If the Benefit Cap fits… Sue Reynolds - CHS Group

Sarah - Jayne Goakes - Circle Roddons

The Benefit CapIn this session:

Introduction to the Benefit Cap

Which benefits count in the Cap

Who has been affected by the cap so far

The changes from April 2016

Who will be affected?

What can we do to help people?

Exemptions?

Fenland statistics

Strategy - what Roddons will do about the Benefit Cap

Discussion and Questions (15 minutes)

Background to the Benefit CapWhy cap benefits? One of the Coalition Government’s welfare reform measures aimed

at

deficit reduction. The key aims were to: • Increase incentives to work• Introduce greater fairness into the welfare system between those

on out-of-work benefits and taxpayers in employment; and • Make financial savings and incentivise behaviours that reduce

long-term dependency on benefits

Legislation:

Sections 96 & 97 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 &

the Benefit Cap (Housing Benefit) Regulations 2012

The Benefit cap was introduced initially in April 2013 and fully rolled out

by September 2013

The Benefit Cap – How much? Cap on household benefits:

£500 a week for a family (£26,000 a year)

£350 a week for a single person with no children (£18,200 a year)

How does it work?Households with income from benefits in excess of these caps experience a

reduction in their housing benefit entitlement. They will have to pay

Something towards their rent…..

Which benefits are included in the cap? Housing Benefit, except for “specified accommodation”. This means “exempt

accommodation or accommodation provided by a housing association, charity, voluntary organisation or

English county council to meet your needs for care, support or supervision; temporary accommodation

provided by one of these bodies or a LA because you have left home because of domestic violence; or a

LA hostel where you get care, support or supervision.

Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance,

ESA (if neither you or your partner are in the Support Group)

Bereavement Allowance

Carers Allowance (CA)

Guardians Allowance

Incapacity Benefit

Maternity Allowance (MA)

Severe Disablement Allowance

Widowed Mothers/Parents Allowance (after £15 disregard)

Widows PensionCTC (but if you are repaying an overpayment from the previous tax year, the amount of CTC taken into

account is reduced by the amount deducted for the repayment)

 

If you are on Universal CreditUniversal Credit

JSA

ESA, if neither you or your partner are in the Support Group(ESA is not taken into account while you are disqualified from receiving it)

Bereavement Allowance

Carers Allowance

Child Benefit

Guardians Allowance

Maternity Allowance

Widowed Mothers Allowance/Widowed Parents Allowance

Widows Pension

 

Effect on Housing Association tenants? • The Benefit Cap so far has affected far fewer tenants within the

housing association sector and is far less widespread than the size criteria (‘Bedroom Tax’).

• Housing Associations estimate that only 0.19% of all their tenants receiving HB have had their HB reduced due to the Benefit Cap.

• CHS Group has only had 2 families affected so far…• However, for those who are affected it is a major issue… • The DHP budget may be able to help them at the moment while

there are so few affected…

Who has it affected? From April 2013 – May 2015 (total numbers)62,600 households have had their benefits capped

45% of those affected were in London

Of the top 20 Local Authorities with the highest number of households affected

by the cap, only 2 were outside London – Birmingham and Edinburgh.

Snapshot (in May 2015) 22,500 households had their HB capped

Of capped households 82% were capped by £100 a week or less

Of capped households 1% were capped by more than £300 a week

Of capped households 60% had between 1 and 4 children and 35% had 5 or

more children

Of capped households 64% constituted a single parent with child dependant(s)

Of capped households 92% were claiming Child Tax Credit

How many households move off the Benefit Cap?

As of May 2015 (most up to date statistics)

• 40,100 households (64%) who were previously capped are no longer subject to the cap.

• Of these, 16,300 are exempt with an open Working Tax Credit claim, which is 41% of those no longer subject to the cap

• For single parent households with a child dependant aged under 5 years, 54% who were previously capped are no longer subject to the cap.

