FINANCE Exchequer Services SUBJECT MATTER: UNIVERSAL

EXECUTIVE DECISION NOTICE

SERVICE AREA: FINANCE Exchequer Services

SUBJECT MATTER: UNIVERSAL CREDIT DELIVERY PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT - 28 OCTOBER 2013 TO 31 MARCH 2014

DECISION: To authorise the Council to enter into a second Delivery Partnership Agreement with the Department of Work and Pensions and to continue as a Pathfinder Authority to test the implementation of Universal Credit on a specified category of claimants from 28 October 2013 to 29th March 2014, as detailed in Appendix One of this report.

DECISION TAKER(S): .. Councillor Jim Fitzpatrick

DESIGNATION OF DECISION First Deputy (Finance and Performance) TAKER(S):

DATE OF DECISION: 17 October 2013

REASON FOR DECISION: The Council and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) are now in a position to extend the activities currently undertaken as a Pathfinder authority. The Delivery Partnership Agreement (DPA) provides the mechanism to approve the activities to be undertaken as a Pathfinder from 28 October 2013 to 29 March 2014. The DPA protects the Council's position by outlining the expected tasks and funding arrangements to be undertaken by local authority staff during the second Pathfinder period and termination of the Agreement should it be necessary.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS Universal Credit is a new central Government Policy. REJECTED (if any): Pathfinder is the mechanism by which Universal Credit will be tested ahead of national roll-out. We could have chosen not to be Pathfinder authority however we would not have had the opportunity to influence the process and prepare claimants and stakeholders for this major policy change.

CONSUL TEES: None

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There are no additional direct financial implications from this report. Any costs in relation to Universal Credit Pathfinder (Authorised by Borough will be met from existing revenue budgets. Treasurer)

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS: The Council has power to enter into the agreement under section 1 of the Localism Act 2011. The report details that (Authorised by Borough whilst the claimant category affected by the pilot will receive Solicitor) Universal Credit earlier; the Council has sought reassurance from the DWP that claimants will be no worse off. The DWP have confirmed this to be the case. The Delivery Partnership Agreement outlines the parties obligations under the Pathfinder and confirms the Council's willingness to

DPAv06d - 1- participate.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None

DISPENSATION GRANTED BY Not Applicable STANDARDS COMMITTEE ATTACHED: . ACCESS TO INFORMATION: Background papers are available from lIys Cookson, Assistant Executive Director - Exchequer, [email protected], 0161 3424056.

Signed ...... ~ .. ~.. ~.7¥-±l ...... Date ....I.J .. l..~.~.l.~.}.. : ...... coun'Jillor Jim Fltzpatrick- First Deputy (Finance and Performance)

DPAv06d ·2- / EXECUTIVE DECISION REPORT

SERVICE AREA: FINANCE Exchequer Services

SUBJECT MATTER: UNIVERSAL CREDIT DELIVERY PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT- 28 OCTOBER 2013 TO 31 MARCH 2014

DATE OF DECISION: 17 October 2013

DECISION TAKER Councillor Jim Fitzpatrick - First Deputy

. REPORTING OFFICER: lIys Cookson - Assistant Executive Director - Borough Treasurer (Exchequer and Support Services)

REPORT SUMMARY: This report outlines the progress undertaken by local authority staff and DWP during the first phase of Pathfinder which commenced on 29 April 2013. The expected activities to be undertaken during the second Pathfinder phase from 28 October 2013 to 29 March 2014 are contained in the Delivery Partnership Agreement which now requires formal approval.

RECOMMENDATIONS: To authorise the Council to enter into a second Delivery Partnership Agreement with the Department of Work and Pensions and to continue as a Pathfinder Authority to test the implementation of Universal Credit on a specified category of claimants from 28 October 2013 to 29th March 2014, as detailed in Appendix One of this report.

JUSTIFICATION FOR The Council and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) DECISION: are now in a position to extend the period of operation of Pathfinder activities by a further six months. The Delivery Partnership Agreement (DPA) provides the mechanism to approve the activities to be undertaken as a Pathfinder from 28 October 2013 to 29 March 2014. The DPA protects the Council's position by outlining the expected tasks and funding arrangements to be undertaken by local authority staff during the second Pathfinder period and termination of the Agreement should it be necessary.

CONSUL TEES: None.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: There are no additional direct financial implications from this report. Any costs in relation to Universal Credit Pathfinder will (Authorised by Borough be met from existing revenue budgets Treasurer)

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS: The Council has power to enter into the agreement under section 1 of the Localism Act 2011. The report details that DPAv06d - 3 - (Authorised by Borough whilst the claimant category affected by the pilot will receive Solicitor) Universal Credit earlier; the Council has sought reassurance from the DWP that claimants will be no worse off. The DWP have confirmed this to be the case. The Delivery Partnership Agreement outlines the parties obligations under the Pathfinder and confirms the Council's willingness to participate.

RISK MANAGEMENT: The risks are contained in Section 7 of this report.

LINKS TO COMMUNITY The support and advice provided to claimants and Landlords PLAN: during Pathfinder links with Prosperous Tameside and Supportive Tameside themes.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION: Background papers are available from lIys Cookson, Assistant Executive Director - Exchequer, [email protected], 0161 3424056.

DPAv06d -4- 1 Background

1.1 The Welfare Reform Act, 2012, legislates for the biggest change to the welfare system for over 60 years and introduces a wide range of welfare reforms such as Universal Credit, the abolition of Council Tax Benefit, under occupancy charges (the bedroom tax), and reforms for disabled claimants in moving from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

1.2 One of the main elements of the Welfare Reform Act is the introduction of Universal Credit (UC) to provide a single streamlined benefit. Universal Credit includes child tax credit, working tax credits, Employment Support Allowance (ESA), Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) , Income Support and Housing Benefit. Applications will only be received on-line and will be assessed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). The DWP has administered UC from April 2013 and will continue to do so until UC is rolled out nationally on a phased basis through to the end of 2017.

