Welfare Reform Overview
Adam Clark, Norfolk Community
Advice Network
June 2013
Drivers of Welfare Reform
Costreduction
Simplification
of the system
Political
ideology
Localism
Incentivising
work
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Amount to save
2016
2015
Cut
2010-11 £18bn
c£88bn
Cut
£10bn?
3
Timeline of Welfare Reforms
Migration from IB to ESA
Migration from DLA to PIP
Housing Benefit Changes
Social Fund to
County Council
Universal Credit Implementation
Total Benefit
Cap
Localised
CTB schemes
commence
… 2012
2013
Benefits Uprating at 1%
2014
2015
2016
…
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Overall Financial effects on individuals
District
Estimated loss (£
per year)
Financial Loss per
working age adult (£
per year)
Breckland
£ 32.22m
£405.99
Broadland
£25.21m
£332.36
Gt Yarmouth
£36.38m
£612.75
KLWN
£39.90m
£449.29
North Norfolk
£24.71m
£428.80
Norwich
£46.10m
£504.07
South Norfolk
£26.37m
£350.65
NORFOLK
£ 230.89m
£ 440.56
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Who?
• 70,000 households in Norfolk already in poverty, c £17
per week loss of income (8% of income) in 2014-15
• c20% reduction in working-age DLA claimants - around
6000 current claimants in Norfolk
• c8,500 households deemed ‘under-occupying’ in
Norfolk
• Over 100,000 claimants in Norfolk transitioning to
Universal Credit – some will gain, some will lose, all will
see changes
• Other risk factors – areas of deprivation, disability,
social housing, working age families
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Threats & Opportunities
Poverty
• Less money
• Debt
• Arrears
• High cost
credit
• Improved
take-up
Change
• New benefits
• New systems
• Budgetting
• Sanctions
Long-term
• Household
change
• Homelessness
• Employment
• Simpler
system
7
Early indicators
• Demand for advice
• Foodbank activity
• Anecdotes
• Homelessness/rough sleeping data
BUT
• No coherent data set
• Main changes yet to come
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Norwich Combined Court Hearings
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Mortgage Possessions
Mortgage Claims
Landlord Possessions
Q1 2013
Q4 2012
Q3 2012
Q2 2012
Q1 2012
Q4 2011
Q3 2011
Q2 2011
Q1 2011
Q4 2010
Q3 2010
Q2 2010
Q1 2010
Landlord Claims
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Health & Wellbeing Risks
Individual
• Free healthcare
• Nutrition
• Accommodation
• Stress & Anxiety
Social
• Health
inequality
• Housing &
health
• Prevention
• Carers
Structural
• Increased
demand
• Social care costs
• GP evidence
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Other Responses - examples
• Kensington & Chelsea HWB Welfare Reform Task & Finish Group report
containing strategic & operational recommendations including:
– Embed continued monitoring (via data analysis) within JSNA
– Collaborate across commissioning over the impacts of welfare reform to
ensure intelligence of local impacts informs commissioning decisions and
service design
– Arrange for front-line council & Health staff, schools and third sector to be
regularly briefed on imminent changes
• Welsh Assembly report on impact of welfare reform across range of public
services showing how financial impacts of reforms will affect outcomes for
education, health, social care etc
• Cornwall County Council – reflected the impact of welfare reform in their
Health & Wellbeing Strategy
• Kingston Borough Council - Public Health commissioning local advice
providers to run financial capability/money management workshops
• London Councils co-ordinating shared indicators for London boroughs
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Other responses
Aims
Objectives
Equip existing services
• Ensure greater public and professional awareness of
frontline services
• Improve pathways between services
• Improve access to information materials
• Avoid duplication
Understand impact
• Develop simple set of shared indicators or scorecard
• Gather case studies
• Review and respond on an ongoing basis
Mitigate impact
• Provide strategic leadership to link social welfare with
health & wellbeing
• Embed in strategic and commissioning plans
• Pilot new interventions in targeted areas of risk
• Plug gaps in services
• Improve and evaluate preventative interventions (e.g.
financial capability)
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Further information
Resources and information:
www.norfolkcan.org.uk/welfare-reform/
Contact
Adam Clark
adam@ncls.co.uk
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