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Housing Associations & Welfare Rights

Best Practice Guide

• Welfare Rights Activity Checklist

• Benefit Underclaiming, Causes and Levels

• The Impact of Welfare Rights Work

• Policy Context

• The Social and Business Case for Involvement

• Delivering Best Practice

• Financial Inclusion Activity Checklist

• Scottish National Standards

• Useful Resources

In partnership with

GOOD PRACTICE GUIDE 2 3 3

Contents

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Foreword

Developing and Delivering an Effective Service

Section 1. Introduction

Section 2. Benefit Underclaiming, Causes and Levels

Section 3. The Impact of Welfare Rights Work

Section 4. Policy Context

Section 5. Why Housing Associations? The Social and Business Case for Involvement

Section 6. Delivering Best Practice

Appendix 1: Financial Inclusion Activity Checklist

Appendix 2: Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice Providers.

Appendix 3: Useful Resources.

This Guide has been written by Nick Hopkins, Director of Nick Hopkins Consulting, an independent company specialising in supporting housing associations and others to tackle issues around financial and social inclusion, www.nhhrconsulting.co.uk

Nick would like to thank the following people who assisted in the production of this guide:

David MacNeil of Rocket Science, who assisted with the creation and analysis of the responses to the electronic survey.

Helen Jackson, of Glasgow Housing Association for her comments on the first draft of the monitoring and evaluation chapter.

All those who gave of their time to be interviewed, or who responded to the electronic survey.

The Welfare Rights Officers Forum for commissioning this piece of work, and giving feedback on earlier drafts.

The Scottish Government Wider Role Team for providing the funding.

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Foreword

Clair Malpas, Cassiltoun Housing Association, Welfare Rights Forum

The Welfare Rights Forum was established in 1991, for Welfare Rights Officers who work for Scottish Housing Associations to meet, provide mutual support, exchange areas of best practise and to have a single voice in terms of campaigning and responding to proposed changes in Welfare Law.

Since then the Forum has gone from strength to strength and as the Housing Association Welfare Rights movement has grown so has the Forum’s membership.

Devising a Best Practise Guide has been an aim of the Forum for the past 2 years as a way to provide examples of Best Practice to both our members and to a wider audience. We are grateful to the Wider Role team who have provided funding to enable us to deliver this Guide and we hope that it will prove to be a valuable document both to providers of advice and to those who a considering the provision of advice services.

Maureen Watson, Policy and Strategy Director, SFHA

The SFHA is delighted to assist the Welfare Rights Forum in the launch of this Welfare Rights Guide and to promote it to our membership. We believe that the guide will be of great benefit to our members – including frontline staff, housing management staff - potential funders and many others.

The author of this guide, Nick Hopkins, has carried out previous work for the SFHA. Nick, along with Colin Armstrong, produced the publication “Making Places Work” on our behalf. This publication highlighted examples of housing associations’ increasing involvement in social enterprise and wider role. It was very helpful to our members and we are using it to inform our future work on social enterprise.

Later this year, we will launch the guide “Beating the Crunch, Housing Associations Tackling Poverty and Financial Exclusion”, which Nick Hopkins is the co-author along with Niall Alexander.

The SFHA is carrying out significant work this year on Financial Inclusion issues. The SFHA is now part of a multi-agency Scottish Financial Inclusion Strategy Forum and we also have a seat on the DWP Financial Inclusion Champions Advisory Group. In addition, we held a highly successful Financial Inclusion conference on 25 June 2009 in Glasgow.

Housing associations make a significant contribution to helping tenants maximise their income, and a key part of this is ensuring that tenants are claiming everything to which they are entitled. The SFHA views this guide as a helpful tool in achieving just that. We look forward to continuing to work with the Welfare Rights Forum in promoting its activities and to carrying out joint projects in the future.

We know that this guide will be an excellent companion for all Welfare Rights practitioners and are delighted to make it available to our membership.

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Developing and Delivering an Effective Service

An effective housing association linked welfare rights service should:

• Takeastrategic approach.

• Takeawhole organisation approach.

• Manage services and partnerships effectively.

• Effectively target tenants.

• Deliverasholistic a service as possible.

• Deliveraservicethatisequally accessible and effective in meeting the needs of all tenants.

• Operatesystemswhicheffectivelymonitor and evaluate the impact of the service.

• Haveaclearandrealisticstrategyforsustainable funding in the long term.

Taking a Strategic Approach.

An effective housing association linked welfare rights service should be:

• Basedon:

- A clear analysis of the social and economic needs of tenants.

- Explicitly stated social and business cases for action.

• Deliveredeitherthroughinternalpostsorthecommissioningofexternalagencies,withtheapproachchosen explicitly justified and a clear understanding of how to meet the challenges faced in taking that approach.

• GovernedbyaServiceLevelAgreementwherecommissionedexternally.

• Deliveredinpartnershipwithotherhousingassociationswhereverthereareclearreasonsfordoingso.

• Placedinthecontextofbroadereffortstotacklepovertyandfinancialexclusionbyassociationsandothersinthe communities that they serve.

Taking a Whole Organisation Approach.


• Belocatedbothorganisationallyandphysicallyalongsidehousingmanagementcolleagues,orinapositioninwhich strong relationships with housing management colleagues can be built.

• Bechampionedbyboth,seniorhousingmanagers,andthewelfarerightsofficers(WROs)themselves.

• Understand,acknowledgeandsupport,throughtrainingetc,theroleoffrontlinehousingstaffinenablingtenantsto access the service.

• WorkconstantlyatcreatinggoodcommunicationandgoodrelationshipsbetweenWROsandhousingstaff.

• Haveclearproceduresfordealingwithanyconflictsofinterestthatarise.

• NevercompromiseWROs’commitmenttodeliveraservicetotheprimarybenefitoftenants.

• Embedwelfarerightsinterventionsinallrelevantpoliciesandprocedures.

Managing Services and Partnerships.


• Bemanaged/overseenbyhousingmanagerswhotakethetimetounderstandtherangeofworkdeliveredbyWROs, who in turn take the time to understand the objectives of, and pressures facing, housing management staff.

• FullysupportandresourceWROstocontinuetheirnecessaryprofessionaldevelopment.

• Maintaintrustbetweenallthoseinvolved,particularlywheninpartnershipsituations.

• Whendeliveredinpartnership,beprovidedinlinewithaclearagreementthatisfairtoeachpartner,andinvolves outreach work in each partners’ premises.

Checklist


Targeting Tenants.


• Targetgroupsoftenantstoachievethemaximumimpactforthem,andforhostassociations,withtheresources available.

• Targettenantsthrougharobustreferralsystemthatdoesnotinvolvesimplypassingoninformationonthe availability of services to tenants.

• TargettenantsinrentarrearswithreferralstoWROs:

- In line with an escalating approach to intervention.

- Preventing tenants from reaching a certain point in the process without WRO engagement.

- Paying particular attention to tenants who are vulnerable.

- Making an ongoing offer of support, or referral to an alternative source of support to those who do not engage.

- Involving WROs in negotiating arrears repayment arrangements, and in developing relationships with Housing Benefit Administrations.

• Targetnewtenants:

- Aiming to reach as many new tenants as possible.

- At least identifying and reaching all vulnerable new tenants, and dealing with all complex Housing Benefit cases.

- Remembering the potential needs of new tenants who are in work, and those tenants moving into new build properties.

- Aiming to reach them as early as possible in the process, even at a pre tenancy stage.

- Providing holistic support on the full range of poverty and financial inclusion issues that can affect them.

• Targetoldertenants:

- Recognising that older tenants are the least likely to be engaged by housing staff over the normal course of duties, and will have the highest barriers to claiming their full benefit entitlement.

- Using, where possible, proactive and personal methods of contact, such as phone calls, to offer older tenants a service. Such methods can abolish poverty amongst the frail older tenants of an association.

- Offering older tenants a home visit as standard.

- Where only less intensive methods of targeting are possible, focusing on tenants in, or applying for, sheltered housing and mail based campaigns.

- Supporting and encouraging housing officers to identify and refer older tenants who are potentially underclaiming.

• Targetothergroupsoftenants:

- Auditing the information held by associations, and their relationships with tenants, to identify opportunities toengagelongstandingunderclaimants/respondtochangesintenantcircumstances.

- Supporting staff across the organisation to identify and refer tenants in response to such changes.

• Maintainanopennesstoselfreferralbytenants:

- Stimulating interest in the service through newsletter articles, posters, involvement in events and other campaign and publicity activity.

- Encouragingpositivewordofmouthabouttheservicethroughfrontlinestaff,andcommitteemembers/ other key figures within the local community.

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Building a Holistic Service.


• Includetheprovisionofsupportacrossarangeoffinancialinclusionandpovertyissues,includingbasicbudgeting and money advice, information about local affordable credit and financial products and energy advice.

• Ensurethatanysuchadvicedeliverediswithintheskillsoftheadviserandconformswithrelevantlegislation.

• DevelopasstrongareferralrelationshipbetweenWROsandotherservicesofbenefittotenants,asWROsshould have with frontline housing staff.

Delivering an Equally Effective Service to All.


• Developapproachestoensurethatalltenantsareencouragedtoaccesstheserviceandareabletodoso:

- Providing information about the service in appropriate formats to meet the needs of disabled tenants and tenants from minority ethnic communities.

- Delivering the service in accessible premises.

- Delivering the service supported by appropriate translation and interpretation resources.

- Providing information about the service in as simple and clear a fashion as possible.

• EnsurethatWROshaveaccurateandsufficientknowledgeandunderstandingoftheculturalandotherbarriersto benefit claiming amongst different groups of their tenants.

• EnsurethatWROshaveaccurateandsufficientknowledgeandunderstandingofrelevantbenefitslegislation pertaining to different groups of their tenants.

Assessing Service Impact: Monitoring and Evaluation.


• Reportatleastquarterlytothosewithoversightoftheservice,andconductamorecomprehensiveannualreviewof performance.

• Designsystemstoensuretheeffectivecollectionofmanagementinformationrelatingtoitsperformance,including information about the number and characteristics of tenants seen, their routes to access the service, numbers of claims and appeals made successfully and unsuccessfully, levels of benefits claimed, both backdated and annualised.

• Seektoeffectivelyidentifyitsbusinessimpactintermsofarrearsreduced,courtactionsandevictionspreventedand tenancies sustained through:

- Comparison of the housing outcomes for the association’s tenants against appropriate performance statistics from other associations, or from the association’s past performance.

- The collation of directly relevant case information.

• Reviewtenantexperienceoftheserviceonaregularbasis.

• SubjectthecaseworkofWROstoregularindependentaudit.

Funding the Service.


• Haveaclearstrategyforitslongandshorttermfunding.

• Ensurethatpilotserviceshaveagenuinechanceofbeingsustainedatthatlevelforthelongerterm,andarerobustly evaluated.

• Bebasedonasolidcommitmentofresourcesfromtheassociationsinvolved,basedonthesocialandbusinesscase for investment.

• Bepreparedtomakethecaseforongoingexternalsupporttootherfunders.

• Avoidbeingletdownbythequalityoffundingapplications.

Checklist


1. Introduction

Housing associations in Scotland have never taken the view that their role is just about the basic management and development of housing.

From the start, they have been aware that they can make a much broader contribution to the lives of their tenants and the communities they serve, and by doing so, strengthen their own organisation.

Whether they have directly delivered advice, or whether they have commissioned others to do the work on their behalf, welfare rights services have been part of associations’ wider community work from the start. There is now a substantial and growing movement of associations involved in highly effective work in this field.

Despite this history, and despite the increasing attention paid to the importance of income maxmisation and broader financial inclusion work by the UK, Scottish and local governments, little detailed work has been done on drawing together lessons from best practice in the field. This Guide aims to fill that gap. It aims to be of use to: • Frontlinepractitioners. • Housingmanagementstaff. • Potentialfunders. • Otherstakeholders.The Guide covers: • Thenationalandlocalpolicycontextforwelfarerightswork. • Theissuesinvolvedintheunderclaimingofbenefit. • Theimpactofwelfarerightsworkonserviceusers. • Thecaseforhousingassociationstogetinvolved. • Practicalissuesinservicedevelopmentanddelivery: - Key strategic decisions in service development. - Developing a strategic, whole organisation approach. - Managing services and partnerships. - Effective targeting and proactive engagement of tenants. - Developing a holisitic service. - Monitoring and evaluation.