• Of these 41% are exempt with an open WTC claim

Changes from April 2016 – reduction in Cap London:

Cap reduced to £23,000 for families (£442.31 a week)

Cap reduced to £15,410 for single people (£296.35 a week)

Elsewhere:

Cap reduced to £20,000 for families (£384.62 a week)

Cap reduced to £13,400 for single people (£257.69 a week)

Effects of the new reduced Benefits Cap

Likely effects: • Substantial number of social housing (and other) homes,

particularly the ‘affordable rents’ (up to 80% of market rent) will be unaffordable in London and the south east.

• Those with 3 + children or in a 3 bedroom house will be affected.

• Increase in rent arrears, evictions and homelessness.• Larger families will be affected to a much greater extent. • Families made homeless due to the Benefit Cap will NOT be

treated as ‘intentionally homeless’, which has implications for Local Authorities having to provide emergency accommodation

How many households will be affected? This depends on who you believe! 1) The Government’s impact assessment shows the lower cap is likely to

affect 126,000 households, with the average loss being £63 a week.

2) The National Housing Association modelling shows that a couple with three children would not be able to afford the average housing association rent on a 3 bedroom property in any region.

Under the £23,000 cap in London they would face a shortfall between housing benefit and rent of £27.79 a week.

The weekly shortfall under a £20,000 cap ranges from £37.40 in Yorkshire and Humberside to £67.35 in the South East.

3) Joe Halewood (on his blog) thinks even more households will be affected! His estimate is that 270,000 adults and 660,000 children will be evicted due to the reduced Benefit Cap.

Time is of the essence!

Don’t wait until April 2016! We have 6 months to start doing something to help our

clients. If we wait until April it will be too late to make a

difference! You are in a good position to identify those

families who will be affected by the lower benefit cap!

Housing associations and local authorities will need

advance notice of the lowering of the cap in their area.

Effective data sharing arrangements will need to be in

Place so that housing associations are in a position to

support tenants affected by the cap.

What can tenants do to about the Cap? 1) Become exempt from being capped through: •Starting work and becoming entitled to claim WTC (even if nil entitlement) •Become entitled to the various Disability Benefits that give exemption•Other ways to get an exemption (more later)

2) Move to a cheaper property or area (problematic, as will lose support of family, friends and local connections)

3) Claim a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) – (not sustainable in the long term as funds not sufficient)

4) Change in original structure of household (change, addition or loss of partner)

5) Get older! Once you (or your partner) are of Pension Credit age the Cap does not apply. This is not a quick fix!

Exemption by starting work – (see hand out) The cap does not apply if: Your client or their partner is working and getting Working Tax Credit (WTC) or have claimed WTC but are earning too much to get WTC and have a ‘nil entitlement’.

What can you do to help? •Discuss the situation with your client to ensure they understand what being benefit capped means and the various things they can do to be exempted from the cap.

•Encourage your client to think about what work they could manage, what is available locally, what the barriers are to them working, child care issues etc.

•Refer your client for help with getting ready for work (C.V’s, Confidence Building courses, computer courses etc.)

•Refer into the ‘Making Money Count’ Project

•Refer into the National Careers Service

•Refer into the Job Centre

Exemption through Disability Benefits The cap does not apply if: Your client or their partner or their dependant child

who lives with them is in receipt of one of the disability benefits below.

Disability Benefits

Employment and Support Allowance that includes the support component (ESA

Support Group)

Universal Credit that includes the limited capability for work related activity

component (equivalent to the above)

Attendance Allowance

Disability Living Allowance

Personal Independence Payment

Armed Forces Independence Payment.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Reduced Earning Allowance or Retirement

Allowance.

A War Pension

 

Disability Benefits – help to apply Help your client to get advice and support with the application

1) Discuss their care and mobility needs with them. Or the needs of their dependant child or young person.

2) If they are in the ESA ‘Work Related Activity Group’ (WRAG) advise and support them with getting moved into the Support Group through a Mandatory Reconsideration/Appeal or a supersession. They will probably need some supporting letters/documents from their GP or Hospital or Psychiatrist.

