House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee Universal Credit implementation: meeting the needs of vulnerable claimants Third Report of Session 2012–13 Volume II Additional written evidence Ordered by the House of Commons to be published 12 November 2012 Published on 22 November 2012 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited The Work and Pensions Committee The Work and Pensions Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Work and Pensions and its associated public bodies. Current membership Dame Anne Begg MP (Labour, Aberdeen South) (Chair) Debbie Abrahams MP (Labour, Oldham East and Saddleworth) Mr Aidan Burley MP (Conservative, Cannock Chase) Jane Ellison MP (Conservative ,Battersea) Graham Evans MP (Conservative, Weaver Vale) Sheila Gilmore MP (Labour, Edinburgh East) Glenda Jackson MP (Labour, Hampstead and Kilburn) Stephen Lloyd MP (Liberal Democrat, Eastbourne) Nigel Mills MP (Conservative, Amber Valley) Anne Marie Morris MP (Conservative, Newton Abbot) Teresa Pearce MP (Labour, Erith and Thamesmead) The following Members were also members of the Committee during the Parliament: Harriett Baldwin MP (Conservative, West Worcestershire), Andrew Bingham MP (Conservative, High Peak), Karen Bradley MP (Conservative, Staffordshire Moorlands), Ms Karen Buck MP (Labour, Westminster North), Alex Cunningham MP (Labour, Stockton North), Margaret Curran MP (Labour, Glasgow East), Richard Graham MP (Conservative, Gloucester), Kate Green MP (Labour, Stretford and Urmston), Oliver Heald MP (Conservative, North East Hertfordshire), Sajid Javid MP (Conservative, Bromsgrove), Brandon Lewis MP (Conservative, Great Yarmouth) and Shabana Mahmood MP (Labour, Birmingham, Ladywood) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the internet at www.parliament.uk/workpencom. The Reports of the Committee, the formal minutes relating to that report, oral evidence taken and some or all written evidence are available in a printed volume. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Carol Oxborough (Clerk), Catherine Tyack (Second Clerk), James Abbott (Committee Media Adviser), James Clarke (Inquiry Manager), Daniela Silcock (Committee Specialist), Emma Sawyer (Senior Committee Assistant), Hannah Beattie (Committee Assistant). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Work and Pensions Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 2839; the Committee's email address is [email protected]. 3 List of printed written evidence 1 Centre of Economic and Social Inclusion Ev 62 2 Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Ev 66 3 Child Poverty Action Group Ev 70; Ev 74 4 The Children’s Society Ev 74 5 Citizens Advice Ev 81 6 Department for Work and Pensions Ev 90; Ev 103; Ev 105 7 Local Government Association (LGA) Ev 111 8 UNISON Ev 115 9 Women’s Budget Group Ev 127; Ev130 List of additional written evidence (published in Volume II on the Committee’s website www.parliament.uk/workpencom) 1 AdviceUK Ev w1 2 Age UK Ev w4 3 Association of Directors of Adult Social Services Ev w7 4 Avanta Ev w10 5 Barnardo’s Ev w12 6 Jamie Black Ev w16 7 British Dyslexia Association Ev w17 8 Inclusion London Ev w18 9 Centre for Social Justice Ev w22 10 Centrepoint Ev w24 11 Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) Ev w28 12 Children’s Food Trust Ev w33 13 Citizens Advice Scotland Ev w35 14 City West Housing Trust Ev w39 15 Jane Clout Ev w41 16 College of Optometrists and the Optical Confederation Ev w42 17 Community Housing Cymru Group Ev w43 18 Community Links Ev w46 19 Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Ev w52 20 Consumer Focus Ev w54 21 Contact a Family Ev w58 22 Convention of Scottish Local Authorities Ev w62 23 Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Ev w65 24 Crisis Ev w68 25 East Riding of Yorkshire Council Ev w71 26 Gingerbread Ev w75 27 Grandparents Plus Ev w81 4 28 Nick Atkin, Chief Executive, Halton Housing Trust Ev w83 29 Home Group Ev w85 30 Homeless Link Ev w88 31 Institute of Chartered Accounts for England Wales Ev w91 32 Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation Ev w96 33 Lasa Ev w97 34 Law Centre Northern Ireland Ev w98 35 Liberata Ev w102 36 Local Authorities Caters Association Ltd Ev w105 37 London Borough of Lambeth Ev w107 38 London Borough of Newham Ev w109 39 Cllr Rabina Khan, London Borough of Tower Hamlets Ev w111 40 London Councils Ev w115 41 Low Income Tax Reform Group Ev w119 42 Manchester City Council Ev w124 43 Maximus Employment and Training Ev w127 44 Motor Neuron Disease Association Ev w130 45 National Housing Federation Ev w130 46 National Landlord Association Ev w135 47 Neath Port Talbot Country Borough Council Ev w138 48 Fiona Nicholson Ev w140 49 Northern Ireland Welfare Reform Group Ev w141 50 Notting Hill Housing Ev w146 51 Personal Finance Research Centre Ev w149 52 Pharmacy Voice Ev w153 53 Places for People