Dumfries and Galloway Practitioners Newsletter Hub Issue 16 April 2015 Welcome to the April edition of the Dumfries & Galloway Practitioners Hub USEFUL newsletter. INFORMATION You can follow our Council’s Welfare Reform reports here. Increased use of UNIVERSAL CREDIT : INFORMATION AND SUPPORT AVAILABLE real time information Universal Credit is coming to Dumfries and Galloway this month Better data sharing Universal Credit (UC) will go live in Dumfries and Galloway from 27 April 2015 between HMRC and but this is initially a very small scale roll out. The maximum uptake is DWP to reduce estimated at 1,500 claimants by April 2016. fraud and error in the benefits system NEW - “Universal Credit guidance” for practitioners was announced in This factsheet pulls together all the main things that practitioners should need the March budget to know Universal Credit in one document - what to do and what key help is statement. available in Dumfries and Galloway. It covers managing queries, making a claim, getting paid The Cumulative knowing if someone is on Universal Credit Impact of Welfare rent payments and help to pay the rent, changes in circumstances Reform on support available - digital support, personal budgeting, alternative payment Households in arrangements, having and using a bank account Scotland Council Tax and Discretionary Housing Payments sanctions and appeals Published on the 2 March 2015, this Click here to download it. research was commissioned and NEW – “Organisations that can help you” for benefit recipients published by the Scottish Parliament’s We have created directories which cover Dumfries and Galloway. They are Welfare Reform targeted primarily at benefit recipients but may be useful to anyone. Committee. They cover a range of topics and include key organisations that can help with The report concerns issues to do with their home, benefits & money, bank accounts, loans & the impact of the UK savings, computers, training & jobs and dealing with problems. Government’s welfare Organisations that can help you - All areas reform agenda on Organisations that can help you - Wigtownshire different household types in Scotland. Organisations that can help you - Stewartry Organisations that can help you - Nithsdale Read key findings Organisations that can help you - Annandale and Eskdale and the full report here. They do not cover all organisations – that’s what “The List” is for! Severe poverty in UPDATED – “Sanction Survival Guides” Scotland These have revised opening times for libraries and other changes. Please make sure you have the most up to date issue – Version 6. This report looks at the extent of severe and Sanctions Survival Guide - All areas Version 6 extreme poverty and Sanctions Survival Guide - Wigtownshire Version 6 how it has changed Sanctions Survival Guide - Stewartry Version 6 over time for different Sanctions Survival Guide - Nithsdale Version 6 population groups. Sanctions Survival Guide - Annandale & Eskdale Version 6 The report is here. Feedback wanted: If you spot anything that needs to be altered or added to any of these guides, please let us know at [email protected]. USEFUL LINKS TO THE WEBSITE FROM THIS NEWSLETTER INFORMATION You may have noticed that some links aren’t taking you to the item you were Improving looking for in our newsletters - but it does take you to the general topic. You will mobile coverage find the link but you need to scroll down the page. for consumers We’ve sorted the links for Universal Credit news (but not others as there’s too is a priority area many) and taken this up with Knowledge Hub. It’s a technical thing - they’re for Ofcom now working on correcting it and we hope it’s fixed soon! Meanwhile, our apologies for any inconvenience. Many people on benefits rely on a MORE UNIVERSAL CREDIT : INFORMATION mobile phone rather than a Universal Credit is on its way – MAS top tips to be ready landline. If someone is on a low income and receiving benefits, Universal Credit will mean With an additional a big change to how they receive the money - which means they may need help £150 million to managing and keeping track of their cash. improve the mobile Top tips from the Money Advice Service is that people should: network across the Keep a spending diary UK, Ofcom are Plan their monthly budget leading or improve Open a bank account - Solway Credit Union now has jam jar accounts mobile coverage, Set up automated bill payments as part of a five point plan. More information is available here. They also want to Universal Credit 7 days waiting implementation date revised help consumers It was advised on 19 March that the implementation date for introducing 7 make the right waiting days in Universal Credit has been revised - from 27 April to 1 July. choices by Lord Freud wishes to consider fully the points raised in responses to providing quality, consultations before bringing forward the regulations. More details here. reliable and transparent