- Funding.

The Guide is largely based on a study of housing association engagement in welfare rights activity in Scotland carried out in early Spring 2009. This involved interviews with, and the analysis of survey responses from, senior housing managers, front line housing officers and welfare rights staff- both those employed by housing associations and those based with external agencies.

ThefocusoftheGuideissquarelyonsupportingassociationsineithertheeffectivedirectdeliveryorcommissioningfromexternal agencies of advice services. It will be of assistance to associations that only seek a referral relationship with external agencies, but associations limiting themselves to such a relationship should acknowledge that the effectiveness of work of that type is much more limited.

Note on the Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice Providers.

In 2006, the Scottish Government produced the Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice Providers. The Standards focus on issues relating to: • Generalmanagementofservices. • Planningofservices. • Accessibilityandcustomercare. • Providingservices. • Competencesforstaffandagencies. • Resources.

Some of the material within this Guide clearly relates to the Standards, which are therefore referenced in Appendix 2, linked to appropriate parts of section 6 of the Guide.

However, the standards are not intended to specifically to support housing associations develop their engagement in welfare rights work. The Guide therefore complements, rather than duplicates the standards.

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2. Benefit Underclaiming, Causes and Levels

The UK’s benefit system is highly complex being a mixture of universal provision, benefits targeted at those out of work or on low incomes, at those with children or caring responsibilities, at those affected by illness, disability, or particular life events, and grants and loans for specific purposes. Welfare rights officers have to be familiar with a huge body of regulations and case law relating to benefit entitlement, in a situation which is constantly changing.

Causes of Underclaiming

The issue of benefit underclaiming has been of concern since the early days of the UK’s welfare state. There is a considerable literature focusing on the reasons for underclaiming 123 . These may include:

• Simple lack of knowledge about entitlement. Given that welfare rights workers themselves face considerable challenges in ensuring that they have comprehensive and up to date knowledge of the system, those meant to be the system’s beneficiaries will inevitably struggle to find their way around it.

• Changes in circumstances. Change is a constant in people’s lives. People move in and out of work, up and down the earnings scale, become older, become more or less frail, ill or disabled, have children or see children reach adulthood, move in and out of relationships or see partners die, take on caring responsibilities etc, etc. Entitlement to benefit, (orremovalofentitlementtobenefit)canbetriggeredbyawholerangeofchangesinlifecircumstances,with potential beneficiaries simply unaware of this.

• Literacy and numeracy issues. Many of the people most in need of benefits are those who struggle because of literacy and numeracy issues, and who are therefore not able to either fully understand written information or complete forms appropriately.

• The emphasis placed on benefit claimants’ proactivity by the system.Thebenefitsystemrequiresadegree of active participation from claimants, both in terms of making initial claims, and in terms of providing information to demonstrate continued entitlement. Some potential claimants may be unwilling to make the effort to make a claim for a benefit they expect to receive for only a short time, or for a means tested benefit when the perceived financialgainismarginalincomparisontotheeffortrequiredtoclaim.Othersmaystruggletoprovideinformation because of literacy and numeracy issues, or broader vulnerability such as mental health problems.

• Previous negative experiences with the benefit system. Including previous experience of making unsuccessful claims can put people off applying.

• Complexity of application process. Many of the forms that applicants must complete to access benefits are highly complex,andtakeaconsiderabletimetofillin,requiringadequateliteracyandnumeracy,andpersistence.

• Stigma. There may be stigma attached to claiming benefits, particularly those which are means tested, for people not used to making claims, who may perceive benefits as handouts. This be particular an issue for older people with a folk memory of means tests from the 1930s

• Older people are more vulnerable to underclaiming. Older people may be less likely to claim their due for a number of other specific reasons including:

- Fear of loss of independence if they admit to vulnerability.

- Having a strong sense of self reliance, often associated with the belief that they are ‘getting by’, or the view that ‘they don’t wish to bother anyone.

1 The Benefits of Welfare Rights Advice, A Review of the Literature, Wiggan J and Talbot C, National Association of Welfare Rights Officers, 2006.

2 Helping Older People Engage with Benefits and Services: An Evaluation of the Partnership Fund, Tennant R, Webster S, Coleman M, Maher J and O Connor W, DWP 2007.

3 Benefit Take Up Initiatives A Good Practice Guide, Local Government Association

Secton 2


Levels of Underclaiming

Every year the Department of Work and Pensions issues figures on the levels of benefit underclaiming across the UK. Take up rates are given both for expenditure, the percentage of the total amount to which all claimants are entitled that is actually claimed, and for caseload, the percentage of those entitled who claim that entitlement. The fact that the former rates are higher than the latter is evidence of the fact that people entitled to small amounts of means tested benefits are more likely to underclaim than those entitled to larger amounts.

Lookingatincomerelatedbenefitsalone(PensionCredit,CouncilTaxBenefit,HousingBenefit,IncomeSupportandIncomeBasedJobSeekersAllowance),theDWP’smostrecentestimateoftheamountleftunclaimedintheUKisbetween£5.8and£9.3bn 4. This does not include the unclaimed benefit relating to disability related benefits such as Attendance Allowance, a conservativeestimateofunderclaimingforAAaloneisaround£3bnintheUK.

Pension Credit

TakeupratesrelatingtoPensionCreditin2006/07wereintherangeof59-67%forcaseload,andbetween69and76%byexpenditure. This suggested UK figures for Pension Credit underclaiming at between 1.26 and 1.82 million, with between £1.96bnand£2.81bnbeingunclaimedannually5.

Based on these take up rates, in May 2008, between 166,000 and 235,000 older people in Scotland will be underclaiming between£280and£399mofPensionCredit.

Housing Benefit

HousingBenefittakeupin2006/07wasintherangeof81-87%bycaseload,and86-92%byexpenditure6, although take up forthoseinsocialrentedhousingwashigherthanintheprivatesector.ThissuggestedthatintheUKbetween570,000and950,000peoplearenotclaimingtheHousingBenefitthattheyaredue,withtotallevelsunclaimedbetween£1.25bnand£2.28bn.

Basedonthesetakeuprates,inAugust2007,between64,000and100,000peopleinScotlandweremissingoutonbetween£108mand£203mofHousingBenefit.

Attendance Allowance

Annual estimates on take up are not released in relation to Attendance Allowance, and it has been some years since an official attemptwasmadetocalculateanaccuratelevel.Existingestimatesfrom1998suggestthatbetween40-60%7 of those entitled to Attendance Allowance do not claim it.

Conservativelyassumingatakeuprateof60%ofcaseload,andmakingthefurtherassumptionthatthoseunderclaimingdonotdifferinpopulationcharacteristicsfromthoseclaiming(i.e.arenotsignificantlymorelikelytobeentitledtolowerrateAAonly),£260mofAttendanceAllowanceismissedeveryyearacrossScotlandby93,000underclaimants.

Underclaiming amongst Older People Social Rented Tenants in Scotland.

Work has been done to identify the potential level of underclaiming amongst older social rented tenants in Scotland. Based on a Glasgow project attempting to deliver a comprehensive benefit check to the entirety of an older tenant population, which generatedaround£750foreverytenantseen,anationalcampaignengaging90%ofoldersocialrentedtenantsinScotlandcouldgeneratearound£134mofpreviouslyunclaimedbenefit8.

4 All estimates for income related benefits take up rates from Income Related Benefits. Estimates of Take Up in 2006/07, DWP 2008, unless stated

5 All figures for underclaiming use information at www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp unless other source stated

6 Housing Benefit Quarterly Statistics August 2007, DWP, 2007

7 First Findings from the Disability Follow Up to the Family Resources Survey, Craig G and Greenslade M DSS 1998

8 Older Social rented population figures calculated using Scottish Household Survey 2006/07, Scottish Government 2008.

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3. The Impact of Welfare Rights Work

Welfare rights work has an impact on its beneficiaries on a number of different levels. Most obviously it increases the level ofincomeavailabletoahousehold.Thisincreaseinhouseholdincomewillinturnhavebroaderimpactsonthequalityoflife of recipients, and may increase the opportunities open to them or change the pattern of incentives facing them. The beneficiaries of an effective welfare rights service will not only be those who directly receive the service, but also those in the broader community.

Increases in Income.

Welfare rights work can increase beneficiaries’ incomes by large amounts. Many of the biggest gains are to be found in the consistently underclaimed disability related benefits such as Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance. Other areas in which underclaiming is likely and potential gains are high include means tested benefits for older people and in work benefits such as tax credits.

Gains are often even more dramatic than they at first appear due to the way in which the benefit system operates through passporting, in which award of one benefit can trigger entitlement to several more. This can be illustrated by looking at the financialconsequencesofapensionerhouseholdunderclaimingAttendanceAllowanceinapensionerhousehold.AnawardofthelowerrateofAttendanceAllowanceof£47.10(2009figures)couldleadtoincreasedPensionCreditof£52.85perweekinasinglepensionerhousehold,anannualisedincreaseofaround£5,200.ItcanalsomeanthedifferencebetweengettingnoHousing and Council tax benefit and a full rebate.

Passporting not only results in the triggering of enhanced benefit entitlement, but also access to a range of other support, which may include free prescriptions, free glasses, free school meals and school clothing grants.

Different Ways to Increase Housing Benefit.

TherecanbeatemptationforhousingassociationsengagedwithwelfarerightsservicestoencourageWROstofocusquitetightly on increasing uptake of Housing Benefit as a way of assuring rental income.

Doing so not only reduces the potential gains to tenants, but also risks failing on its own terms. Several benefits such as DLA, AA, CA, may act as passports to increasing entitlement to Housing and Council Tax benefit.

The Impact of Income Changes on Quality of Life, Health and Employment.

Literature exploring the impact of the increases in income received by the beneficiaries of welfare rights services gives consistent messages 9 . Extra income tends to be directed towards basic household costs such as fuel and food. There is also evidence that people are able to spend more money on leisure activities and travel. For some people, increases in income enable them to reduce debts that they were previously struggling to repay.

More detailed explorations of the impact of increased benefit income on older people paint a similar picture 10 11, with the income being used to pay for better food and increase the use of heating. For older people increases in income can be particularlysignificantinincreasingtheirindependence,intermsofboththeirabilitytoaffordcareandequipmentroundtheirhome,andintermsofenablingthemtoaffordtravelandreconnecttosocialnetworks(taxiuseoftenincreasesamongstolderpeoplewhoseincomehasbeenmaximised).Giftstomembersofthefamilyarealso,unsurprisingly,anotherareaofincreased expenditure.

9 The Benefits of Welfare Rights Advice, A Review of the Literature, Wiggan J and Talbot C, National Association of Welfare Rights Officers, 2006.

10 Rollout of a Nurse-led Welfare Benefits Screening Programme Throughout the Largest Local Health Care Co-Operative in Glasgow, an Evaluation Study, Hoskins et al BMC Public Health 115, 2009

11 Final Evaluation and GHA Pilot Benefit Uptake Project, ODS Consulting 2005, (unpublished)

Section 3


The existing evidence is less clear on the impact on the health of beneficiaries of increasing income through welfare rights work. A recent large review of studies of health based welfare rights initiatives12 concluded that:

‘There was little evidence that the advice resulted in measurable health or social benefits’.

However, the same review also stated that

‘This is primarily due to a lack of good quality evidence, rather than evidence of an absence of effect’

As the review acknowledges, there are sound theoretical reasons why increasing income should have a health impact on beneficiaries.Indeeditwouldseembizarreiftheimprovementstothequalityoflifeofserviceusersdiscussedabovedidnot,in some way, have an impact on beneficiaries’ well being.

Income maximisation work can have two particular impacts on the employment related decisions of beneficiaries when it focuses on in work benefits.

• Thosewhoareoutofworkcannotbeexpectedtotakeupemploymentopportunitiesunlesstheybelievetheywill bebetteroffinwork.Incomemaximisationwork/betteroffcalculationsfocusedoninworkbenefitscanshiftthe balance in favour of a return to work.

