Report of the Head of Work and Skills

This report provides an update on the implementation of welfare reform in Manchester. It analyses the impacts of welfare reforms on the city so far, specifically Universal Credit and the anticipated impact from the continued roll out. It summarises the City Council’s response to the reforms and where the City Council and partners have opportunities to focus efforts to mitigate some of the impacts in the future.

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Work and Skills, which provided an update on the implementation of welfare reform in Manchester. It analysed the impacts of welfare reforms on the city so far, specifically Universal Credit (UC) and the anticipated impact from the continued roll out. The report also summarised the Council’s response to the reforms and where the Council and partners had opportunities to focus efforts to mitigate some of the impacts in the future.

The Head of the Work and Skills referred to the main points and themes within the report which included:-

·                The economic context of the city, including worklessness levels, the number of UC claimants and the impact of macro economics on employment;

·                An overview of the various welfare reforms which had been introduced since 2012;

·                National research that had been undertaken on the impact of these welfare reforms on residents;

·                The development, purpose and findings of the Welfare Reform Monitoring report by the Council’s Performance, Research and Intelligence team;

·                The findings and recommendations from a Manchester Resident Impact Analysis of Universal Credit;

·                The risk of a rise in homelessness brought about by welfare reform;

·                The increased demand on the Council’s Welfare Provision Scheme and Advice Services; and

·                Examples of support provided by the Council which focussed on supporting residents moving into meaningful employment.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

·                A mitigating impact of Universal Credit was the speed of intervention and how quickly was the Council able to help residents affected by Universal Credit;

·                Was it possible for Local Authorities to share data around those facing multiple disadvantages with Utilities Companies, as highlighted in the Digital Economy act 2017, in order to improve targeting, and speed of intervention;

·                There was concern about the impact of Universal Credit and associated rental and Council Tax arrears and what help could the Council provide to those facing arrears;

·                It was proposed that the Council invited the Secretary for Work and Pension to Manchester to discuss with the Council and residents the challenges being faced by those affected by Universal Credit;

·                What was the relationship between the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) and Universal Credit as the LHA was set at a lower level in Wythenshawe compared to the rest of the City.

The Head of Work and Skills advised that in terms of speed of intervention and support, the Council had been able to identify people likely to be affected early by working with colleagues in Revenue and Benefits when the introduction of the benefit cap was introduced.  The Council had also commissioned services to be proactive in areas were people might be vulnerable, particularly in the private rented sector where landlords were unlikely to be providing advice to their tenants. 

In terms of sharing data with utility companies, the Council had had contact with United Utilities who had established a hardship map across the North West and was seeking the Councils help in populating to identify vulnerable households.  It was agreed that his would be explored further, as part of the Family Poverty work.

In terms of rent arrears, it was commented that the introduction and rollout of UC had had a clear impact.  Work was being undertaken with social landlords to ensure the right support was available for tenants who were vulnerable.  The Council had also commissioned services from Shelter and Citizens Advice Bureau to target private rented sector in areas where residents had historically relied on housing benefits to pay rents.  In terms of Council Tax support, there were proposals for additional support to be provided in order to mitigate the impact of Universal Credit which had been considered and supported by the Council’s Resources and Governance Scrutiny Committee in February 2019.

The Committee was advised that in terms of the impact of UC on LHA, a third of the median rent in an area was calculated into an individual’s benefits allowance which had consequences where the benefit allowance was not enough to begin with and UC meant that individuals had the responsibility for paying their own rent.  The Deputy Leader commented that in terms of LHA was one of the drivers for homelessness in the city and the Council was looking at how it could intervene earlier where people were struggling to afford to pay their rents.

Decision

The Committee:-

(1)       Agrees that the Chair of the Committee writes to Secretary for Work and Pension to invite her Manchester to discuss with the Council and residents the challenges being faced by those affected by Universal Credit and multiple reforms to the welfare system; and

(2)       Request that the Committee is provided with the report considered by the Resources and Governance Scrutiny Committee on the proposed changes to the Council’s Council Tax Support Scheme.