Issue - meetings

            That the report be noted. 

The Revenues and Benefits Manager introduced a report to update Members on the latest position regarding Welfare Reform. 

                        He detailed the background to the report explaining that it had been agreed that arrangements were needed to report on the operational aspects of managing Welfare Reform.  Members had received an update at a workshop in November 2013 and the report which was aligned to the Council’s performance reporting cycle had been submitted to Cabinet in March 2014 and Housing Overview & Scrutiny Committee in April 2014.  He provided details on the following key areas:-

·        Benefit Cap

·        Maximum Rent Social Sector (MRSS)

·        Council Tax Reduction Scheme

·        Discretionary Assistance Fund (DAF)

·        Personal Independence Payments

·        Universal Credit (UC)

·        Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP)

·        Welfare Reform Training and Development Programme

·        Welfare Reform Response Team (WRRT)

The Leader of the Council thanked the Revenues and Benefits Manager for the detailed report.  He detailed the reasons for its submission to other forums and said that the Council should be proud that it had gone above and beyond what other Councils had done in the United Kingdom and it meant that the Council was not fire-fighting.  On the issue of Universal Credit, he said that the Council had not asked to be part of the pilot scheme and Shotton was the only area in Wales that had been selected.  The point of the report was that once the Welfare Reform board had been dissolved and all was operational, there had been a need to ensure that all involved received updates, which he hoped Members welcomed and would continue to receive them in the future. 

            Councillor Paul Shotton thanked officers for the report but stated that he found aspects of the information reported to members about the impacts of welfare reform concerning.  He referred to the crisis loan scheme which had been replaced by the DAF which was a cash limited fund which would initially run until March 2015.  He asked whether a scheme would be put in place to replace the DAF when it ceased.  He commented on the loophole within the MRSS (commonly known as Bedroom Tax) which had since been closed and the undertaking by Councils in London to move benefit claimants out of London because of the Benefit Cap.  Councillor Shotton raised concern about the distress caused due to the delay in processing Personal Independence Payments and asked whether any processes were in place to rectify the problems experienced.  He spoke of the Universal Credit pilot scheme in Shotton which had resulted in three claims being received and welcomed the comment that support would be provided for those affected at the Connah’s Quay Council and Citizen’s Advice Bureau offices.  In response, the Revenues and Benefits Manager advised that the DAF scheme in England would not be available from April 2015 but an announcement for Wales was still awaited. 

            Councillor Ian Smith queried whether any tenants had been made homeless and asked whether tenants were building up rent arrears because of the ‘bedroom tax’.  In response, the Revenues  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92