Issue - meetings

Heather Clark (Economics),Service Development Manager, to present report.

Heather Clarke, Service Development Manager, introduced the report which outlined the approach taken to mitigate the negative impacts arising from the transition onto Universal Credit to claimants living in Wolverhampton.

The Service Development Manager introducedHelen Winfield, Head of Community Financial Support, to comment specifically on the work done by members of the Welfare Rights Team and other organisations to reduce the financial impact on residents when moving onto Universal Credit.

The Head of Community Financial Support outlined the background to the introduction of Universal Credit and the timetable for migrating of claimants to the benefit. The target is that all legacy benefit claimants will have been moved to Universal Credit by December 2023. The Head of Community Financial Support outlined the new changes to making a claim and the detailed conditions that have to be met, for example, the requirement for people to manage their account online to record actions and to update the DWP of any changes in circumstances.

The Head of Community Financial Support commented on the potential financial impact of not following the requirements and the subsequent increased demand of public services as a result of payment being suspended for a period.

The Head of Community Financial Support outlined the challenges facing residents in the transition to Universal Credit and the work being done to ensure that residents have access to the correct information and support. The Head of Community Financial Support commented on the challenge residents likely to face in dealing with the five week wait for the first payment, at a time when it is estimated that 20% of residents are in debt. In addition, a further challenge is the high number of claimants who lack the confidence to set up and manage their account online. A lot of work is being done to support people who are digitally excluded and may need help with personal budgeting. The work will be supported in the future from advisers based at  Wolverhampton CAB.

The Head of Community Financial Support updated the panel on the work being done with Wolverhampton Homes to reduce rental arrears and highlighted the importance of working with tenants. Wolverhampton Homes staff are based in DWP offices to provide financial checks to support Universal Credit claimants.

Wolverhampton Homes is reported as performing better than other housing providers in this area. The current average arrears are £430 for Wolverhampton Homes compared to £780 nationally.

The Head of Community Financial Support advised the panel of future developments in the rollout of Universal Credit from July 2019 to 2023 and the likely financial implications of the changes for Wolverhampton residents, who will have to comply with new rules. The Head of Community Financial Support highlighted the importance of having a correct email address when claimants making a claim and also the difficulties experienced by some people in in dealing with a complex set of rules and regulations.

The Head of Community Financial Support commented that the services is  supporting people who have difficulty in managing their  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6