1.3 The purpose of Pathfinder is to trial UC in a live environment ahead of national roll-out. Upon the basis of preparing and supporting residents and taking the opportunity to shape and influence the delivery of UC as much as possible, the decision was taken for Tameside to be a Pathfinder authority and trial UC in specific postcode areas and on a specific claimant category.

1.4 A key issue in the decision to become a Pathfinder authority was the concern that there was the potential for claimants to be worse off if they lived in a Pathfinder area than if they claimed legacy benefits and lived in a non-Pathfinder area. The Permanent Secretary, Robert Devereaux gave a commitment that there would be no cash loss for any claimant involved in Pathfinder.

2 Introduction

2.1 Pathfinder activities commenced in Tameside on 29 April 2013 and is due to end on 27 October 2013. The operation of activities to support the implementation of Pathfinder in Ol6, Ol7, M43 and SK16 postcode areas was detailed in the Delivery Partnership Agreement (DPA) which was approved alongside an Operational Readiness Certificate by Executive Decision on 26 April 2013.

2.2 The purpose of the DPA is to formalise the agreement to work with DWP on Pathfinder activities. The DPA includes the management information to be collected on UC, data protection and freedom of information requirements, outlines the tasks expected to be undertaken by both parties, funding arrangements and termination arrangements should this be necessary by either the Councilor the DWP.

2.3 In order to continue with Pathfinder activities a further DPA is required. The original DPA expires on 27 October 2013 and therefore a new DPA is required for activities which will take place from 28 October 2013 to 29 March 2014.

2.4 Three other Greater Manchester authorities also became Pathfinders in testing the new Universal Credit benefit and also operate Pathfinder activities under a DPA. Oldham Warrington and Wigan Councils went live in July 2013. A further six Councils and Job Centre Plus (JCP) Offices are to commence Pathfinder activities between October 2013 and March 2014. The six areas are: Inverness, Rugby, Harrogate, Bath, Hammersmith and Shotton.

2.5 Universal Credit will continue to be administered by the DWP to the specified claimant category in Ashton, Droylsden and Dukinfield beyond October 2013. DWP have agreed to continue to fund some of the Pathfinder activities undertaken to support residents such as DPAv06d - 5- personal budgeting support. However the amount of funding is less than that previously allocated and is based on actual support provided. The DWP have requested all four Greater Manchester Pathfinders to continue funded activities until March 2014.

3 Pathfinder Progress

3.1 It is important to consider the outcomes of the activities undertaken at local level to support Pathfinder and also the DWP progress report, alongside the national UC picture and in particular the National Audit Office report released in September 2013 which focussed on the UC programme management arrangements.

4 Progress in Tameside:

4.1 Progress of Pathfinder in Tameside has been documented in a draft Progress Report by the DWP. The Progress Report can be seen in Appendix Two.

4.2 The DWP report reviewed the progress of Pathfinder activities in the first:phase. Governance arrangements and funding arrangements have been adhered to and issues are documented and discussed at the monthly meetings with UC colleagues and quarterly at the Strategic Board meetings with the Chief Executive.

4.3 Partnership Forum Meetings are held between Chief Executives, UC Programme Directors and chaired by the Local Government Association. The objective of the Partnership Forum Meetings is to better work in partnership with DWP to influence the UC Programme Board in taking UC forward. The Programme Board is the most senior decision making body for the entire UC programme. It is important that as a Pathfinder we continue to provide information to the Partnership Forum, particularly as Tameside's Chief Executive represents all regional Pathfinders at the meetings.

4.4 Applications for UC were initially estimated to be approximately 300 a month in Tameside based on statistical analysis by the DWP. This represented a very small claimant category upon which to 'test' UC processes (when compared to the current housing benefit and council tax support caseload, and when compared to the same claimant category in other Pathfinder authorities). The reality is that the actual numbers of claimants applying for UC in Tameside are lower than these estimated figures.

4.5' During Pathfinder we have:

• Provide expertise to UC Service Centre staff on complex housing issues; • Supported claimants to get on-line and stay on-line; • Processed Council Tax Support for UC claimants using manual processes; • Supported DWP Job Centres to get claimants back into work via Universal Job Match; • Supported claimants with complex needs and those that require personal budgeting support via CAB; • Worked with Landlords, claimants, stakeholders and advice agencies to prepare for UC.

4.6 The majority of claimants do make their claim on-line either at home or in local Job Centre Plus Offices according to the DWP with relatively few coming to the Council to make their UC application. Of those that do require support, approximately half require a lot of support in completing the on-line application form.

4.7 On-line support is available at the Hub and in some libraries to assist in the completion of the UC application form and in job searches such as the Universal Job Match. Support for claimants with limited IT skills is resource intensive.

DPAv06d - 6- 4.8 To date we have had a small number of complex cases which we have worked with the DWP to resolve and ensure that payment is made to claimants within the specified timescales. In some cases UC Regulations have been put in place to address the specific circumstances of the claims.

5 National Progress:

5.1 The DWP are focussing now on the 'culture change' that they believe is needed to change claimant behaviours in making being in work pay.

5.2 The local Support Services Framework document (lSSF) details DWP thinking on the role of local authorities will play in supporting claimants on the wider roll-out of UC. The second iteration of this document is due out in October and an expected date for roll-out of lSSF is sometime in 2014.