• Peoplearemostvulnerabletonotkeepingajobintheearlystagesofbeinginanewrole.Inadditiontothepersonal/ psychological pressures involved, they may face a number of unexpected costs. Again, welfare rights work focused on in work benefits can deal with some of these concerns.

Broader Community Impacts.

The factors that determine the social stability or success of a community are complex and intertwined. A brief list of those factorswouldincludecrimeanddisorder,health,educationlevels,socialcapital/neighbourliness,householdstability,thequalityofprivatesectorservices,poverty,andlevelsof(un)employmentamongstothers.

Buildingasuccessfulcommunityrequiresholisticaction.However,eventacklingasinglefactorcanhaveabroaderrippleeffect on others. Income maximisation work, by tackling individual and community poverty, potentially creates such a ripple effect.

Research by the Fraser of Allander Institute explored in more detail the economic impact of welfare rights work by examining theworkofGlasgowCityCouncil’sSocialWorkTeam.Theirstudyconcludedthatforevery£60,000staffgainedforserviceusers in previously unclaimed benefit, one job was created in the Glasgow economy13, because of the increased spend locally.

12 A Systematic Review of the Health, Social and Financial Impacts of Welfare Rights Advice Delivered in Health Settings, Adams et al BMC Public Health 6:81 2006

13 Study of the Impact of Welfare Spending on the Glasgow Economy.’ Fraser of Allander Institute 2003

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4. Policy Context

There is a very supportive environment for housing association engagement in welfare rights work.

Policy at a national and local level acknowledges that welfare rights services:

• Helpthoseunabletowork,whetherthroughage,disabilityorillness,caringresponsibilities,orlackofavailabilityof work, to achieve a greater level of material security.

• Supportthoseinlowerpaidwork,enablingthemtosupplementtheirearnedincome,andthereforemakingsurethat work pays.

Scottish Government Policy.

National Outcome Targets.

Within the Government Economic Strategy, its key statement of policy priorities, the Scottish Government has set the following National Outcome14: ‘We have tackled the significant inequalities in Scottish society’This is to be tracked by National Indicators including a: ‘Decrease in the proportion of individuals living in poverty’. The Government has also set the explicit target of increasing:

‘Overall income and the proportion of income earned by the three lowest income deciles as a group by 2012.’

‘Achieving Our Potential’

‘Achieving Our Potential’ 15sets out how a framework for the Scottish Government to work to achieve this outcome and target. It proposes action across four strands:• Tacklingincomeinequality.• Longertermmeasurestotacklepovertyandthedriversoflowincome.• Supportingthoseexperiencingpoverty.

• MakingthebenefitsandtaxcreditsystemworkbetterinScotland.

Under the first strand of the framework, the Government commits to making a significant investment in benefit take up work in2009/10,focusingonolderpeopleandotherkeygroups,andexpandingfurtheritsworksuchasthebenefittakeuppilotsitis taking forward with Age Concern Scotland. More broadly it expresses the intention to build on what works and develop new approaches.

The third strand of the framework contains a number of commitments in the broader financial inclusion field, promising to increase the availability and usage of money advice services, and the increased use of advice services to prevent people falling into difficulties.

‘Equally Well’

‘AchievingourPotential’linksspecificallytotherecommendationsoftheEquallyWellImplementationPlan16, which focuses onworktotacklehealthinequalitiesbydealingwiththesocialdeterminantsofillhealth.Tworecommendationshaverelevance for welfare rights work:

Recommendation 17

Universal public services should build on the examples of effective financial inclusion activity, to engage people at risk of poverty with the financial advice and services they need.

Recommendation 18

The Government should help people to maximise their income and encourage them to take up means tested benefits, starting with older people, and extending activity through intermediate organisations such as RSLs and healthcare services.’

14The Government Economic Strategy, The Scottish Government

15Achieving our Potential, A Framework to Tackle Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland, Scottish Government 2008

16Equally Well Implementation Plan, Scottish Government, 2008.

Section 4


The Plan also refers to the Energy Assistance Package, for which pensioners, and low income families, with children under 5, or disabled children under 16, are eligible. In addition to support around improvements to the energy efficiency of their home and finding the correct energy tariff, the package includes income maximisation work.

Wider Role Funding

Wider Role has always been important to supporting housing associations’ engagement in welfare rights work.

TheScottishGovernmentoutlineditsprioritiesfortheWiderRoleFundin2009/10and2010/11inalettertoassociationsinDecember 200817:

‘In particular, we want Wider Role to support action to tackle poverty, especially in our most deprived neighbourhoods:andweareinvitingproposalsfromRSLsfor2009/10and2010-11onthethemesof early intervention with vulnerable households; action to improve employability and help people achieve employment; and action aimed at income maximisation for deprived tenants. This activity will in our view be particularly relevant against the backdrop of the current difficult economic conditions we are facing.’

Associations were given the further advice to:

• Ensurelocalstrategicfit.

• Demonstratejointworking.

• AvoidrevenuefundingforRSLstaffposts.

Each of these issues will be covered in more detail later in the Guide.

Getting Local Support.

Local regeneration funding has always been another potential support for housing associations looking to engage in welfare rights work. Effectively tapping into this area of support means taking account of the key changes in regeneration policy over the last few years; a move away from an approach focused on large geographical areas of disadvantage, and an increase in autonomy for local authorities in determining spending priorities18 .

In2005,CommunityPlanningPartnerships(CPPs)becameresponsiblefordetermininglocalregenerationpriorities,takingover from the geographically more tightly focused Social Inclusion Partnerships. CPPs set out those priorities in Regeneration Outcome Agreements, which also described how the Community Regeneration Fund, additional funding for tackling disadvantage, was to be targeted.

Furtherchangecamewiththenewadministrationin2007.UndertheconcordatbetweentheScottishGovernmentandlocalauthorities, local authorities must set out in their Single Outcome Agreement how they will seek to meet the key national outcome targets set by the Scottish Government, and how they plan to use their allocation of the Fairer Scotland Fund.

The Fairer Scotland Fund brings together seven funding streams including the Community Regeneration Fund and the FinancialInclusionFund.Worth£145mayearforeachyearfrom2008/09to2010/11itisintendedtoactasacatalystformoreeffective joint working, to achieve improved outcomes, and to lever mainstream resources.

It will support projects which:

• Tackletherootcausesofconcentratedandpersistentpoverty.

• Makeearlyinterventionsforandwithvulnerableindividuals,familiesanddisadvantagedcommunities.

• Promoteandimprovejointworkingbetweenlocalpartners.

• Focusactiononimprovingemployability.

• EmpowercommunitiesandindividualstoinfluenceandinformdecisionsmadebypartnersinCommunityPlanning Partnerships.

Crucially,from2010/11onwards,thefundingwillnotberingfenced.

17 Letter to Housing Associations from Alisdair McIntosh, Scottish Government, 11th December 2008.

18Making Places Work, Future Directions for Housing Associations in Community Regeneration in Scotland, Hopkins N and Armstrong C, SFHA, 2008

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5. Why Housing Associations? The Social and Business Cases for Involvement

The Social Case. The social case for housing associations getting involved with welfare rights is based on more than the simple positive impact it can achieve for tenants. It is also about associations using their organisational assets to bring added value to such activity.

Housing Association Assets.

Housing association assets are not just physical. They also include their routes into, and relationship with, their tenant base.

Service Users

• Associationsworkwithmanyofthepeoplethatotherpublicagenciesareparticularlykeentoengage.Particularly inareasinwhichthoseexperiencingsocialandeconomicdisadvantagearewidelyspreadand/ortosomeextent hidden, targeting housing association tenants can be an effective way of targeting a considerable proportion of those in most need.

Information

Associations:

• Holdcontactinformationontheirtenants.

• Holdandgatherinformationrelatingtotenantvulnerabilitysuchasphysicaldisability,mentalhealthproblems,anda general struggle to cope.

• Gaininformationontenants’financialvulnerabilitybasedonrentaccounts.Arrearsmayoftenbeanindicationof underclaiming benefit, broader debt, or general financial struggle, and potentially allow issues to be picked up before any other public agencies become aware there is a problem.

Contact and Relationship.

Associations:

• Areinregularwrittentouchwithtenants,throughnewsletters/tenantmagazines,informationletters-forexample about developments, refurbishment work or rent changes.

• Haveafacetofacerelationshipwithtenants.Inparticular,housingofficersmaymeettenantsfacetofaceintheir home in a way replicated by few other public agencies.

• Aregenerallytrustedbytheirtenants.Basedontheotherassetsidentifiedabove,thisplacesthemaspotential ‘trusted intermediaries’ between tenants and advice services.

Organisational Status.

Associations:

• Oftensitattheheartoftheircommunities,workingcloselywithcommunityrepresentativesandhavingaclear understanding of the issues facing their tenants and communities.

• Arestrictlyregulated.

• Canthereforeactas‘communityanchors’.

Building on these Assets: Key Roles for Housing Associations.

Based on these assets, housing associations can play a number of key roles in adding value to welfare rights activity19 :

• Promoter. Most simply, housing associations can promote welfare rights services to their tenants, advertising servicesinnewsletters,othertenantcommunications,throughleafletsandpostersinoffices,andthroughstaffand committee members spreading information and positive views about services through word of mouth.

19A different, but also helpful typology can be found in Financial Inclusion in Social Housing, National Housing Federation, 2008

Section 5


• Spotter and referrer.Associationscanusetheinformationtheyhold,andthemannerandqualityoftheir relationship with tenants, to identify and refer both those most likely to be existing underclaimants, and respond with referral to the changes in their circumstances that can trigger entitlement.

• Investor. Associations can both invest their own resources in engaging with welfare rights activity, and manage publicresourcesinvestedinsuchwork,basedontheirownfinancialflexibilityandcontrol,andtheirability to evaluate the cash and organisational gains resulting from such work.

The Business Case. Housing associations can use welfare rights activity to:

• Reducerentarrears.

• Reduceexpensivecourtactionsandevictions.

• Promotetenancysustainmentandpreventhomelessness.

• Motivatestaff,andenablethemtoworkmoreeffectively.

• Deliverarangeofother,lessobviousgains-buildingtheirreputationamongststakeholders,preservingtheirstock, and supporting community stability.

Rent Arrears, Court Actions and Evictions.

Rent arrears are closely bound up with benefit problems, debt, and more general financial exclusion:

• ProblemswithHousingBenefitareparticularlysignificant,including:

- Changes in tenant entitlement due to intermittent employment.

- Tenants, particularly those who are vulnerable, not updating benefit authorities when their circumstances changeornotprovidingrequiredsupportinginformation/completingformsinaccuratelyriskingunder-and over-payment. Claims supported by benefits advice staff may also be processed as much as five times quickerthanthosenot20.

- Administrative failures.

• Tenantsinarrearsgenerallyhavemorethanonetypeofhouseholddebt21, potentially exacerbated by underclaiming benefits.

- Tenants insecurely employed, or newly unemployed, may struggle to meet previously affordable financial responsibilities.

- Tenants in debt may have more fear of pressure from other creditors, such as the repossession of household goods, than be immediately concerned about evictions or court actions from social landlords.

- Unexpected expenditures, for example when household goods break or are stolen, can leave tenants vulnerabletodebt.Somebenefits/grants/crisisloansarespecificallydesignedtomeetsuchneeds.

- The strain of financial problems can lead to relationship breakdown, a major trigger in itself of debt issues, mental health problems, rent affordability problems, and entitlement changes.

The vast majority of evictions carried out by Scottish housing associations, and social landlords across the UK, are on the grounds of rent arrears. Eviction is an expensive business failure. Research from Community Finance Solutions estimates that thecostofevictingatenantisashighas£6,000perepisode,andthecostofacourtactionareashighas£2,00022.

Tenancy Sustainment.

Promoting tenancy sustainment is about more than simply preventing evictions. It is about reducing all types of tenancy turnover; abandonments, the number of properties given up, and the number of people moving on because of broader affordability difficulties.