Ev w154 54 Public and Commercial Services Union Ev w157 55 Refuge Ev w159 56 Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) Ev w162 57 St Mungo’s Ev w165 58 Shelter Ev w169 59 Simon Community Northern Ireland (NI) Ev w173 60 Social market Foundation Ev w175 61 South Lanarkshire Council Ev w179 62 Stockton District Advice and Information Service (Stockton CAB) Ev w184 63 Vanguard Consulting Ev w188 64 VocaLink Ev w189 65 Welsh Local Government Association Ev w192 66 Dr Peter Williams, Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning, University of Cambridge and Prof Steve Wilcox, Centre for Housing Policy, University of York Ev w196 67 Woman’s Aid Ev w196 68 Woman’s Resource and Development Agency Ev w201 69 YMCA England Ev w202 5 List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament The reference number of the Government’s response to each Report is printed in brackets after the HC printing number. Session 2010–12 First Report Youth Unemployment and the Future Jobs Fund HC 472 (HC 844) Second Report Changes to Housing Benefit announced in the June HC 469 (HC 845) 2010 Budget Third Report Appointment of the Chair of the Social Security HC 904 Advisory Committee Fourth Report Work Programme: providers and contracting HC 718 (HC 1438) arrangements Fifth Report The Government’s proposed child maintenance HC 1047 (HC 1727) reforms Sixth Report The role of incapacity benefit reassessment in helping HC 1015 (HC 1641) claimants into employment Seventh Report Government support towards the additional living HC 1493 cost of working-age disabled people (HC (12– 13)105) Eighth Report Automatic enrolment in workplace pensions and the HC 1494 National Employment Savings Trust (HC (12–13)154) Session 2012–13 First Report Appointment of the Chair of the Social Security HC 297 Advisory Committee Second Report Youth Unemployment and the Youth Contract HC 151 cobber Pack: U PL: COE1 [SO] Processed: [20-11-2012 16:02] Job: 024176 Unit: PG01 Source: /MILES/PKU/INPUT/024176/024176_w069_023315_w041_Odeth_UC35 - YMCA England.xml Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev w1 Written evidence Written evidence submitted by AdviceUK AdviceUK’s response to the Committee’s inquiry addresses the following questions. The proposed arrangements for claims and payments and the provision of support and advice for claimants, including the presumption of a predominantly online, self-service claims process; monthly payment to one person in the household; and arrangements for providing telephone and face-to-face support and independent advice for claimants who need it. and: Impact monitoring: what the DWP’s priorities should be for monitoring the impact of the transition to Universal Credit. 1. Introduction 1.1 AdviceUK is a membership organisation with around 860 members. Our members work in some of the poorest parts of England, Scotland and Wales, helping people to solve social welfare problems, providing advice and legal support to over two million people a year. 1.2 Our membership is broad, but at its heart are services working in some of the poorest communities of England, Scotland and Wales, reaching parts of the population not covered by other advice services. Our members provide advice across the range of areas of social welfare law. Debt, welfare benefits and housing represent the core provision of most members. They support over two million people a year. 1.3 AdviceUK’s role is to support members to improve the quality and effectiveness of their services and to provide them with a national voice. AdviceUK takes an evidence-based approach to tackling the problems faced by our members and their clients. 1.4 Since 2007, we have worked with advice organisations and local authorities to better understand demand for advice and the pressures faced by advice services from a systems thinking and Vanguard Method perspective.i This method identifies what matters to people who use advice services, and seeks to address the underlying issues and systemic failures that cause people to seek advice. It acts on the drivers of demand to improve effectiveness and efficiency, rather than seeking to ration supply. This work has unearthed important learning about the welfare benefits system and its impact on and interaction with advice services. We have shared our learning with the Department for Work and Pensions. 1.5 Our response to the Committee’s inquiry focuses on two areas: The proposed arrangements for claims and payments and the provision of support and advice for claimants, including the presumption of a predominantly online, self-service claims process; monthly payment to one person in the household; and arrangements for providing telephone and face to face support and independent advice for claimants who need it and: Impact monitoring: what the DWP’s priorities should be for monitoring the impact of the transition to Universal Credit.