5.3 A ministerial advisory group has been proposed to examine the impact of UC in the context of wider welfare reform.

5.4 The National Audit Office issued a report in September 2013 on the UC project. The Head of the National Audit Office, Amyas Morse, summarised the report findings as follows:

"The Department's plans for Universal Credit were driven by an ambitious timescale, and this led to the adoption of a systems development approach new to the Department. The relatively high risk trajectory was not, however, matched by an appropriate management approach. Instead, the programme suffered from weak management, ineffective control and poor governance. Universal Credit could well go on to achieve considerable benefits if the Department learns from these early setbacks and puts realistic plans and strong discipline in place for its future roll-out."

5.5 The new Director of UC Implementation, Howard Shiplee, wrote to the Chief Executives of Pathfinder authorities to confirm that the DWP document of Strategic Intent released in August (prior to the NAO report) was a stock take of progress on the UC programme and that the fundamental issues identified by previous Programme Directors had been addressed.

6 Expected Pathfinder Activities

. 6.1 The funding available from the DWP to support Pathfinder activities in the second phase is lower than that which was originally available. Funding will, in future, be payment based on outcomes rather than a fixed fee.

6.2 The DPA for the second phase including funding arrangements and the Operational Readiness Certificate, are detailed at Appendix One.

6.3 Further funded activities are broadly the same as those undertaken previously with the exception of providing local communications and publicity and the development of an implementation guide as Wigan Council are leading on this.

6.4 The claimant category upon which the next phase is to be based remains the same as follows

Claimants must:

• live in the specified postcode area of Ol6, Ol7, M43 and SK16 (Ashton, Droylsden and Dukinfield) but not be homeless, in supported or temporary accommodation or a homeowner;

DPAv06d -7- • be single, with no dependent children, a British citizen and aged between 18 years and 60 years and 6 months; • be fit for work; • not be pregnant or be within 15 weeks after the expected date of birth; • not be receiving existing benefits (including Housing Benefit) or Tax Credits or awaiting a decision on, or be appealing against, a decision not to award any of those; • not be in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP); • have expected take home pay no higher than £270 per month (under 25s) or £330 per month (25 or over) and not have savings in excess of £6,000; • not have any caring responsibilities; • not be self-employed, in education or have to rely on an appointee; and • have a valid bank account and National Insurance Number.

6.5 Other DWP funded activities to be undertaken and which were undertaken in the first phase are:

• Continue to provide expertise to UC Service Centre staff on complex housing issues; • Continue to support claimants to get on-line and stay on-line in Ashton only; • Continue to process Council Tax Support for UC claimants using manual processes; • Continue to support DWP Job Centres to get claimants back into work; • Continue to support claimants with complex needs and those that require personal budgeting support; • Continue to work with Landlords to prepare for UC.

6.6 Personal budgeting support (PBS) will continue to be provided by Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB). A waiver report under the Procurement Standing Orders will be required to approve this. As with other Pathfinder authorities Tameside does not provide personal budgeting support as a core activity. A cross authority group comprising the Benefits Service, Welfare Rights appointed a third sector provider to undertake this work. CAB, having recently moved into the Ashton Council Offices, are well placed to provide this support. CAB are contracted to help claimants with on-line form completion, register with universal job match and complete applications for CTS until 29 March 2014.

6.7 In Pathfinder to date, referrals from the DWP to access personal budgeting support are very low, however following discussion with CAB and DWP our proposal to trial personal budgeting support with Job Seekers Allowance claimants was accepted .. It is important that we encourage DWP to identify more UC claimants to take up PBS as a growing number of UC claimants are seeking an advance payment of UC within the first weeks of their claim as many cannot manage their money to last the 5 weeks from the first of claim to payment as the assessment period for UC is 4 weeks.

6.8 Other activities that we will continue to undertake are the promotion of UC via:

• Money information Network Tameside (MiNT) is working with Registered Social Landlords (RSL's) providing budgeting support in addition to that provided by CAB. • Benefits Bus. The bus hasattended specific Pathfinder postcode areas to promote understanding of UC and more visits are planned.

7 Risks

7.1 The key risks identified in being a Pathfinder were originally identified as being:

• Testing UC in a live environment; • UC claimants experiencing cash losses than if they had remained on legacy benefits;

DPAv06d - 8- • Reputational damage for the Council; • Termination of UC and CAB contract for personal budgeting support.

7.2 Each UC claim has, to date, been micro-managed by the DWP Processing Centre staff and payment of UC to claimants appears to have taken place on time and without issue.

7.3 The most significant risk identified in agreeing to take part in Pathfinder was the concern that claimants of UC would be worse off than if they had stayed on legacy benefits. The Permanent Secretary, Robert Devereaux, provided written assurance that, 'there will be no cash loss for any claimant involved in the Pathfinder' in a letter to the Chief Executive on 19 April 2013. The DPA for the period up to Match 2014 also includes this assurance.

7.4 The DPA seeks to minimise emerging risks by setting out the tasks expected to be undertaken by local authority staff.

7.5 A potential risk to the Council identified prior to Pathfinder commencing was reputational damage if UC did not work as expected. However the Council is not directly administering payment of UC as that is the responsibility of the DWP. While every effort has been made by our staff to work with DWP to make the Pathfinder a success, the safety net, should significant problems arise which cannot be resolved, is that a termination clause exists within the DPA of one month's notice for either party. Clearly this would only be used where serious and fundamental issues emerge in the processing or payment of UC claims which could not be resolved.

7.6 A further identified risk should the agreement be terminated before the natural end of the Pathfinder is the contract in place between the CAB for the provision of personal budgeting support. The Council has contracted CAB to provide personal budgeting support as part of UC Pathfinder using DWP monies. The contract between the Council and CAB will be extended until 29 March 2014.