High rates of tenancy turnover can result from, amongst other factors, tenants being unable to cope with having high levels of arrears,and/orindividualsnotbeingabletoaffordtofurnishordecoratetheirpropertyandturnitintoahome23.

20Audit Commission (2003) Housing Association Rent Income.

21Kempson, E and McKay S (2004) ‘Characteristics of Families in Debt and the Nature of Their Indebtedness’

22Housing Corporation (2006) ‘Community Access to Money, Reaping the Benefits’.

23Scottish Government and CoSLA (2009) Prevention of Homeless Guidance

17 17

It is critical to remember that even though a tenant may be getting their rent fully paid by Housing Benefit, they may lack the resourcestopaytheirutilityandotherhouseholdbillsbecauseofbroaderunderclaiming/financialproblems,andultimatelyterminate their tenancy as unsustainable.

Tenancy turnover is expensive for housing associations, the GHA research mentioned above suggested that social landlords mayfacecosts,notaccountingforstafftime,ofaround£1,300foreverytenancythatfails24.

Furthermore, housing associations do not work in isolation but are part of an overall housing system. One social landlord’s ‘failed’tenant,isanother’s(oreventheirown)vulnerabletenantofthenearfuture,andwillplaceconsiderablecostsonotherpartsofthepublicsector.ResearchfromCRISISexploredthefinancialconsequencesofanevictionforrentarrears,suggestingthatthehalfyearcoststosociallandlordsandthebroaderpublicsectorofsuchanepisodewouldbeover£4,500,withtheprospect of increased costs if appropriate intervention does not break the cycle rapidly25.

Staff Time and MoraleHigh levels of rent arrears and tenancy turnover mean the diversion of a considerable amount of staff time into dealing with:• Administrativetasksinpursuitofarrears,andpreparationfor/representationatactionsforrepossession.• Repairingandsecuringvoidproperties.

• Reletandreallocationofproperties.

Constantly playing a ‘policing’ rather than a supportive role with tenants, chasing tenants in arrears, pursuing court actions, and ‘sweeping up’ after an eviction are demotivating for staff, potentially hitting staff retention and leading to negative or cynicalperceptionsoftenants,andchallengesformaintainingcustomerservicequality.

Income maximisation work offers the prospect of staff being able to refocus on those tenants most in need of support, or on moregeneralproactive/developmentalworkratherthanonfirefighting.

It also, by giving staff the opportunity to intervene, through the spotting and referral of tenants, and by providing training aimed at increasing their understanding of the pressures affecting tenants, develops their skills and sense of effectiveness in their job, improving retention, motivation and performance.

Other Business Gains:

Housing associations may gain in several other ways from engagement with welfare rights activity:

• Reputational Benefits. Such work demonstrates to tenants that the association is prepared to do more to assist them than simply provide a home. This can have a particular impact at a time when tenants are being balloted in relation to a stock transfer. It demonstrates to other funders that the association is committed both to following best practice, and to being a partner that adds value to efforts at community regeneration.

• Community Stability/ Success. Tackling poverty means taking action on a key factor driving community failure and instability. It will not of itself transform a community’s prospects, but will be an essential part of broader regeneration efforts.

• Condition of Homes. Tenants with higher incomes are more likely to heat their homes properly, thus avoiding the risk of condensation and resultant damage to the fabric and décor of the home. They are also more likely to invest in thedecoroftheirhome,reducingthelevelofworkrequiredtoensurethatthehomeisatlettablestandardaftera tenancy terminates, and the likelihood of rejection of an offer by a future prospective tenant.

A Different Way of looking at Value for Money.

An alternative way of viewing the extent to which associations provide value for money is through a comparison of the amount of money gained by tenant households through welfare rights work, and the actual cost of the service to tenants through rental charges.

Work exploring this indicates that even where the cost of welfare rights posts is wholly met through rental income, weekly tenant gains outweigh the weekly cost of the service several times over.

It should further be remembered that:

• Evenwheretenantsdonotcurrentlyuseaservicetheymaydosointhefuture,ormaybeusingotherservices provided through rental income that welfare rights users may not.

• Formanytenants,thisextracostofrentalincomeismetbyHousingBenefit.Welfarerightsservicesalsofocuson increasing claims for Housing Benefit, further enhancing the benefit of the service in comparison to costs actually placed on tenants.

24Tenancy Sustainment in Glasgow, Pawson H et al, Glasgow Housing Association, 2005.

25CRISIS (2003) How Many, How Much Single Homelessness, and the Question of Numbers and Cost

Section 5


Increasing ChallengesEconomicchangeandlegaldevelopmentsnowposefurtherchallengestohousingassociationsattemptingtoholddown/reduce levels of rent arrears and tenancy failure.

The Recession.

The recession has brought a huge increase in unemployment in Scotland. In the April- June period of 2008, unemployment hit alowof113,000,arateof4.2%.Attheendofthesamequarterof2009unemploymenthadrisento188,000,arateof7%26.

Whilst the highest percentage increases in unemployment have generally been amongst more highly skilled, better paid occupations, the largest numerical increases in unemployment have occurred in lower skilled jobs, essentially those workers most likely to be housing association tenants.

Reviewingthelistofriskfactorsgeneratingrentarrears(andhencetenancyfailure)outlinedabove,itcanbeseenthattherecession is likely to increase the housing management challenges facing housing associations.

The direct impact of increases in unemployment on broader debt and rent affordability is obvious. Other, less direct impacts can also be expected. For example,

• OverburdenedHousingBenefitAdministrationsarelikelytomakemoremistakesduetothesheerpressureofwork caused by an increase in claimants. Both over and underpayments risk driving up arrears.

• Moneyandjobworriesputmorepressureonrelationships,notallwillsurvive.

Low Income Low Assets, LILA, Route to Bankruptcy

TheBankruptcyandDiligenceAct(Scotland)of2007mademajorchangestosequestration/bankruptcyproceduresaffectingmanysocialrentedtenants.TheLowIncomeLowAssetsrouteallowspeoplewithlowincomesandlowassets(generallythoseinrentedhousing)toapplyforbankruptcyonpaymentofasmallfee.

Coming into force on April 2008, the Act has led to a massive increase in the number of bankruptcies, the numbers going from 6,158in2007/08to14,600in2008/09.Ofthe11,421makingdebtorapplicationsforbankruptcyin2008/09,9417wereundertheLILAroute,or82.4%ofthetotal27.

The critical aspect of bankruptcy is that it involves the writing off of rent arrears as part of the arrangement. Should large numbersoftenantswithhighlevelsofrentarrearsseekbankruptcyunderLILA,thefinancialconsequencesforhousingassociations would be severe. More than ever, the onus must be on early intervention to stop problems getting out of hand.

Tips on Building the Business and Social Cases.

The National Housing Federation published a Guide to Financial Capability for Social Housing Tenants in 200828. Most of the Guide focuses on how advice and support workers can structure group or one to one work on financial capability with social housing tenants.

However, the final chapter, written by the author of this Guide, focuses on how such workers might practically build the case for the involvement of their organisation in such work, in particular on how they can get across a number of key messages in doing so.

TheGuideisathttp://www.housing.org.uk/Uploads/File/financial_capability_guide.pdf

26Figures from NOMIS www.nomisweb.co.uk

27Scottish Insolvency Statistics, Accountant in Bankruptcy, 2009 available at http://www.aib.gov.uk/News/releases/2009/04/22141026

28A Guide to Financial Capability for Social Housing Tenants, National Housing Federation, 2008.

19 19

6. Delivering Best Practice

Maximising the impact of housing associations’ engagement in welfare rights work on tenants, and on the business performance of associations themselves, means:

• Takingastrategic approach, based on a clear analysis of need, through a service delivered by an appropriate agency, linked in with other associations, services and organisations where appropriate.

• Takingawhole organisation approach, committing staff in each part of the association to playing clearly identified role in the service, supporting them to do so, and building welfare rights into relevant mainstream procedures.

• Managing services and partnerships effectively, in accordance with clear agreements, in an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect.

• Effectively targeting tenants who:

- Are of concern to housing managers, those in arrears, at risk of tenancy failure, or who are new into their tenancy.

- May have been underclaiming benefits for a while, or whose entitlement triggering changing circumstances may be known to associations.

• Deliveringasholistic a service as possible to tenants, building strong links with other services which can deal with other problems that they have.

• Deliveringaservicethatisequally accessible and effective in meeting the needs of all tenants.

• Puttingintoplacesystemswhicheffectivelymonitorandevaluatetheimpactoftheservice.

• Havingaclearstrategyforsustainable funding of a service in the long term.

Section 6


6.1 Taking a Strategic Approach

Therearesomekeyinitialquestionsforhousingassociationstoconsiderwhendevelopingtheirengagementwithwelfarerights work, or when undertaking a review of their current provision:

• Whatisthelevelofneedamongsttenantsforawelfarerightsservice?

• Whatarethesocialandbusinesscasesforengagement?

• Shouldtheylooktodirectlydeliveranadviceservice,orcommissionanexternalagencytodeliverontheirbehalf?

• Shouldtheylooktodeliverinpartnershipwithotherassociations?

• Howwouldprovisionfitwithotherlocaladviceservices?

• Howmightprovisionfitaspartoftheirbroaderengagementintacklingtenants’povertyandfinancialexclusion?

Needs Analysis.

There will be very few, if any, housing associations whose tenants cannot potentially benefit from having better access to welfare rights services.

However, carrying out an analysis of tenant need is still an essential part of developing an effective service in terms of:

• Demonstratingtofundersandinternalstakeholdersthattheservicewilleffectivelytargetthosewhoaremost vulnerable.

• Clarifyingwhereserviceprioritiesmightlie.

• Providinganunderstandingofthelevelofdemandthatmightexistforaservice.

• Providingasoundstatisticalbasiswhichmightguidethedevelopmentoftargetsfortheservice.

A needs analysis should encompass an exploration of information relating to:

• Theageanddemographicprofileoftenants,includinggenderandethnicorigin.

• Thesocio-economicprofileoftenants,including:

- Thenumber/proportionoftenantsonfullandpartialHousingBenefit,andthenumberoftenantsmoving on and off HB over the course of a year.

- Thenumber/proportionoftenantsinfullandparttimeemployment.

- Tenant incomes.

• Thevulnerabilityoftenantsincluding:

- Those with previous experiences of homelessness.

- Those with mental health and addictions problems.

- Those with physical disabilities.

An effective needs analysis will need to make use of a variety of different sources of information. These will include:

• Demographicinformationgainedthroughtenantsatisfactionsurveys.

• Housingmanagementinformationheldbytheassociation.

• Statisticsonlocalandnationallevelsofpovertyanddisadvantage,essentialindemonstratingthattargetingan association’s tenants is an effective way to reach those in need within an area.

• Statisticsonbenefittakeup.

Links for useful sources of statistical information for use in needs analysis are found in the appendix at the end of this Guide.

21 21

Understanding the Social and Business Case.

The social and business cases for housing associations to become engaged with welfare rights activity have been set out above. Associations need to clarify and explicitly state their understanding of these cases as they relate specifically to them.

Associations should consider carefully how their organisation can bring added value to welfare rights work in the roles of promoter,identifierandreferrerandinvestor/fundingmanager.

Setting out the areas in which a welfare rights service can contribute to improved business performance should involve the review, including comparison against peer group information where available, of information relating to:

• Arrears,bothcurrentandformertenant,withaspecificfocusonthosetenantswithhighlevelsofarrears.

• Evictionsandcourtactions.

• Leveloftenancyturnoverwithspecificreferencetoabandonmentsandthosemovingontoaccommodationwithin the private rented sector.

In any documentation setting out the business case for action, associations should draw clear links to objectives set out within their business or other plans.

Internal Delivery or External Commission?

Housing associations can both deliver welfare rights services directly themselves, or can commission external organisations to deliver on their behalf.

Neither existing literature nor the survey of current practice provide a clear steer about how associations should proceed on this issue. The choice will therefore depend on local circumstances:

• Thewillingnessofassociationstoexpandtheirownstaffcomplement.

• Thewillingnessoflocaladviceagenciestoengagewithassociations.

• Thequalityofserviceprovidedbylocaladviceagencies.

