Agenda item

            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  He referred to the crisis loan scheme which had been replaced by the DAF which was a cash limited fund which would initially run until March 2015.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 and Benefits Manager said that he was not aware of any tenant becoming homeless because of the changes in Welfare Reform.  He added that he did not have the details with him but there had not been as many arrears as it had thought there might  be.  He commented on the direct payments of rents to tenants and said that this had seen a 50% to 60% increase in arrears but it was not a straightforward issue and it was difficult to assess. 

            Councillor Peter Curtis commented on the Personal Independence Payments for disabled persons who previously received Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and raised significant concern that the benefit claimants were being included in the category ‘workers and shirkers’.  He felt that the situation would get worse.  He referred to the increase in rent arrears of £0.008k compared to the same period in 2012/13 and gave congratulations to the team involved for ensuring that claimants were given the best possible service.  Councillor Curtis felt that there was a need to reconsider the housing allocation policy and raised concern at comments that claimants could take in lodgers so that they did not have to pay the ‘bedroom tax’.  He welcomed the proactive stance taken by the Council and the help and support that was being provided to claimants if they needed and wanted it. 

            Councillor Marion Bateman thanked the Revenues and Benefits Manager and his team for their hard work and asked what was in place to deal with the problems caused by direct payments to tenants.  In response the Revenues and Benefits Manager commented on the safeguarding policy in place for those on Universal Credit which he detailed, which would protect landlords.  He added that the idea of Universal Credit was that people took control of their own finances. 

            Councillor Arnold Woolley echoed the comments of congratulations to the Revenues and Benefits Manager and his team.  He asked whether consideration had been given to sealing up bedrooms in oversized properties so that they could not available to be used by the tenants and therefore would not incur the ‘bedroom tax’.  The Revenues and Benefits Manager responded that the property would still be classed as containing the same number of bedrooms no matter what was done with it.  He added that tenants and/or landlords would still be receiving rent based on the number of bedrooms in the property, even if they were not all available for use. 

            Councillor Ron Hampson commented on the problems faced because of the ‘bedroom tax’ due to the lack of one and two bedroom properties.  He felt that the amount of rent arrears would increase which he felt would be a tremendous strain on the Council. 

            Councillor Clive Carver referred to the earlier comment about safeguarding payments to the landlord but queried what happened to tenants when the landlord was not paid.  The Revenues and Benefits Manager advised that if tenants were paid their housing benefit and this was not passed onto the landlord, then this was an issue for the landlord... 

            In response to a question from Councillor Richard Lloyd about whether landlords attended an accreditation scheme, the Revenues and Benefits Manager confirmed that no such scheme was in place.  Councillor Lloyd also asked what happened if tenants withheld rent because of issues with the rented property such as damp.  The Revenues and Benefits Manager explained that if there was a dispute about the property and the landlord contacted the Council, contact would then be made with the tenant and the rent payment could be withheld until the dispute was resolved.                          

            RESOLVED:

            That the report be noted.