To receive an update on the roll out of Universal Credit. A representative from the Department for Works and Pensions will be present.
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed to the meeting Mr Andy Sherman of the Department for Work and Pensions.
Members received an update on the roll-out of Universal Credit which set out:
· Roll-out timetable
· Migration
· Impact so far
· Changes
· Relationship with DWP
The national Universal Credit roll-out for new claimants had gone live in December 2018, with Hythe, Ringwood and Lymington having commenced over the summer/autumn 2018. Stakeholder events were ongoing. A managed migration pilot of 10,000 claimants was planned for July 2019.
National migration will commence from November 2020 with an estimated timescale for NFDC of 2021 for existing Housing Benefit claimants.
In the New Forest, there were 4,113 working aged Housing Benefit claimants, of which 1,448 were Council tenants. The New Forest CAB will be assisting Universal Credit claimants from 1 April 2019, with Help to Claim, work funded by the DWP. A stakeholder event would be held on 6 March for stakeholders, including charity and voluntary sector representatives.
Mr Sherman, Senior Partnership Manager for Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, explained that the move to Universal Credit was the most major change in welfare systems in the last 50 years.
The number of Universal Credit claimants was 1.3 million. Natural migrations from traditional benefit to Universal Credit would happen if triggered by a change of circumstances. The smoothness of the transition locally was dependant on good communication and members were pleased to note that NFDC/DWP enjoyed a very good working relationship. Mr Sharman thanked NFDC officers for their excellent support in the roll out of Universal Credit. The Job Centres used ‘Work Coaches’ to move people into employment and out of poverty. The system was digital by default though there were other channels available as required. A member asked how many Work Coaches there were in each centre in the District and officers undertook to provide this to Panel members in due course.
Members quoted recent press reports where claimants moving to Universal Credit had suffered a two month delay. In reply Mr Sherman explained that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Amber Rudd MP, had made a recent speech in which she her Department would be looking at transitional payments and regularity of those payments.
Minimal natural migration had been observed so far. Support would be given to the vulnerable to ensure they were not disadvantaged by the process.
In response to a question, Mr Sherman explained that employment had increased and unemployment figures were the lowest for nearly 50 years with the highest level of vacancies ever at 853,000. It was confirmed that the combined benefits under Universal Credit were easy to administer and it was a quality, agile system which worked well despite some negative public perceptions.
There was a disability gap – the need for encouraging employers to be more flexible and take people with health issues. NFDC was a Disability Confident Employer.
The Chairman thanked Mr Sherman for his attendance and, on behalf of the Panel, thanked him and his team and the Council’s Benefits Team for helping to ensure the relationship between NFDC and the DWP was a positive and productive one.