Both general approaches have potential strengths and weaknesses, as seen in the table below. The survey of current practice suggests strongly that the strengths are not absolute, and the weaknesses are not insurmountable.

Links exist as matter of course between advice worker and agency colleagues.

Needtobuildsystemsfromscratch/importsystemsfrom another organisation.

Internal Provision External Commissioning

Moreeasilycontrolledandmanagedbyassociations. Challengesintermsofensuringcontract/SLAcompliance.

Engendersmorelongtermcommitment/investmentfrom associations.

Less easy for association to claim credit for a service, and easier to cut external investment in tougher financial times.

Easier to integrate into general operation of an association.

Potential for culture clash between association and advice agency. Advice agency will need to overcome any concernstheyhaveaboutsharingcontrol,andbeflexibleabout location.

Less potential for confusion in management responsibilities.

Advice worker responsible to both advice agency and housing association.

Specificeffortrequiredtoestablishindependenceintheeyes of the service user.

Label as external independent advice agency should automatically establish bona fides with tenants.

Automatic access to housing management information.

Potential data protection issues around access to tenant related information.

Need to build referral links with external advice agencies, e.g. money advice.

Potential for professional isolation.

Support provided as matter of course through advice agency.

Supported by existing systems and practices of specialist advice agency.

Section 6.1

More important than the specific delivery vehicle for welfare rights services is that services take on board the lessons set out in the rest of this Guide.


Scottish Government Wider Role Funding.

The most recent guidance from the Scottish Government indicates a clear reluctance to fund internal posts within housing associations.

However,actualpracticefromtheWiderRoleTeamappearstobemoreflexible.WiderRoleFundingisbeingmadeavailablefor internally delivered welfare rights services, but only where the reasons for doing so are clearly established. The days of associationssimplyassumingthatinternalprovisionisthemosteffectivewayofproceedingare(rightly)over.

Commissioning External Agencies.

Some of the specific challenges relating to the commissioning of external agencies to deliver a welfare rights service have been set out above. Operating in this way does, of course, face a range of challenges generally associated with commissioning processes.

Associations commissioning services should negotiate Service Level Agreements which specify:

• Theservicetobeprovidedandthemethodofservicedelivery.

• Theresponsibilitiesofthecommissionedagency,andthecommissioningassociations.

• Mechanismsfordaytodaymanagement.

• Monitoring,evaluationandreportingprocesses.

• Theextentoftheworktobedelivered,outputandoutcometargets.

• Proceduresforamendingtheagreementandresolvingdisputes.

• Proceduresforwindinguptheservice.

• Levelsoffundingtobeprovided,includedinkindcontributionsfromeachpartner.

• Referencetorelevantdataprotection,healthandsafetyandequalitieslegislation.

Association(s)shouldmeetatleastquarterlywithcommissionedagenciestoreviewserviceprogress.

Asimportantasthedetailoftheagreement,isthatboththeassociation(s)involvedandthecommissionedagencyputtimeand effort at all stages of project delivery into clarifying mutual understanding of the service’s objectives, and developing a high degree of trust and mutual respect.

Working in Partnership with Other Associations.

Partnership working offers the following potential advantages:

• Smallerassociationscantherebyavoidtryingtorecruitstafftofillaparttimepostwhenthereisinsufficientdemand for full time provision, something that often proves difficult.

• Largerassociationsmaybeabletocreateateamworkingacrossassociations,dealingwithanypotentialissuesof WRO isolation.

• Thelevelsofriskrelatingtoanewprojectcanbespreadacrossseveralpartners.

• Engagementinjointworkingonthedevelopmentofwelfarerightsservicescanbeaninitialsteptowardswiderjoint working and relationship building.

• TheScottishWiderRoleTeamandotherfundersofwelfarerightsservicesstateaclearpreferencethatassociations work in partnership.

Partnership working does not come without challenges, and ways of responding to those are discussed in more detail below.

23 23

Fit with Other Services.

Associations choosing to deliver services via the commissioning of external agencies will expect, as a matter of course, that such services will fit in to the broader pattern of provision within an area.

Those delivering services internally need to work to establish:

• Clearreferralroutesfortenantswhowishtoaccessanalternativewelfarerightsservice.

• Anunderstandingofhowtheywillrespondtoapproachesfromnontenantsincludingclearon-referralroutesifthey will not be offered a service.

• Effectiverelationshipswithprovidersofmoneyadviceandotherfinancialinclusioninterventions.

Broader Engagement in Financial Inclusion.

Welfare rights services are only a small part of the range of interventions that housing associations can look to progress which tackle the financial exclusion and poverty facing their tenants. Associations can also:

• Supporttenantstoaccessmoney,debtandenergyadviceservices.

• Worktopromoteandincreaseaccesstomainstreamfinancialservicessuchasaffordablecredit,banking,savingsand insurance products.

• Supportinitiativestodevelopthefinancialcapabilityoftenants.

Appendix B sets out a more detailed checklist of the range of financial inclusion action in which they can engage.

Whether or not associations formally develop a financial inclusion strategy, and there is clear value in having a written statement of intention in this regard, reviewing or developing welfare rights services can be an effective first step in the development of a wider, more comprehensive approach to tackling poverty and financial exclusion amongst tenants.

Section 6.1


6.2 Developing a Whole Organisation Approach

Developing an approach to engagement with welfare rights work which effectively engages the whole organisation involves a number of key elements:

• Appropriatelocationoftheservice.

• Clearleadershipwithintheassociation.

• Aclearconceptionofthepotentialcontributionofkeypartsoftheservice.

• Propersupportforstafftoplaytheirassignedrole.

• Thebuildingofeffectiverelationshipsandcommunicationbetweenstaffandwelfarerightsservices.

• Proceduresfordealingwithanyconflictsthatarise.

Location of the Service.

There are two obvious options for the organisational location of an internally delivered welfare rights service:

• Withinasection/team/subsidiaryfocusedoncommunityinitiatives/widerrolework.

• Alongsidehousingmanagementstaff.

The preference should be for the service to be located alongside housing management staff:

• Maximisingtheimpactoftheserviceonbusinessperformanceandensuringitslongtermsustainabilityrequirea strong relationship between WROs and housing managers and officers, and for the latter to feel a sense of ownership over the service.

• Placingaservicewithinacommunityinitiativesteamcancausetheservicetobeviewedasanoptionalextraoras somewhat peripheral, particularly where that tends to be the more general view of that team’s activities within the wider organisation.

Exceptionstothisrulemightbemadewherestaffwithbroaderfinancialinclusionremits/experiencearebasedwithinacommunityinitiative/widerroleteam.Eveninthesesituations,however,theserviceneedstoestablishdirectandstrongrelationships with housing management colleagues.

There is discussion below of the importance of day to day communication between welfare rights and other staff. One factor is of course critical for enabling this, the physical presence of staff alongside each other, or co-location, co-location, co-location. Basing WROs physically alongside housing staff not only builds good personal relationships, but also has direct benefits for tenants. The presence of WROs in an office acts as a consistent reminder to other staff of the service they offer, and as a prompt to encourage cross referral.

Leadership.

Welfare rights services need to be championed at all levels of an association if they are to be truly effective. This means:

• Clearstatementsofcommitmentfromcommitteestodeliveringtheservice,andtoprovidingongoinglongterm support for successful services.

• SupportatExecutiveTeamlevel,sufficienttosecurecontinuedfinancialsupportandtomakecleartostaffthe expectation that they will play their part in making services effective. Leadership does not have to come from chief executive level, indeed it may be more appropriately provided by managers more able to devote more time and focus to the work.

• SupportfromWROs,whetherinternallyorexternallybased.Officersmustchampiontheirservicebyworking closely with staff at a more senior level, through their practical work, and the communication of their success, thus constantly demonstrating its value to colleagues, committees and tenants.

25 25

Understanding the Contributions of Staff.

Thediscussionaboveofthesocialcasesuggeststhathousingassociationscanplaytherolesofpromoterandidentifier/referrer in delivering effective welfare rights services. They might:

• Usethecontactandagerelatedinformationtheyholdtotargetoldertenantsproactivelywiththeofferofbenefit checks.

• Useinformationgatheredatsignuptoprovidenewtenantsidentifiedashavingvulnerablebackground,suchasa previous history of homelessness, with a benefit check as standard.

• Ensureautomaticreferraloftenantsinrentarrearstowelfarerightsservices.

• Usesettlingin/annualvisitstoidentifythesignsoftenantsstrugglingtomanagetheirtenancyeffectively,andrefer them to welfare rights and other support.

• Userequestsforshelteredhousingoraidsandadaptationstoidentifyolderordisabledtenantswhoarenow potentially entitled to additional support.

The key role of front line staff is to identify and refer tenants in potential need of support.

Several points should be made about this role:

• Frontlinehousingstaffshouldnotbeexpectedtobecomeexpertsinthebenefitsystem,buttoknowenoughto identify potential underclaimants and make appropriate referrals.

• Thatsaid,theprovisionofbasicsupporttotenantsaroundthecompletionofHousingBenefitformsshouldbean established part of the tasks performed by housing officers.

• Wherestaffhavedevelopedmoreexpertiseinthebenefitsystem,orwheretheirroleinvolvestheminthedelivery of more intensive support to tenants, for example where they work with tenants in sheltered housing, it may be possible for them to play a more comprehensive part in the provision of welfare rights advice, without compromising thequalityoftheadviceprovided.

• Effectivedeliveryofthisrole,towhateverlevel,requiresongoingsupportfromwelfarerightsspecialists.

Supporting Staff to Play Their Role.

As discussed above the benefit system is hugely complex. To play the role of identifying and referring tenants appropriately, frontline housing staff must develop their knowledge relating to the triggers for potential benefit entitlement.

Supporting staff in this regard means the consistent engagement of WROs in capacity building work through:

• Regularformaltrainingsessions.

• Thebuildingofwelfarerightstrainingintotheinductionprocessesofnewstaff,perhapsincludingworkshadowing.

• Ongoingupdatesonalessformalbasisatteammeetings.

• Provisionofwrittenbriefingsonkeychangestothesystem(tenantsnewsletterarticlesonbenefitscanoftendouble asusefulresourcesforstaff).

• InformalengagementbetweenWROsandstaffthroughthecourseofeverydayduties.

Building Good Relationships and Communication.

Effective working relationships between WROs and housing staff sit at the heart of any success in this field. The basis for such relationships must be the generation of a clear understanding of shared objectives through explicit discussion, reinforced by the way in which the service is delivered.

The primary objective of WROs must be to meet the needs of their service users. The primary objective of housing staff will be to achieve the objectives of their association, and through doing so, meet the needs of tenants.

However, both WROs and housing staff share the common objective of seeing tenants in control of their finances, i.e. with low rent arrears, and able to support a stable tenancy. Remember, eviction and tenancy non sustainment are expensive failed outcomes for associations.

Similarly, it is essential that WROs and housing staff develop a sense of mutual professional respect. Both sets of staff are delivering a skilled job in sometimes challenging circumstances, and displaying an understanding of that fact, for example by acknowledging the value of the professional judgement of others, acts to build respect and trust.

Section 6.2


EffectiveworkingrelationshipsalsogetbuiltbythequalityofdaytodayinteractionbetweenWROsandhousingstaff.Theresponsibility lies on both parties to ensure that such interaction is positive, but over and above co-location, WROs can take particular steps to develop positive relationships, including:

• Regularattendanceatteammeetings,andparticipationinstaffsocialevents.

• Beingflexibleabouttherangeoftaskstheyperformfortheassociation,beingpreparedonoccasiontoassistthehost associationbeyondtheirimmediateduties(aslongasthisdoesnotcompromisetheirservicetotenantsinanyway).

• Beinginvolvedinthedaytodayinteractionofofficelife.

Dealing with Conflicts.

AnumberofpotentialconflictsmightariseintherelationshipbetweenWROsandhostassociations:

• HousingstaffmightwantWROstorevealaninappropriatelevelofinformationaboutthefinancialcircumstancesof tenants.

• WROsmightfeelthatthesupporttheyareprovidingtotenantsisbeingundercutbyongoingactionbeingtaken against the tenant by the host association, for example court actions for eviction may be proceeding against tenants who the WRO is supporting to make a claim for Housing Benefit.

