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
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Key milestones: - Publication of Supporting Young People to Achieve Report March 2004.
- Introduction of regulations and changes to guidance on benefits for, or to, young people - April 2006
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(15) The Scottish Executive should play a full part in monitoring the operation of the broader definition of single room rent and should provide evidence to the DWP of any problems that persist, both in the single room rent arrangements and in the wider measures in place to restrict rents. |
RAG status: Amber | Delivery contact: Scottish Executive; DWP |
Progress to date: - 'Pathfinder' projects for the reform of Housing Benefit in the private rented sector are in place, including Edinburgh and Argyll & Bute. The pilots involve the payment of Local Housing Allowance ( LHA) which is a flat rate payment based on the number of occupiers and location rather than the current arrangement of a payment linked to the rent of the individual property. LHA has a shared room rate which is slightly more generous than the single room rent. Pathfinder projects have a two year life and are due to be completed and evaluated in Summer 2006.
- Welfare Reform Green Paper "A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work" published in January 2006; paper states that introduction of LHA is a central element of Housing Benefit reform. Green Paper is out to public consultation until 21 April 2006.
- The Scottish Executive is in discussion with DWP on the use of the LHA approach in the social rented sector. Single room rent is a factor in that context.
- DWP published research on single room rent in June 2005, available at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep243.pdf. In the longer term DWP are looking at how the policy on the Single Room Rent and shared rate of LHA should be developed.
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Action required & by whom: - Scottish Executive and the Homelessness Monitoring Group to maintain contact with DWP on single room rent and feed in evidence where appropriate.
- Other organisations to feed in evidence to the Executive to support liaison with DWP.
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Key milestones: - Research on single room rent published June 2005.
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(16) Local authorities' homelessness strategies should incorporate standards for dealing with housing benefit claims and targets for improvements. Local authorities' performance in delivering these standards and targets should be monitored by Communities Scotland, in collaboration with Audit Scotland, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Benefits Fraud Inspectorate. When housing stock is transferred from a local authority to a registered social landlord, care should be taken to ensure that this does not have any adverse effect on housing benefit administration |
RAG status: Green | Delivery contact: Scottish Executive Homelessness Team, Communities Scotland, Audit Scotland, DWP, Benefits Fraud Inspectorate |
Progress to date: - The assessment process for homelessness strategies has checked whether standards and targets for dealing with housing benefit claims are incorporated within the strategy. This was a weakness in many of the original strategies and was therefore highlighted in feedback to local authorities, who are now being required to address this.
- In March 2002 the Department for Work and Pensions issued national Performance Standards for housing benefit administration. In April 2005 the Performance Standards were revised to focus more clearly on outcomes and the key enablers that would support delivery. Statistics showing each Authority's performance are published by the DWP on a quarterly basis.
- The average number of days to process a new Housing Benefit claim is Scotland has improved by 11 days from 54 days in 2002/03 to 43 days in 2004/05. This has reduced by a further 13 days to 30 days for the first half of 2005/06.
- The number of LAs meeting the 36 day Performance Standard for processing new claims has improved from 12 in 2002/03 to 14 in 2004/05 and there were further improvements in the second quarter of 2005/06 when 21 LAs met the 36 days standard.
- Performance by the local authorities which have undergone wholesale stock transfer (Glasgow, Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway) is within the average for the rest of Scotland.
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Action required & by whom: - Further monitoring required to ensure that local authorities are setting and meeting appropriate standards and targets.
- Detailed report on local authority performance to be prepared for discussion by HMG.
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Key milestones: - HB/ CTB Performance Standards published in April 2002 and revised in April 2005.
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(17) The need for more pro-active benefits outreach and for clear service priorities for at risk / homeless groups should be addressed in the design of the new Jobcentre Plus service. |
RAG status: Amber | Delivery contact: Jobcentre Plus |
Progress to date: - Jobcentre Plus aims to provide work for those who can, and support for those who cannot, by helping disadvantaged people into work as a route out of poverty. Job entry targets reflect the emphasis on assisting priority customers. Changes within the organisation of Jobcentre Plus will help deliver more integrated services, focusing on priority customers while extending the range of partnership working so that customers receive help to find work. See also recommendation 50.
- From April 2006 Jobcentre Plus will introduce a new Job Outcome measure to replace the existing Job Entry target ( i.e. Jobcentre Plus staff targets will relate to longer term job outcomes, rather than focussing on job entry only). As a result of these changes even more emphasis will be placed on supporting disadvantaged customers including homeless people.
- A new External Relations team has been set up within Jobcentre Plus, Office for Scotland, to identify and support closer partnership working to help those customers most disadvantaged in the labour market.
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Action required & by whom: - Jobcentre Plus to consider most effective ways of prioritising homeless customers, including evaluation and mainstreaming of existing projects and the development of a strategy for long-term engagement.
- DWP/Jobcentre Plus to provide further information as to activity underway.
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Key milestones: - Jobcentre Plus will place a higher priority on homeless customers from April 2006.
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(29) The Department for Work and Pensions should consider granting local authorities discretion to pay housing benefit to those expected to be in prison for more than 3 months. |
RAG status: Red | Delivery contact: Housing Benefit Strategy Division, DWP |
Progress to date: - DWP advise there are no plans to change the current Regulations which limit the period for which benefit can be paid to 13 weeks when a person is in prison.
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Action required & by whom: - HMG/Scottish Executive to continue to put the case to DWP.
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Key milestones: - Advice received from DWP March 2006.
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