7.7 The risks identified in the second phase of Pathfinder remain the same as those previously identified and steps have been taken to minimise the risks, as detailed above, and these will continue to be monitored.

8 Next Steps

8.1 We will continue to work with the DWP to address the following issues:

8,1.1 IT: Issues remain in terms of manual processes and. Claimants living in the Pathfinder area can no longer claim JSA online.

8.1.2 Personal Budgeting Support: Data sharing agreement needs to be in place which results in a manual process to obtain consent. There have minimal referrals to date in Pathfinder due to the types of claimants and therefore Pathfinder LA's are unable to shape/comment on this process. Information on how potential impacts and PBS support requirements will be identified when migrating over in large numbers is not yet known. The concern is that the DWP will ascertain that funding is very minimal in this area, which it will be for this client group, but as UC numbers increase so too will the demand for these services.

8.1.3 Data sharing and fraud: Early learning from Pathfinder has demonstrated concerns of fraud and error as neither is being identified in the DWP processing centres. The claims are currently being micro-managed by DWP whilst numbers are low, however, this micro managing is not sustainable in the longer term.

8.1.4 Customer journey: Customer journey is such that claimants find themselves providing data to various government agencies. Such processes used to exist historically and have been eradicated for a number of years now however as UC

DPAv06d - 9- numbers increase, no automation of data sharing means this will become more and more burdensome on both the LA and the customer.

8.1.5 Local Support Services Framework (LSSF) not yet detailed enough to enable Councils to shape services to meet emerging demands. It is essential that the details and associated funding arrangements are available as soon as possible.

8.1.6 Migration plan: This is the biggest area of concern for local authorities. Plans for migration of other claimant categories must be made available <;It the earliest opportunity to enable LA's to prepare resources and residents. DWP claim they will share plans as soon as they are available. National roll-out has been announced for a further 6 jobcentres from October, but this is on a phased approach, the last jobcentre not going live until March 2014.

8.1.7 Claimant categories: Client group is not being extended up to March 2014.

8.1.8 On-line access support: For roll-out, online access to both make the initial UC claim and to maintain theUC claim will be required (self-reporting, UC Jobmatch, searching for work). Online public access will not be sustainable in large numbers even with the additional PC's being available in Job Centre Plus Offices.

8.1.9 Fraud: It is already known that there are fraudulent claims in the UC Pathfinder system, however as yet there has apparently been no fraud awareness training for the DWP benefit processing staff.

8.1.10 Pathfinder extension: It is possible that we will be expected to continue being a Pathfinder beyond April 2014. Notwithstanding these issues it is important to work with DWP colleagues toaddress issues as they emerge and to shape the UC process for the benefit of our residents.

9 Conclusions

9.1 UC has broadly operated as expected to date. The claimant category is to remain the same as that for the first phase of Pathfinder and the plan for national roll-out is not yet known.

9.2 The DWP gave assurances that no claimants would lose out financially as a result of being a Pathfinder. The DPA includes a further assurance.

9.3 The DWP now requires a signed formal agreement (the Delivery Partnership Agreement and Operational Readiness Certificate) to continue with Pathfinder until March 2014.

10 Recommendations

10.1 As set out at the front of the report.

DPAv06d -10 - DATED 2013

(1) DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS

and

(2) TAMESIDE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL

UNIVERSAL CREDIT DELIVERY PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

DPAv06d - 11- CONTENTS

.1. BACKGROUND ...... 13 2. PARTICIPATION IN PROGRESSIVE NATIONAL ROLL OUT...... 14 3. PAYMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT ...... 14 4. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION ...... ,...... 14 5. GOVERNANCE ...... 15 6. CHANGE CONTROL ...... 15 7. DATA PROTECTION AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ...... 16 .!! CONFIDENTIALITY ...... 16 .!! TERMINATION ...... 16 10 RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES ...... 16 11 SEVERABILITY ...... 16 12 DISPUTE RESOLUTION ...... 17 13 LAW AND JURISDICTION ...... 17 14 INTERPRETATION ...... 17

DPAv06d - 12- THIS AGREEMENT is made on 2013

BETWEEN:-

(1) THE DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS wh.ose principal place of business is at Caxton House, Tothill Street, London, SW1H 9NA (the Department); and

(2) TAMESIDE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL of Council Offices, Wellington Road, Ashton under-Lyne, Tameside OL6 6DL ("the Council")

IT IS AGREED as follows:-

1. BACKGROUND 1.1. A feasibility review undertaken in the summer of 2012 identified areas of new challenge for claimants of Universal Credit in certain circumstances. These are: • Making initial contact through the best channel; • Getting online to make and then manage their claim; • Receiving budgeting support to become financially self-sufficient.

1.2. From April to October 2013 the Department has had Delivery Partnership Agreements CDPAs") in place with local authorities in the Pathfinder areas to ensure that people in such circumstances can readily obtain the support they need to access Universal Credit services and to move closer to and into work wherever possible. 1.3. Partnership working between agencies involved with providing services to claimants with complex needs is seen as the key enabler to unlocking the potential in claimants with additional requirements. 1.4. The Council has agreed to continue providing support to UC claimants from 28 October 2013 on the continued basis that as the claimant group has not changed, the principles outlined in the letter from Robert Devereux, dated 19 April 2013 referred to in the Universal Credit Pathfinder Delivery Partnership Agreement dated 26 April 2013 still applies. Any cash losers identified will be referred to the Department. 1 :5. As such the Department and the Council have agreed to participate in UC progressive national roll out from 28 October 2013 to 29 March 2014 in accordance with this DPA. 1.6. The Department will work in partnership with the Council, to deliver the services required by these claimants, recognising that the Council will deliver its services (as set out in Schedule 1) at a local level in a flexible and responsive way that makes the best use of its existing local capacity, infrastructure, partners and supply chains. 1.7. Partnership working is crucial to the delivery of this agreement and will lay the foundations upon which the Local Support Services Framework will be developed and subsequently delivered. The following partnering principles will apply as the Department and the Council move forward. The Department and the Council are:

• committed to working together to improve performance, efficiency and the quality of claimants' experience of services;

• in agreement that they have key roles to play in identifying, leading and participating in partnerships working;

DPAv06d -13 - • in agreement that, wherever possible, partnership working should be based on and leveraged against infrastructure and services that are already in place, building on existing successful partnerships and taking leaming from these successful models;

• in agreement that they will continue to seek, through discussion, opportunities to further help to develop, test and trial the early implementation of any jointly agreed initiatives and best practice that will further support the ambitions of the wider Department and the Council and other local authorities in the delivery of the Local Support Services Framework.

1.8. It is also acknowledged that the Department may require the continuation of these services (or similar) post 29 March 2014 subject to availability of funding and the terms and agreement of a further DPA between the Department and the Council ..

2. PARTICIPATION IN UC PROGRESSIVE NATIONAL ROLL OUT 2.1 Each of the Department and the Council shall participate in UC Progressive National Roll Out, performing the acts, functions and roles assigned to it by the Parties in accordance with the outline of the services and activities set out in Schedule 1. 2.2 The Council shall inform the Department in writing of the identity of any organisation which the Council employs or engages to assist the Council in performing any act on behalf of the Councilor in performing any of the functions or roles of the Council in the UC Progressive National Roll Out. 2.3 Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to constitute a partnership under the Partnership Act 1890 or the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, joint venture, agency, interest grouping or any other kind of formal business grouping or entity between the Department and the Council.

3. PAYMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT 3.1 The Department will pay the Council on presentation to the Department by the Council of a valid invoice in such form and containing such information as the Department reasonably requires for the costs incurred by the Council in providing those services and activities and in accordance with the funding arrangements set out in schedule 2. Payment will be subject to validation by the Department which may include additional information being requested by the Department 3.2 Subject to clause 3.1 the Department will pay the Council for the costs incurred by the Council in providing the services and undertaking the activities set out in Schedule 2 during the month for which the invoice is presented within 20 Business Days of the date of the presentation of the invoice

4. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION 4.1 The Council will provide the following information each month to the Department and on an 'ad-hoc' basis (as agreed by parties on an exceptional basis), in such format and/or media as the Department reasonably requires: • Number of claims requiring one to one support (i.e. assistance needed in order to complete the claim process) • Volume of referrals to personal budgeting support received; • Volume of referrals to personal budgeting support that resulted in telephone advice by the Council (or provider) • Volume of referrals to personal budgeting support that resulted in face to face advice by the Council (or provider) • For each claimant, details of:

DPAv06d - 14- o Date referral received from the Department o Personal budgeting support provision details - date, channel(s), frequency, offering o Outcomes i.e. completed action plan and/or knowledge check o Failure of claimant to attend and reason why o If alternative payment arrangements can be removed because claimant now able to manage • Number of claimants referred to the Department from the Council for personal budgeting support/alternative payment arrangements. • Number of manual applications to Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme processed • Number and substance of complaints, concerns or specific issues received from individual claimants

5. GOVERNANCE 5.1 The services and activities to be undertaken by the Council will be monitored during the life of this agreement through: • Monthly review meetings that will take place between the Council and the Department at a working level • Quarterly review meetings will take place between the Council's Chief Executive, and the District Manager (DWP) or their nominated representatives Such reviews shall include (but are not limited to) (i) the impact of the services delivered by the Council upon claimants under UC progressive national roll out; (ii) any specific issues received or raised by either party; (iii) the performance of the wider obligations of the Department and Council under this DPA; .and (iv) any complaints received. 5.2 The Council will attend the Department's governance meetings as appropriate. 5.3 The Council will participate in the Department's evaluation process, to support continuous improvement and inform the future roll out of Universal Credit. This will include interviews of the Council's staff and third party service providers, where appropriate. The feedback from the evaluation interviews will be kept anonymous. 5.4 The Department's Partnership Manager and the Council's Cabinet Member for [insert title of the relevant Cabinet Member] shall use reasonable endeavours to resolve all issues and differences arising out of or in connection with this Agreement by means of prompt discussions. 5.5 If the Council has a query relating to Universal Credit, in the first instance, the Council will attempt to resolve the query from existing guidance. If the query remains unresolved, the Council will complete the LA Issue Resolution Template and forward the query to the [insert email address set up by District] inbox for resolution. The Department will seek to resolve queries submitted within 5 Business Days and in exceptional circumstances within 10 working days except where the query relates to a customer where the query should be resolved as soon as possible and within a maximum of 5 Business Days. 5.6 If the Department has a query relating to UC for the Council to resolve, the Council will seek to resolve queries submitted within 5 Business Days and in exceptional circumstances within 10 Business Days except where the query relates to a customer. In these circumstances the query should be resolved as soon as possible and within a maximum of 5 Business Days.

6. CHANGE CONTROL 6.1 Either the Department or the Council may propose a variation to the activities listed, in writing (including but not limited to electronic mail) to the other, and the other shall confirm in writing (including but not limited to electronic mail) to the Party who proposed the variation, whether it agrees or does not agree to the variation as soon as practicable and in any event within 25 Business Days.

DPAv06d - 15- 6.2 Immediately upon agreement by the other in accordance with clause 6.1 above, the Department's nominated signatory and the Council's nominated signatory shall sign a variation whereupon the Parties shall be bound by those terms.