• TenantswhohaveusedaWRO’sservicesmayseekadvocacysupportwhencasesreachcourt.

• TenantsmightapproachWROstoseeksupportonhousingissuessuchasrepairsetc.

• Wherewelfarerightsofficersprovidebasicmoneyadviceinrelationtoprioritydebts,theymaybeinthepositionof advising tenants in relation to the rent arrears owed to their host association.

Noneofthepotentialconflictsisinsoluble.Keytotheresolutionprocessis,ofcourse,opendiscussionatthetimeofsettingupor reviewing a service, and ongoing openness after that time.

In terms of the correct approach to be taken:

• HostassociationsmustletWROsdelivertheirserviceinaccordancewiththepreceptthattheirprimarydutyistotheir service users.

• Proceduresshouldbedesignedspecificallytoavoidthesituationinwhichevictionsonthegroundsofarrearsare carried out against tenants who are awaiting decisions on existing benefit claims.

• WhereWROsfeelthattheirrelationshipwiththehostassociationcompromisestheirabilitytodeliveranappropriate service to the tenant, they should have arrangements in place to make a referral to an alternative provider of advice.

Theresolutionofconflictsaroundprioritydebtsandinformationsharingisworthdiscussinginalittlemoredetail.

Conflictsaroundprioritydebtsareperhapslargelyamatterofperceptionratherthanreality.Prioritydebtsshouldbetreatedexactly as their name implies, as the first items to be dealt with in any problem debt situation. No matter the organisational location of a money advisor, their advice will focus on ensuring that tenants maintain a roof above their head by dealing with their rent arrears.

ConflictsinrelationtoinformationsharingaretypicallyandeffectivelyresolvedbyWROsrestrictingthemselvestosharinginformation about tenants’ financial circumstances to situations in which they have the tenant’s permission to do so, and in which such sharing is clearly to the tenant’s advantage. For example, where action against a tenant is under consideration or being taken forward, WROs can, with the permission of the tenant, justifiably share information with housing staff relating to atenant’spotentialqualificationforHousingBenefit,particularlybackdatedHousingBenefit.Theyshouldnot,however,shareinformationrelatingtoatenant’squalificationforotherbenefits,forexampledisabilityrelatedbenefits.

Embedding in Policies and Procedures.

As seen above, effective personal interactions and relationships are essential to housing associations developing effective whole organisation approaches to welfare rights work.

Formal recognition of the role of welfare rights within relevant procedures also has an important part to play. Specific policy and procedure issues relating to arrears, tenancy sustainment etc will be discussed below. In this section, it is sufficient to notethatrelevantpoliciesandproceduresshouldalwaysreflectclearrolesforwelfarerightssupportasastandard,expectedintervention.

A second point is important. WROs often bring a wealth of experience to host associations, with an in depth understanding of the challenges facing tenants and their landlords. That experience should be tapped into by host associations whenever doing wider work in policy and procedure development.

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Case Study: West of Scotland Housing Association.

WestofScotlandHousingAssociationhaveprovidedawelfarerightsservicetotheir3,500tenants,basedin7LAareas,forthelast 19 years.

The long standing WRO has recently received additional support through a welfare rights assistant. The service has been highly successful, generating 230K in backdated benefit alone in the previous year.

The service has met the challenge of building relationships across the association’s different offices, including occasions when the association has taken over smaller community based housing associations with an initially different working culture.

The WRO and WRA work closely with housing management colleagues on arrears cases, local teams treat the pursuit of arrears as a joint enterprise.

By the time the association reaches the stage of reaching a Notice of Proceedings a referral should have been made to the welfare rights service. Relevant information is shared with housing officers relating to tenants’ potential entitlement to Housing Benefit. This ensures that the association does not need to continue to press in cases where underclaiming is identified.

The WRO has also had considerable success in agreeing levels of repayments which are both realistic for the tenant, and effective in ensuring consistent and sustainable repayment for the association. A key part of this has been her ongoing oversight of cases she considers vulnerable.

She is also clear that as a WRO she can reach those tenants that housing officers cannot engage, something evidenced by the extent to which she is used by tenants as their main contact with the association.

Section 6.2


6.3 Managing Services and Partnerships

Service Management by Non Experts?

Whether a service is delivered in house, or commissioned from an external agency, housing managers will take some role in its management.

In playing this role, housing managers must strike a critical balance between the need for effective oversight of the service and to respect the professional judgement of the WRO, this in a context in which they will not themselves generally have an in depth understanding of welfare rights work.

WROs, particularly those employed internally, are faced with similar countervailing pressures. Many relish being under light touch control from housing managers, but acknowledge that day to day distance can exacerbate the lack of understanding of managers of their role, and create problems.

There are no simple short cuts to dealing with these issues. Progress can be made through:

• Takingtimeinthedevelopmentofaservicetogeneratearealunderstandingof,andcommitmentto,welfare rights work amongst housing managers. This means focused work both in the project development phase, possibly engaging other WROs to advise on setting up the service, and once a new WRO is in post.

• EnsuringthatWROshaveanindepthworkingknowledgeoftheassociationswithwhichtheywork,includingthe housing management challenges that they face.

• WROsandhousingmanagersworkingtogethertoestablishahighdegreeoftrust,opennessandmutualprofessional respect in their relationship.

Supporting WRO Professional Development

Thebenefitssystemisalwaysinflux,throughtheissuingofnewregulations,throughthecreationandabolitionofbenefits,and through the development of case law. WROs face the constant challenge of keeping up to date with relevant changes, without which they cannot deliver effective services to their service users.

It is essential that service managers appreciate that WROs need to continually work at their own professional development, andthatthetimeandresourcesrequiredtodosoarebuiltintobudgets,workplansandservicelevelagreementsasnecessary.

WROs based with external agencies will have access to both the peer and the more formal training, information and support systems provided by their employer. Internal WROs may be at risk of isolation if they are the only WRO within their association. In this context, the WRO forums that have been set up in Scotland have a key role to play. Again, service managers must ensurethatWROshavethepermission,resourcesandsupportrequiredtoattendtheseforums.

Partnership- Maintaining Trust- the Key Challenge

All successful partnerships are built on trust between the partners. Maintaining trust between the associations and organisations involved is the key challenge for any welfare rights service delivered in partnership.

In particular, partner associations must feel that they, and their tenants, are receiving a fair share of the service, based on the contribution that they are making to its running. To ensure that this is the case, they should draw up clear partnership agreements, and remember the importance of co-location in building relationships.

Partnership Agreements.

Delivering the service according to robust and comprehensive partner agreements are essential if potential strife between partners is to be avoided.

Agreements should detail:

• Theservicetobeprovidedandthemethodofservicedelivery.

• Theservicesharetobereceivedbyeachpartnerassociation.

• Theresponsibilitiesofeachpartner.

• Themechanismsfordaytodaymanagement.

• Themembershipandresponsibilitiesofasteeringgroupwithstrategicoversightoftheservice.

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• Monitoring,evaluationandreportingprocesses.

• Theextentoftheworktobedelivered,outputandoutcometargets.

• Proceduresforamendingtheagreementandresolvingdisputes.

• Proceduresforwindinguptheservice.

• Fundingsources,includingidentifiedcontributionsfromeachpartnerassociation,andpaymenttimingsand processes.

• Referencetorelevantdataprotection,healthandsafetyandequalitieslegislation.

The essence of the Partnership Agreement is to make it clear that each partner association is to receive the same level of services from the WROs. For example, each partner will receive the same commitment to reporting back on service progress, and to engagement with other staff.

NB: Some partnerships do not involve frontline WROs in making strategic decisions about services. This is a clear mistake, and neglects the experience and knowledge that they can uniquely bring to helping set service direction.

Don’t forget co-location.

Partnership services will inevitably involve WROs working across more than one location. Much of the time away from their host association may involve a WRO in delivering surgery work face to face with clients.

Oneofthebiggestriskstopartnerassociations’acceptancethattheirserviceshareisequitableisthattheyoftenmaynotphysically see WROs in their offices, particularly when those WROs spend most of their time tucked away in interview rooms dealing with clients face to face.

It is therefore important that WROs have access to desk space in each of their partner associations, so that they can carry out some of their case work alongside all their housing colleagues, and build the personal relationships on which successful services are based.

Case Study: Edinburgh CAB

Edinburgh CAB is being funded by the Big Lottery to deliver money advice and welfare rights services to five local housing associations.

Port of Leith and Hillcrest Housing Associations share one worker who delivers both money and welfare rights advice to 2,500 tenants.

Success has been built on the back of strong relationships between the WRO and housing staff at both associations, in particular the location of the main base of the WRO in the Port of Leith offices, and the delivery of outreach surgeries at Hillcrest offices.

The money advice worker records a wide range of information demonstrating their impact on tenants, including

• Theroutethroughwhichtenantsreachtheservice.

• Anyworkdonewithotheragenciesandonreferrals.

• Therangeofmoneyadviceprovided,includingthenegotiationofpaymentplans.

• Tenantssupportedandencouragedtoaccessbankaccounts.

• Tenantsswitchingbetweenutilityproviders.

• Courtactionsavoided.

Section 6.3


6.4 Targeting Tenants

Any welfare rights service faces choices about how it uses its capacity most effectively.

Previous parts of the Guide have touched on the potential for housing associations to effectively target tenants in need of support, rather than waiting for tenants to identify that they need the service and then self refer.

Targeting tenants in specific circumstances offers both business and social benefits:

• Targetingtenantsinarrears,atriskoftenancyfailureornewintotheirtenancycandealwithsomeoftheunderlying issues causing housing management problems and improve business performance.

• Proactivelyengagingwithtenantscanreachthosewhohavebeenunderclaimingbenefitforalongtimewithout beingawareofthat(e.g.oldertenants),andprovidingarapidresponsetothechangesincircumstancesamongst tenantsthattriggernewentitlementtobenefit(e.g.tenantswhohaveexperiencedbereavement.)

• Earlyinterventionwithtenantscanstopthefinancialproblemsthattheyfacegettingoutofhand.

Nor are these business and social benefits necessarily separate, for example:

• Tenantsinarrearsaremorelikelytobeunderclaiminglargeramountsthanmostothercategoriesoftenants.

• Oldertenantswillbemuchlesslikelytobeinarrears/seetheirtenancyfailthanthosewhoareyounger,but better engagement with older tenants may lead in the medium term to the identification of more appropriate accommodation options, freeing up family housing for people on the waiting list.

• Supportingtenantsatparticulartimesofvulnerability,suchasbereavement,canensurethattheyareabletohold their lives, and therefore their tenancy, together.

Self referral should, however, always remain an important access route to welfare rights services:

• Onethicalgrounds,itisnotappropriatetoturnpeopleawaywhentheyseekaservice.

• Whilstsomeseekingsupportmaybetheworriedwellwho‘signupforeverythinggoing’,WROexperiencesuggests that many who self refer do so in desperation or in response to a specific problem.

• Selfreferralmaybetheonlywayofsometenantsbeingreached.

It will not be possible for even very well staffed welfare rights services to target every group of tenants discussed below all of the time.

Within a basic understanding that it is preferable to target as many tenants within a group as early as possible, this section will therefore focus on suggesting a range of options for different levels of intensity of intervention.

Rent Arrears and Tenancy Sustainment. Every welfare rights service linked to housing associations will to some extent focus attention on tenants in rent arrears.

Most will also focus on those at risk of tenancy failure. It is critical that the needs of this second group are not forgotten, and that recognition is given that tenancy failure do not just refer to eviction, but also to abandonment, and to tenants moving on to alternative, less suitable accommodation, because of affordability concerns, or their inability to turn their property into a home.

Maximising the impact of targeting these tenants depends on the timing of intervention, robust referral systems, involving WROs appropriately in setting the rates of repayment of arrears, and dealing appropriately with non engagement.

Timing of Intervention.

Tenants’ arrears accounts often show complex patterns of change, increasing and decreasing over time without apparent rhyme or reason. Furthermore, many tenants in arrears do not find themselves in long term or serious difficulties, not all of them will necessarily be in particular need of welfare rights support.