New UC rules could leave some claimants waiting 6 months information about mobile reception. Currently, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) calculates a claimant’s Universal Credit monthly. If they earn above a certain threshold in that month, Read more here. their entitlement is reduced or removed. Under the new rules, the DWP will take into account earnings the claimant has Access to Work made in the six months previously. This means a person, who earns a larger grants amount in one month but nothing the following month, may find they are unable to claim Universal Credit for up to six months. Read more here. These will be capped at £40,800 Major risks identified linked to Universal Credit per year: Based on the official timelines released by the DWP, Scotland will not have any on 1 October significant volumes of Universal Credit claimants prior to 2016. 2015 for all new There remains a degree of scepticism about the deliverability of national roll-out grants given in 2016-17, given the difficulties the programme has encountered to date and after that date the challenges that lie ahead. on 1 April 2018 Major risk factors which the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) for all grants believe could delay the project further are: given before 1 Development of an end-state IT system October 2015 The national roll-out in 2016/17 - predicted at 50 job centres a month, this represents a significant logistical challenge In addition to Resourcing of local support services and subsequent implementation setting up a new specialist team Understanding the timelines for full roll-out of UC in Scotland is vital to plan for: covering self- The impact on housing benefit functions employment, from The provision of local support services October 2015 Communication of key messages to residents eligibility for self- An overview is available here. The full report is available here. employed awards will be based on the British Sign Language (BSL) online video interpreting extended Universal Credit The NHS 24 British Sign Language (BSL) online video relay interpreting service rules. pilot has been extended to all public services from Monday 2nd March 2015. This is a significant development for the Deaf community. Read more here. Read more here. In next month’s newsletter: We will provide updates on Universal Credit as well as all the latest local and national news on Welfare reforms, Financial Inclusion, Poverty and related issues. Also trying to get information about Kinship Carers. OTHER INFORMATION AND CHANGES USEFUL INFORMATION More support for people with mental health conditions DWP actions These were announced in the March budget statement and include early access following to supported Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and the co-location of IAPT (Increased Access to Psychological Therapy) staff in Jobcentres. This will begin Personal with Streatham Jobcentre Plus. For more information on these and other Independence measures announced, go to Budget 2015 on gov.uk. Payments (PIP) review Changes for EEA / EU nationals Short term From 9 February 2015 the DWP will be writing to most European Economic Area improvements nationals whose existing claim for income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) planned by the was made before 1 January 2014. They will be told that their income-based JSA DWP include: claim and their right to reside in the UK will be reviewed in three months’ time. carrying out a More information is available here. full review of From 9 March 2015, new European Union (EU) migrants who have arrived in the communications UK will be prevented from claiming benefits until they have started work. - to gov.uk, the Read more about this here. PIP assessment guide for health Pensions will change in April 2015 professionals, all letters and Pensioners can exchange their pension pots for a capital sum. People who information bought an annuity before the new rules were introduced can now convert an booklets income to a capital lump sum. There have been major changes in pension scheme legislation, which could transform the retirement prospects for millions revising training of younger workers, due to the Pension Schemes Act 2015. Read more here. for case managers introducing DIGITAL SUPPORT quality checks on decisions Digital Participation in Dumfries and Kirkcaldy setting up The Carnegie Trust have reported on our the use of computing in our area and monthly case suggest that the main issues are: conferences a high level of comfort with being offline specific concerns about unknown aspects of the digital world There are also available money to spend on communications compared to other areas medium and longer term actions The report writers suggest that to be effective, it’s essential digital initiatives planned. are community-based - tapping into existing local networks and encouraging friends and family to support each other.