7. DATA PROTECTION AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION 7.1 Each Party shall comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 which arise in connection with this Agreement. 7.2 Each Party in relation to Personal Data supplied by it to the other will be the Data Controller and the other will be the Data Processor. A Party will not Process Personal Data except as necessary for performance of the UC Progressive National Roll Out objectives, nor transfer it to any country or territory outside the European Economic Area. 7.3 From time to time either Party may receive requests for information relating to this Agreement and/or UC Progressive National Roll Out. In such an event, the other Party will do all things reasonably necessary to assist the Party, who received the request, in meeting the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 within the timescales set out in it.

8. CONFIDENTIALITY 8.1 Both Parties must ensure that they (and any person they employ or engage) only use Confidential Information belonging to the other for the purposes of UC Progressive National Roll Out and neither Party shall disclose Confidential Information of the other without the other's prior written consent. 8.2 . Both Parties shall be allowed to disclose Confidential Information to any person who they employ or engage in connection with UC Progressive National Roll Out provided that that other person is bound by confidentiality obligations substantially the same as those set out in this clause 8. 8.3 This clause 8 shall continue to apply after this Agreement has ended but it shall not apply at any time to information which is or comes into the public domain or which is required to be disclosed by law or to an auditor or regulator of a Party.

9. TERMINATION 9.1 Each Party shall have the right to terminate their participation in UC progressive national roll out at any time by giving 1 month's written notice to the other. Notwithstanding clause 9.2, termination or expiry of UC progressive national roll out shall be without prejudice to any rights, remedies or obligations of either Party accrued under this Agreement prior to termination or expiry. 9.2 In the event of either Party terminating their involvement under clause 9.1, the Department shall reimburse to the Council any properly and reasonably committed expenditure of the Council which is within the funding envelope set out in Schedule 2 only to the extent that such expenditure has or will have been incurred by the Council and cannot be avoided or mitigated despite the use by the Council of its best endeavours

10. RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES 10.1 A person, who is not a Party to this Agreement, has no right to enforce any term of this Agreement.

11. SEVERABILITY 11.1 If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be severed and the remainder of the provisions hereof shall continue in full force and effect as if this Agreement had been executed with the invalid provision eliminated.

DPAv06d - 16- 12. DISPUTE RESOLUTION 12.1 The Parties shall attempt in good faith to negotiate a settlement to any dispute between them arising out of or in connection with this Agreement within 35 Business Days of a Party notifying the other of the dispute and such efforts shall involve the escalation of the dispute to chief officer level in the Council and Universal Credit Programme director level in the Department.

13. LAW AND JURISDICTION 13.1 Subject to the provisions of clause 12.1, the Department and the Council accept the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts and agree that this Agreement is to be governed by and construed according to English Law.

14. INTERPRETATION 14.1 Schedule 3 shall have effect.

DPAv06d - 17- SIGNED on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions by an Authorised Signatory

Authorised Signatory

SIGNED on behalf of TAMESIDE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL by an Authorised Signatory

Authorised Signatory

DPAv06d - 18- SCHEDULE 1

UNIVERSAL CREDIT SERVICE PROVISION

PART 1

The Department will:

o provide reasonable support to the Council in the development and implementation of local service provision; o provide timely and relevant guidance and products to inform delivery of local service provision; o provide timely data to support the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme. Subject to the claimant's consent such information to include a breakdown of housing costs for. each claimant.

PART 2

The Council will:

o ensure agreed local service provision is available from 28 October 2013;· o comply with the Department's governance and evaluation processes which are notified to the Council in writing; o monitor the impact and take appropriate actions to mitigate the impact on current business relating to administering the housing benefit provision as a result of the introduction of UC; o inform the Department of any potential barriers to the delivery of local service provision; o participate in discussions with the Department, pursuant to the Partnering Principles, that will further support the ambitions of the wider Department and Local Authorities in the delivery of the Local Support Services Framework. Where deemed appropriate, and as a result of those discussions, any resultant changes to this Agreement will be subject to agreement in accordance with the Change Control procedures contained in this Agreement.

The Council will undertake the following services and activities:

• Provide expertise to UC Service Centre staff for complex housing issues that may arise. This will achieved through: o Identifying named points of contact for Universal Credit Service Centre staff o Responding timeously to Universal Credit Service Centre queries

• Support for claimants to get on-line and stay on line. This will be achieved through: o Identifying PC/public internet sites across Ashton under Lyne o Identifying which of these locations will have trained staff present to provide 'supported access'; o Publicising these services to residents of Ashton under Lyne o Providing the necessary Management Information to support number of claimants assisted.

• Manual processing for Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme. This will be achieved through: o Providing the necessary resource to undertake this activity; o Agreement to data set that will be provided by the Department; o Manually inputting agreed data into the Council's systems;

DPAv06d - 19- o Responding to the Department's queries around Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme; o Providing the necessary Management Information.

• Support to DWP Jobcentres to get Universal Credit claimants into work. This will be achieved through: o Educating UC claimants in PClinternet use to rnake them a better proposition to perspective employers; o Helping Universal Credit claimants and residents of Ashton under Lyne in setting up Universal Job Match accounts in those cases where support for on-line access is required, building upon the close working between Ashton- under- Lyne Jobcentre and Tameside Local Authority.

• Support for claimants with complex needs and in particular those who require personal budgeting support. Thiswill be achieved through: o Processing personal budgeting support referrals from the Department including those claimants who have alternative payment arrangements; o Identifying the appropriate channel, frequency and provider to deliver personal budgeting support (may not be the Council) and referring the claimant to the right place within the set time frame - set at 2 weeks; o Providing (or arranging provision of) telephone or face to face Personal budgeting support and follow up action as appropriate; o Report the outcomes of Personal budgeting support provision against the agreed outcome measures; knowledge check, budgeting action plan; o Working with Credit Unions and others to support claimants in getting suitable bank accounts for Universal Credit; o Providing the necessary Management Information relating to personal budgeting support including the number of claimants assisted; o Referring claimants to the Department who need personal budgeting support (but have been missed in the core process); o Referring claimants to the Department who may need an alternative payment arrangement e.g. because of rent arrears or vulnerability.