Associations generally operate an escalating approach to the pursuit of rent arrears. A similar approach is likely to be the most appropriate way of involving welfare rights services in the process.

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Hence:

• Initiallytenantsmightsimplybeencouragedtoseekthesupportofwelfarerightsofficers,withmentionsofwelfare rights services in all letters relating to rent arrears that are sent out.

• However,systemsshouldbedesignedsothattenantsinarrearswhoareconsideredtohavebroadervulnerabilities are fast tracked with a direct referral to support.

• Withothertenants,directreferralshouldcomeatanotherdefinedpoint.

There is no one correct time at which a direct referral should take place, although there should always be a preference for earlier intervention. Associations have found success with approaches which:

• Makeareferralwhenarrearsreachacertainamount.

• UsetheissuingofNoticesofProceedingsorcourtactionstoautomaticallytriggerareferral.

• AvoidissuinganNOP,orcommencingofcourtaction,untilatenanthasengaged,orclearlyrefusedengagement with, welfare rights support.

Identification of Vulnerability.

Whilst the existence of arrears in a rent account is a fairly straightforward indication of financial vulnerability, there may be a range of other indications from both housing management information and face to face contact between housing staff and tenants that suggest that a tenant may be struggling to maintain a tenancy for reasons that have at least some financial aspects.

Housing management information may for example indicate that someone is finding it more and more difficult to overcome particularmentalhealthoraddictionproblems.Thiscanhavefinancialconsequencesintermsofaffectingtheirabilitytobudget properly, or making it less likely that they submit benefit claims at an appropriate time.

As important are the range of signs that may alert a housing officer, during home based contact with a tenant, to the fact that a tenancy is not functioning properly. These might include:

• Theongoingabsenceoffurniture,carpets,curtainsetcinahouse.

• Ahousebeingbadlykept.

• Ahousebeingcoldordamp,particularlywherenewwindows,heatingandcladdingsystemshaverecentlybeen installed.

Robust Referral Systems.

Different housing associations have different cultures in terms of communication between staff. Some generally rely on memos and formal paperwork, others on e mail, others still on verbal often informal contact. Similarly, beyond the need to ensure that all relevant information is passed to WROs, there is no clear best practice in terms of the format of referral systems.

Of more importance is the content of the contact between housing staff and tenants. Merely informing a tenant about the welfare rights service does not constitute an effective referral. Housing staff should either make an appointment for a tenantwiththeWROduringtenantcontact,ifpossible,orclearlystatetothetenantthattheyaregoingtorequestthattheWRO makes contact with them to arrange an appointment, and fulfil their commitment to do so.

Dealing with Non Engagement.

Engagement with welfare rights support must always be voluntary for tenants. Some tenants may be very reluctant to access such support. A small number will simply not wish to engage, perhaps happy to string out the process and avoid attempts by the association to seek repayment of arrears. Refusal will more often be the result of broader vulnerability in terms of literacy and numeracy, mental health or addiction problems.

WROs should:

• Maintainattemptstocontacttenantsfacetofaceoroverthephoneuntilthereisaspecificrefusaloftheofferof support.

• Wherethereisarefusaloftheofferofsupport,makeclearthattherearealternativesourcesofadviceavailable,to which the WRO is happy to refer.

• Ensurethatinfuturecontactstenantsareconsistentlyremindedoftheongoingpossibilityofaccessingsupport.

Much non engagement by tenants may be seen as temporary or casual, when tenants fail to show up for an appointment with a WRO. Simple steps can reduce the extent of this time wasting problem, such as the sending of text messages to remind of appointments the day or morning before they are due.

Section 6.4


Involvement in Negotiating Repayments.

WROs can play a hugely important role in negotiating levels of repayment with tenants in rent arrears, based on their expertise in understanding the constraints and challenges that tenants face.

SuchworkhasthepotentialtobethefocusofadegreeofconflictbetweenhousingstaffandWRO’sparticularlyifhousingstaff fear that WROs will be too much on the side of tenants, and will be insufficiently demanding in terms of the level of repayment that they think tenants will be able to achieve.

WROs can deal with these types of potential concern through:

• Makingcleartohousingofficersthattheytoowishtoencouragetenantstopaytheirarrearsatareasonablerate.

• Deliveringtrainingthatcomprehensivelycoverstherangeoffinancialpressuresoperatingontenants,andenables housing officers to gain a realistic understanding of the impact of poverty on tenants and their ability to pay.

• Thepracticaldemonstrationthattenantsaremorelikelytoholdtothelevelsofrepaymentthattheysuggest.

• Workinghardtore-engagetenantswhenrepaymentagreementsdobreakdown.

The actual method of involvement in repayment negotiation can vary; some associations prefer an active involvement from WROs in every negotiation, others have housing staff rubber stamp repayment suggestions made by WROs, and others still engage WROs and housing officers in setting rules of thumb governing repayment levels, with housing staff officers then taking the lead, subject to periodic oversight from WROs.

Building Relationships with Housing Benefit Administration.

Ensuring that Housing Benefit is paid appropriately to tenants is clearly an essential element of the effective control of rent arrears. WROs can play a key role in building the relationship between Housing Benefit administrations and their host association that supports efforts in this regard.

WROs have tried a number of different ways to build effective relationships with Housing Benefit administrations. These have included:

• RegularliaisonmeetingswithHousingBenefitstafftodealwithanyconcernsarising.

• DeliveringtrainingtoHousingBenefitstaffonthewiderbenefitsystem.

• ProvidingwelfarerightsadvicetoHousingBenefitstaffinrelationtothesituationsofthemselvesortheirfamilies.

• EncouragingHousingBenefitstafftomakereferralsoftenantsbacktothewelfarerightsservicewhentheybecome aware of potential underclaiming.

Case Study: Hillcrest Housing Association

Hillcrest Housing Association take a locally determined approach to the delivery to their just under 6000 tenants living in Dundee, Fife, Perth and elsewhere in the East of Scotland;

• DeliveringmoneyandwelfarerightsadvicedirectlytoitstenantsresidentinDundeeandPerththroughaninternally provided WRO service.

• CommissioningexternaladviceagenciestodelivermoneyandwelfarerightsadviceinAngus,EdinburghandFife.

Hillcrest also deliver two innovative holistic financial inclusion advice services in Dundee. Making Money Work is a partnership initiative involving Dundee City Council, the CAB and other advice agencies working with the clients of employability programmes to provide a range of support aimed at supporting clients to make the successful transition to stable employment.

The Pre Tenancy Support Project receives referrals of homeless people living in temporary accommodation who are preparing for the transition to a permanent home, from a variety of sources including the City Council, housing associations and local voluntary and community sector agencies. It provides support with

• Incomemaximisationandassistancewithbenefitapplications.

• Budgetingandplanningforaffordability.

• AccessingCommunityCareGrantsandsupportfromcharitablefunds.

• Debtmanagement.

• EnergyAdvice.

• Adviceandsupporttofurnishthehome.

• Assistancetoaccesscreditunionsandbankaccounts.

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• Referralontootheragenciesasappropriate.

Theprojecthasprovedhighlysuccessful.394people(outofthe2500whoareassessedannuallyashomelessinDundee)wereseenin2008/09,20-25%ofwhomhadpreviousexperienceofhomelessness.£188Kofpreviouslyunclaimedbenefithasbeenbrought in for those service users over that time. More critically, none of those people seen by the project since its inception in 2007whohavesinceaccessedpermanentaccommodationhaveseentheirnewtenanciesfail.

Engaging New Tenants. New tenants face numerous challenges at the start of their tenancy on which welfare rights and broader financial inclusion work can have a major impact, sustaining them in their tenancy by getting it off to a good start.

Effectiveengagementwithnewtenantsrequirestargetingtherighttenantsattherighttime,andthedeliveryofholisticsupport.

Which New Tenants to Target?

Housing associations differ in their views on whether or not it is appropriate to target all new tenants, or, even when that is seen as desirable, whether or not it is possible within the resources available.

Again a preference must be stated for engaging as many new tenants as possible with the offer of a fully comprehensive financial health check. In particular associations should bear in mind that:

• Itiseasytoforgetthattenantsinwork,particularlythoseinparttimeorintermittentemployment,areoftenamongst the most vulnerable to running up arrears or facing affordability issues, as a result of underclaiming full or partial Housing Benefit or in work support such as tax credits.

• Suchtenantsmayalsobeentitledtobenefitsrelatingtodisabilityortocaringresponsibilities.

• Evenwherefinancialissuesarenotimmediatelyapparent,theestablishmentofapersonalrelationshipbetweenWRO and tenants at an early stage can prove invaluable in the future.

• WROscanactasexcellentambassadorsforanassociationintheearlystagesofatenancy,clearlyestablishingin tenants’ minds that their landlord is ‘on their side’.

High levels of tenancy turnover, and other demands on time, can leave WROs struggling to reach as many new tenants as they would wish. In this context, ways must be found to reach those new tenants in particular need of support. Associations should at the minimum:

• Makeinformationavailableonthewelfarerightsserviceaspartoftherangeofwritteninformationsuchasthe tenant handbook made available to tenants at the commencement of a tenancy.

• Ensurethatallthosewithpreviousexperienceofbeinghomelessreceiveacomprehensivefinancialhealthcheck.

They should also:

• Ensurethathousingofficersmakeadirectofferoftheservicetonewtenants.

• EnsurethathousingofficersreferanycomplexHousingBenefitcasestoWROsasamatterofcourse,anddothesame for tenants they otherwise identify as vulnerable at sign up or settling in visit.

• Usetheinformationcollectedattenancysignup/pretenancytoidentifypotentialfinancialvulnerability,and consider the redesign of information collection systems to gain additional information of direct relevance to this issue.

N.B Not Just Relets

Associations may often be tempted to view the targeting of new tenants as solely a matter of engaging tenants to whom a property is being relet. However, it is just as important to reach out to tenants moving into a newly built home.

When to Target New Tenants?

Section 6.4.


Associations with welfare rights support operate in very different ways in terms of the time at which they target new tenants.

Some have found success in targeting tenants even before they have formally signed up for a tenancy, believing that this enables a thorough consideration of affordability issues going beyond rent levels. Others feel that at such a point the relationship between landlord and tenant is not established sufficiently to offer such an intervention.

Others concentrate their efforts on the sign up process, whilst some feel that the sheer volume of information discussed at sign up make this less effective, and put the focus on an additional meeting at about that time, or on the settling in visit.

Again there should be a clear preference for engagement to be at as early a stage as possible in the process, in the light of both affordability concerns, and the range of issues covered directly below.

Holistic Support.

It is clearly essential that new tenants are supported as appropriate to pay their rent from the start, whether through Housing Benefit or the more general maximising of claims for ongoing benefit support.

New tenants face other issues, dealing with tasks which can have an impact on their financial wellbeing like signing up to utility providers, furnishing and decorating- making a home of where they live, and sometimes simply struggling to make their way in an unfamiliar area.

WROs can offer considerable support in these situations:

• HelpingtenantsaccessCommunityCareGrantsandotherSocialFundsupportandtoenablethemtofurnishand equiptheirhomes.

• Referringtenantsontoprovidersofaffordablecreditsuchascreditunions,andotherassistance,suchasfurniture projects, for the same purpose.

• Advisingtenantsaboutreasonabledealsinrelationtoenergyprovidersetc.

• Givinginformationtotenantsabouttherangeofotherservicesavailablewithinthecommunityfromwhichthey might benefit.

Targeting Older Tenants. EstimatessuggestthatacrossScotlandaround1/3ofhousingassociationtenantsarepeopleovertheageof60.Giventheincome profile of this group, housing associations may be considered to have both the responsibility and opportunity to make a proactive effort to target their older tenants.

However, two sets of challenges need to borne in mind in relation to reaching out to older tenants.

• Housingstaffaregenerallylesslikelytobeincontactwitholderpeoplethanothergroupswithinthepopulation; older people are less likely to be in rent arrears, and less likely to be the perpetrators of anti social behaviour.

• Olderpeopleareperhapsthemostlikelygroupwithinthepopulationtobeunderclaimingtheirbenefitentitlement. In particular they may:

- Take particular pride in self sufficiency and in managing their own affairs.