3) Children under 16 can still claim Disability Living Allowance

4) Adults over 16 will need to claim Personal Independence Payment.

5) You can help with phone calls and form filling if you feel knowledgeable enough to do this.

6) Or ask for help from:

1) Citizens Advice Bureau

2) Other Welfare organisations

3) Your Housing Association Welfare or Money Advisor

4) Roddons tenants – Sarah Jayne Goakes!

The local picture in Fenland

Sarah - Jayne Goakes (MIMA Cert) - Money Matters Officer

at Circle Roddons (based in March)

The local picture in Fenland……

The picture at Circle Housing Roddons…

• Stock transfer of Fenland District Council stock in 2007

• 4550 properties - Mixture of general needs, Sheltered & Extra Care

The picture at Circle Housing Roddons…Difficult to obtain up to date data from DWP/LA….•Last figures from Fenland District Council June 2015:22 cases in Fenland LA identified by DWP as meeting criteria for cap and claiming HB (8 not capped as rent below cap level) -Of those 41% are Circle tenants•Reviewed 01 Oct 2015:6 no longer affected- of those 2 now receiving full housing benefit, 2 have moved into employment

Affected tenants…How with the reduction affect those already capped? ………

Example:

Household- couple + 5 children (aged between 2-10 years)

Current cap reduces HB by £7.91 per week

Under the new cap the whole HB award will be capped leaving entitlement to only 50p per week! (Losing £111.49 per week)

Affected tenants…How with the reduction affect those already capped? ………

Example:

Single 25+ with 3 children claiming out of work benefit – under new cap HB cannot be above £92.55 per week.

Current rent for 3 bed property in March= £105.80 per week. (£97.66 over 52 weeks) Cap applied

= £5.11 per week loss of HB (£22 per month/ £265 per year)

Social rents in Fenland:Handout gives a rough guide to the level of rent that could push total household ‘welfare’ above cap limit

Support for tenants…..

Money Matters service

•For help checking and claiming applicable benefits, managing money and dealing with problem debt •Debt Relief Orders available

Support for tenants…..Circle Housing Money

Our Credit Union for customer of Circle Housing and Centra

Support – In partnership with Leeds City Credit Union.

Encouraging the savings culture and building a buffer to cope

better with changes.

Support for tenants…..• House Exchange

Designed by Circle Housing Group

A database of information given by tenants that

want to move.

House Exchange INSTANTLY lets you know what

matches you have on the system and by

registering for email alerts we can let you know as

soon as a new match registers.

Support for tenants…..

Circle Opportunities - Help and support with employmentand skills-http://circleopportunities.org.uk/

A new service is now being offered by staff at Community House in

Wisbech to address issues which may be a barrier to work- Funded by

DWP. Referrals will be made through JobCentrePlus, Circle Housing

Roddons & by contact to Community House on 01945 580309

communityhouse@fenland.gov.uk

CHS Group: Also a new project of free one-to-one coaching in conjunction with CHS Group.

Support for tenants…..

Energy Advisors

Energy Advisors can visit tenants at home to help

them: •Switch energy provider and save around

£200 per year •Figure out how their heating controls work

Simple things to see big saving on bills

Support for tenants…..

My Home Energy Switch

http://circle.sbmswitch.co.uk/

0800 088 2306•Online and telephone tariff comparison service •Guiding tenants through the switching process

Questions and Discussion

Any questions?

What do you think?

What will you do?

Thank you for attending! Sue Reynolds – Senior Money Matters AdvisorCHS Group, Endurance House, Chivers Way, Histon, Cambridge, CB24 9ZR

(01223) 713748

sue.reynolds@chsgroup.org.uk

Sarah - Jayne Goakes (MIMA Cert) - Money Matters OfficerCircle Housing Roddons, Beacon House, 23 Hostmoor Avenue, March, PE15 0AX

T 0800 111 6447 from a Landline

T 0300 333 6557 from a Mobile

www.circle.org.uk

www.twitter.com/chroddons

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