• Work with Universal Credit Programme in preparing landlords' (particularly Registered Providers) .. This will be achieved through: . o Hosting landlord forum for Universal Credit; o Working with landlords to help get claimants on-line o Signposting landlord queries to the Department for resolution; o Promoting the appropriate use of online channels within the RSL community in Tameside

DPAv06d - 20- SCHEDULE 2

Part 1

FUNDING ARRANGEMENTS

The total UC cost under this Agreement shall not exceed £56,100.00 by 29 March 2014

Funding is linked to the delivery of the agreed services and activities as set out below (as more particularised in Part 2 of Schedule 1)

The full breakdown of the agreed total cost of UC progressive national roll out in Tameside is shown in the table below. (For the avoidance of doubt, in the event that the delivery of a particular service or activity as detailed in the table below exceeds the volumetric on which the costs are based, the total cost of delivery for such service or activity shall not exceed the figure provided in the corresponding line entitled Progressive National Roll Out breakdown of the total cost in the table below)

The agreed cost of UC progressive national roll out in Tameside is shown in the table below:

Service Volumetric on which UC Progressive National costs based Roll Out Costs

£k (2013/14)

Project Management One off cost 13.2

PBS operate 20 per month 27

LCTRS Manual processes 30 per month 1.4

Claimant Online Support 30 per month Included in PBS

HB expertise 15 per month 11

Misc 3.5

Total 56.1

• SCHEDULE 3

INTERPRETATION

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and expressions shall have the following meanings:-

"Agreement" means this agreement between the Parties including its schedules.

"Business Day" means a day other than a Saturday or Sunday on which banks in the City of London are open for the taking of deposits

"Confidential means information that ought to be considered as Information" confidential (however it is conveyed or on whatever media it is stored), information the disclosure of which would, or would be likely to, prejudice the legitimate interests of any person, and all Personal Data

"Council" means Tameside Borough Council of Council Offices Wellington Road Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 6DL.

"Data Controller" bears the meaning ascribed to it in the Data Protection Act 1998.

"Data Processor" bears the meaning ascribed to it in the Data Protection Act 1998.

"DPA" means a delivery partnership agreement between the Department and a local authority in which they agree to work together to deliver local support services to Universal Credit claimants.

-"Department" means the Department for Work and Pensions whose principal place of business is at Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1 H 9NA.

"Local Support Services sets out the principles for delivering localised support Framework" services to people who might need extra help to make or maintain a claim for Universal Credit

"Management means information of the kinds mentioned in clause 4. Information"

"Pathfinder" means the localised Universal Credit claimant support services which were provided by one of 4 local authorities in the period 29 April 2013 to 27 October 2013.

"Party" means the Department and/or the Council and "Parties" shall be interpreted accordingly .

• "Personal Data" bears the meaning ascribed to it in the Data Protection Act 1998.

'IProcess" bears the meaning ascribed to it in the Data Protection Act 1998.

"Universal Credif' or bears the meaning ascribed to that expression by the !lUC" Welfare Reform Act 2012

"UC Progressive means the localised Universal Credit claimant support National Roll Out" services which are to be provided by local authorities in the period 28 October 2013 to 29 March 2014, an outline of which is set out in Schedule 1

1.2 The interpretation and construction of this Agreement shall be subject to the following provisions:-

1.2.1 words importing the singular meaning include where the context so admits the plural meaning and vice versa and words importing the masculine include the feminine and neuter;

1.2.2 the words "include", "includes" and "including" are to be construed as if they were immediately followed by the words "without limitation";

1.2.3 headings are included in this Agreement for ease of reference only and shall not affect the interpretation or construction of this Agreement;

1.2.4 references in this Agreement to any clause or sub-clause or schedule without further designation shall be construed as a reference to the clause or sub-clause or schedule to this Agreement so numbered; and

1.2.5 in the event and to the extent only of any conflict between the clauses and the content of the schedules, the clauses shall prevail over the content of the schedules .

• Schedule 4

OPERATIONAL READINESS CERTIFICATE

BUSINESS READINESS CERTIFICATE

Universal Credit, Local Authority UC progressive national roll out

I can confirm that Tameside Borough Council is ready to deliver the services contained within the Delivery Partnership Agreement in support of Universal Credit progressive national roll out from 28 October 2013.

Signed __.... 1--i¥-I'"'-----'C""o ... rL>=o.,.£S'oO"'"'-__ Date

• APPENDIX TWO

REVIEW REPORT

DATED 16thSeptember 2013

UNIVERSAL CREDIT PATHFINDER INTERIM REVIEW TAMESIDE LOCAL AUTHORITY

• 1. Background

Tameside Borough Council began delivering services on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions on the 29th April 2013. The delivery of this work was covered by a Delivery Partnership Agreement (DPA) which was signed by both the Senior Officials from the council and DWP. As part of that agreement it was documented that a joint formal review would be undertaken at the 3 month stage, this report has been producedas a result of the that review.

Members of group undertaking the 3 month review consisted of the following people-

Tim Read DWP

Tim Mazzucchi DWP

Pam Williams Tameside Local Authority

Ilys Cookson Tameside Local Authority

The following people were also present at the 1st August meeting:

Jenny Stanton DWP

Carole Griffiths DWP

2. Outstanding issues

It was agreed at the 1st August 2013 meeting that the Issues identified by Tameside would form the basis of this review. During the period since Pathfinder started there have been a number of issues identified by Tameside LA. In the main the issues have been cleared and these are documented in Appendix A of this report. There are currently 7 issues that remain open and these are documented below. Open issues will be discussed at future monthly meetings

2.1 Landlord/Claimant process for requesting payments direct to be sent to TMBC (referred to as Managed Payments under UC)

A UC Landlord Q&A guide has been produced and is due to be issued in September that will address this.

2.2 Pathfinder Postcode IT fix for JSA online claims is to be implemented to allow claimants in pathfinder areas to claim JSA via the online service.

A solution has been identified subject to securing funding. Varied costings have been received and the solution is potentially expensive. Timescales for resolution are unknown however this may be post April 2014.

2.3 DWP to engage with the LAs software providers regarding UC .

• Following the re-organisation of the programme we now have a dedicated director (Sue Venton) whose role is to engage with Stakeholders. Sue has restarled engagement with the software suppliers by giving an update on the current position at the July quarlerly forum. Moving forward, as well as agreeing to be single point, Sue has given a commitment to continue with working with the software suppliers, although it is recognised there is little we can tell them at this time.

2.4 Information needed on what ATLAS records will be available in October 2013, what deductions will be displayed.

Atlas automation will not be in place for October 2013. The date for this is not yet known.

2.5 How do Council Tax request an attachment of UC?

This process is covered in the latest L&D (v1.4) pack issued mid July.

2.6 Data Sharing solution between UC and the LA required for PBS process.

The data sharing solution has been designed. Once a signed MOU has been received from each of the LAs, the process can be implemented.

2.7 Establish if DWP can check:

i) the percentage rate of non-attendance to work interviews for JSA new claims against the UC non-attendance and

ii) the percentage rate of JSA sign off as found work against the UC sign off as found work (NB The UC claim will remain open once a claimant finds work and will only be closed if no UC payments are . . , . made for 6 months)

At present statistically reliable data is not available. Work is ongoing to look at the definitions of data and data collection to ensure comparisons are correct. There are fewer UC claimants overall than expected.

2.8 Draft Interim DPA to be provided by 5th July 2013 for consideration.

A draft interim DPA was provided to Tameside LA at the 2dh August 2013 meeting. Details of services required from October 2013 and estimated volumes were discussed and Tameside have been asked to provide castings. A furlher meeting has been arranged on 18th September 2013 between Tameside LA and Cheryll Wyatt, Diane Mills, Carole Griffiths and Viv Robinson to discuss the DPAIcostings from October. Cheryll Wyatt and her team will take the lead on agreeing the new DPA.

• 3. Projected costs to maintain UC.

Julie Smith met with Tameside LA on the 20th August 2013 and discussed the basis Tameside should use when they consider their projected costs to maintain UC from October:

Tameside's projected costs to maintain UC should take into account the numbers of UC claims that Tameside are currently experiencing. This should include: • Data transfer • Manual processes for CTS • PBS - minimum service and then on a case by case basis • On-line support in 1 or 2 areas. - It was agreed that the Jobcentre would need to be clear that they could not send people for support to other areas. . . • Checking Housing Benefit claims and giving advice on complex cases • Contingency There is no funding for Management costs. The Local Authority can, however, put forward a business case for this. Costs should be provided for the periods 28 October 2013 to 29 March 2014 and then from 30 March 2014 to March 2015.

4. Supported online access

While there has been limited demand for this service what demand there has been has been mainly centred around the Hub in Tameside Council Offices and Ashton Library. It has been recommended that these are the 2 areas that will continue to provide that support post October 2013 subject to funding approvals

5. Personal Budgeting Support

Tameside have contracted CAB to provide PBS for UC claimants, to date we there have been no PBS referrals sent to Tameside. As the LA have an existing contract until October 2013 to provide these services they will need to honour it. They have been using other claimant groups to test the processes, such as claimants affected by the benefit cap, bedroom tax.

6. Data Sharing - council tax support claims

The volumes actually received are significantly lower than was originally anticipated. The LA were allocated funding to employ staff to manually input data sent by DWP on to their system, this process prior to UC had been fully automated and required no intervention. This process will not now be automated from October as originally planned but while some funding will continue it will be reduced according to the revised volumes.

7. Finances

• Up to and including the end of June Tameside have spent £78,430.53 out of this years allocated funding of £231,500. Based on previous invoices it is estimated that July spend is likely to be approximately £30,000, bringing their year to date spend to £108,430, leaving a balance of £123,070.

8. Post October Pathfinder Participation

Elected members will make the decision to continue with Pathfinder activities post October, subject to a revised OPA being received with the same terms and conditions (unless mutually agreed otherwise) and future funding arrangements. The draft OPA is required by Tameside as soon as possible to enable members to consider this within the governance timescales before Pathfinder ends.

9. Landlord Channel shift

Tameside will continue to work with Landlords and help them understand Universal Credit and the role they can play in helping and supporting both existing UC claimants and also in preparing potential new UC claimants.

10.Complaints received

No formal complaints have been received by OWP to date.

11.lmpact on claimants under Pathfinder and in particular any affected

None identified to date.

12.Specific issues received by either department

While there have been some teething problems with identifying which claimants can claim UC which has resulted in some Tameside residents being referred to the Local Authority for assistance when they should have been told to claim JSA. These processes have been reviewed and we are now confident that only UC Claimants will be referred to the Local Authority.

13. DWP's response times for queries.

We have endeavoured to meet the times as per the OPA but are aware this has not always been possible. We will continue to strive to answer all queries within the agreed timescales.

Appendix A

•