- Feel that they are already getting by.

- Fearadmittingvulnerabilityandtheconsequencesofdoingso.

- Fear the loss of existing support.

- When caring for grandchildren, for example when parents have alcohol problems or are not present, be unaware of their benefit entitlement.

- Feel stigmatised by the idea of claiming means tested support.

- Go so far as to refuse to proceed with a claim even when their entitlement is established.

Successful engagement of older people is therefore dependent on making a deliberate effort at proactive contact. The more personal such contact, the more successful it is likely to be.

Phone Based Support.

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Both the case studies discussed in more detail below relied on phone based contact with other tenants as the basis for a comprehensive benefit take up campaign.

Tenantswerecontactedandofferedabasicbenefitcheckoverthephone.Whererequired,afollowuphomevisitwasthen delivered, enabling issues to be explored with tenants within their home. This method of screening followed by more comprehensive contact has proved hugely successful.

Withtheallocationofsufficientresourcestothetask(aWROworkingfulltimetoreacholdertenantsshouldbeabletoscreen600plusoldertenantsoverthecourseofayear)itshouldbepossibleforahousingassociationtoengagethevastmajorityofits older tenants within a given period of time, and thus effectively drain the pool of existing underclaimants within its older tenant population. At the same time, it can look to build its capacity to identify older tenants in need of benefit support and respondquicklytotriggersforentitlementamongstitsolderpopulationinthefuture.

Such an approach offers the opportunity to abolish poverty amongst an association’s frail older tenants.

Less Intensive Support.

Should associations not be able or willing to resource such an intensive targeting of older tenants there are a number of other ways in which they can take proactive action:

• Targetingshelteredhousingvia:

- Automatic referral to WROs of all tenants applying for sheltered housing based on the similarities between the eligibility criteria for disability linked benefits and access to sheltered housing.

- Training sheltered housing workers to encourage identifying and referral or enable their delivery of in depth support with benefit claims, piggy backing on their ongoing intensive relationship with older tenants.

- Theprovisionofsurgeries,participationin/organisationofcoffeemornings,opendaysorothereventsat sheltered complexes.

• Campaignsbasedonmailshots/newsletterarticlesencouragingoldertenantstoapplyforAttendanceAllowance and Disability Living Allowance.

• Lettersbeingsenttotenantshittingkeyagesintermsofentitlement,e.g.60or65,ormilestonebirthdays;70,75,etc.

• Buildingcrossreferralrelationshipswithlocalagenciesworkingwitholdertenants.

Frontline housing staff can also play a central role in the identification and referral of new tenants, for example:

• Spottingsignsofvulnerability/frailtyathomevisitssuchasslownesstocometothedoor,strugglestorisefromtheir seat, holding onto furniture whilst moving round the room- ‘furniture walking’ etc.

• Usinghousingmanagementinformationtogenerateareferral,forexamplethatsomeonehasobtained,orisseeking, a move on medical grounds.

• Automaticallyreferringthoserequestingaidsandadaptations.

Targeting other Vulnerable Groups/ Responding to Changes in Circumstances.

Several other groups of tenants, alongside older people, are vulnerable to the long term underclaiming of benefit. Similarly, any tenant may at any time be subject to changes in circumstance which trigger an entitlement to benefit.

Housing associations can build a proactive response to these issues in two often interlinked ways by;

• Developingsystemstoproactivelyrespondtorelevanthousingmanagementinformationorinformalintelligence about their tenants.

• Encouragingfrontlinehousingstafftoidentifyandrefertenants.

Using Information Proactively.

WROs, in conjunction with housing staff, should undertake a comprehensive audit of the information held by host associations to ascertain its relevance to identifying benefit underclaimers, or the triggering of new entitlement, and hence the creation of an opportunity to generate a referral.

Section 6.4


Examples of such use of information could include the targeting of tenants:

• Whenchildrenareborntomembersofthehousehold.

• Withchildrenturning16-18,whichcanchangehouseholdeligibilityforsupportparticularlyiftheyareworking.

• Whohaveexperiencedabereavement(suchknowledgemaybegainedwhennoticeisgiventotheassociationofa tenantorresidentdeath,orthroughfrontlinehousingstaff’scommunityknowledge.)

• MovingontoHousingBenefit,whomaybejustoutofajob,atriskofunderclaimingsomebenefits,andfacing broader financial pressures.

• MovingoffHousingBenefit,whomaynothavecompletedanHBformbecauseofvulnerability,orwhomaybe heading back to work and be potentially unaware of their entitlement to in work benefits, or who may be subject to renewed pressure from their creditors.

• Identifiedatannualtenantvisitsasexperiencingissuesbecauseofdisabilityorfuelpoverty.

Engaging Housing Officers.

The real value of the relationship between housing officers and their tenants is rarely fully exploited. The potential for housing officers to play a role in the identification and referral of new tenants and older tenants has been discussed above, and need not be rehearsed again in this section.

Key to effective engagement of housing officers in this area of work is to empower them in that role through:

• Training.

• Puttinginplacesystemstosupportthemtomakereferrals.WROsandhousingofficersmaywishtoworktogetherto design paper or electronic referral tools to facilitate the identification and referral of potential under referrers.

• Motivationbyconsistentpositivefeedbacktohousingofficersontheimpacttheireffortshavehad.

Self Referral. As stated above, WROs will not want to emphasise the targeting of particular groups of tenants to the complete exclusion of tenants being able to self refer. Indeed a high level of self referral to a service is a genuine indication of success, of its reach into a community, and its reputation amongst past users and their friends, families and neighbours.

There is a considerable amount that WROs and associations can do to encourage higher levels of self referral:

• Usingconstantpublicityinnewsletterarticles,informationprovidedonwebsites,postersandleafletswithinoffices etc, including good news stories to generate further service momentum.

• Placingpublicityinothercommunicationswithtenantssuchaslettersaboutrentincreases.

• Carryingoutpatchbypatchdirectmail-shots.

• Ensuringtheirphysicalpresenceoutandaboutinacommunity,forexamplebyWROssimplywalkingtothelocal shops at lunch time.

• Attendingcommunityeventssuchasregenerationconsultationdays,opendays,galasetc.

• Providingopenaccesssurgeries,bothwithinassociationoffices,andincommunityvenuesforthosewhomaybe reluctant to use services in association offices.

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Word of Mouth.

Any housing association linked WRO will find that word of mouth has huge importance in generating interest in their service. This will often be demonstrated both by the number of service users who explicitly mention that they have heard about the service through word of mouth, and by the levels of self referrals by non tenants.

The spread of positive word of mouth about the service can be given a helping hand by WROs. Committee members can often play the role of ‘community connectors’ locally, telling local people about the service, and providing some of them with advice at an early stage can have both practical and strategic benefits.

Similarly, frontline housing staff can also make a considerable difference simply by telling tenants about the positive impact that they have seen the service have.

NB: The potential flip side of the power of word of mouth, particularly within tight knit communities is that if any of the better linked community members have a negative experience of the welfare rights service, this can very quickly kill the service’s reputation amongst large numbers of tenants.

Case Study: Link Group and Partners.

Link Group delivers both general and specialist welfare rights services through their development and regeneration focused subsidiary, Linkwide, as part of a developing broader financial inclusion strategy which includes the provision of money advice.

Linkwide has achieved particular success with the Older Persons’ Advice Project, OPAP, an income maximisation and holistic advice service for over 60s covering a range of issues from benefits to aids and adaptations, fuel poverty and care and repair. In its first phase of operation OPAP was originally delivered in partnership with Castlerock- Edinvar and Dunedin-Canmore HAs,andbetweenApril2005andMarch2008wassuccessfulingenerating£1.23minpreviouslyunclaimedbenefitthroughproactive direct mail based campaigning and home visits.

Phase 2 of OPAP was launched in July 2008, after considerable work to engage new delivery partners, Abronhill HA, Almond HA, Paragon HA, WESLO Housing Management and Wishaw and District HA. Falkirk Council on behalf of Falkirk Community PlanningPartnershiphasalsoengagedOPAPtodelivertheservicetoallhouseholdsinthe30%mostdeprivedFalkirkPriorityRegeneration Areas.

The service now has 3 WROs and a Project Assistant supported through a cocktail of funding including contributions from the partner housing providers, the Scottish Government Wider Role Fund, the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, and Falkirk Fairer Scotland Fund . Over the 12 months since phase 2’s inception, OPAP has supported 480 older person households to claim £692,750inpreviouslyunclaimedbenefits,made86signpostedreferralstoexternalorganisationsandgivenenergyadviceand support to 33 households.

Case Study: GHA Older People’s Pilots - Shettleston HA.

In 2004 GHA, with support from the Wider Role Fund, set up 5 pilots exploring effective means of targeting benefit take up work at older tenants.

The most effective was based on an internal WRO making phone contact with older tenants of Shettleston, Tollcross and Parkhead HAs and their associated LHOs, and offering a basic benefit health check. Where necessary this was then followed up by a home visit.

798tenantswerescreenedintheShettlestonHAbasedpilot’sfirstyearofoperation,withover£580,000inpreviouslyunclaimed benefit generated for older tenants.

Section 6.4


6.5. Building a Holistic Service

The provision of welfare rights advice involves a different set of skills and knowledge to the provision of money advice.

However, one of the striking aspects of the research on which the Guide was based was the extent to which WROs, whether internalorexternal,dodeliversomeformofmoneyadvice(whetherornotthiswasmadeclearintheirjobdescription)andseek to provide a more holistic service to their tenants.

The Boundaries to WROs’ Work.

WROs clearly have the capacity to go beyond the delivery of advice about the benefit system to tenants.

Amongst the other advice that they are well placed to provide, they can:

• Provideadvicetotenantsaboutbudgetingandmoneymanagement,includingassistingthemtodrawupbudgets.

• Advisetenantsaboutappropriateresponsestodealingwithprioritydebtssuchasrentarrearsanddebtstoutilities.

• Negotiatewithcreditorsinrelationtotheseissues.

• Advisetenantsaboutothermoneyrelatedservices;forexamplecreditunionsandotherlowcostlenders,providersof bank accounts, insurance products linked to host associations, furniture projects etc.

• Advisetenantsabouttheavailabilityofotherlocalserviceswhichmightassisttheminsomeway,forexampleolder peoplecanbeadvisedaboutlunchclubs/activities,singleparentsaboutchildcareandemployabilitysupports.

WROs should seek to deliver as holistic a service as possible to tenants, in line with the level of their broader knowledge and experience, the demands on their time, and the availability of alternative sources of advice.

Consumer Credit Licence.

IfWROsdoengageintheprovisionofmoneyadvice,particularlyinrelationtoconsumer/nonprioritydebt,itisessential that theirorganisationobtainsaConsumerCreditLicence,asrequiredbytheConsumerCreditActof1974.Moreinformationonthe Consumer Credit Licence can be found at www.oft.gov.uk.

Developing Robust Relationships with Other Services.

As stated above, passing a tenant contact information about a welfare rights service does not constitute an effective referral. It can be easy for WROs to view themselves largely as the recipients of referrals, and forget about their vital role in the on referral of tenants to other services.

Effectivereferralrequiresthereferrertoseektomakeadefiniteappointmentwiththerecipientorganisationonbehalfofthetenant.

As a rule, such on-referral relationships should be entirely as robust and effective as the routes into welfare rights services themselves. WROs must be prepared to do as much work in the on referral of tenants as housing staff and others should be in referral to them.

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Case Study: Cassiltoun Housing Association and Partners, Castlemilk, Glasgow.

Cassiltoun Housing Association are working in partnership with 2 other local associations, Ardenglen and Northview, in Castlemilk, Glasgow to deliver a welfare rights service to around 2,500 tenants.

Thesuccessoftheservice,whichhasbroughtin£350,000tothe350tenantsithasseenoverthelast12months,hasbeenbased on close and effective working relationships between the WRO employed by Cassiltoun and staff at each of the partner associations.

Critical to this close working relationship has been the delivery of training to housing staff, and the co-location of housing staff and the WRO.

All new tenants are targeted by the service, including some at the pre tenancy stage where potential vulnerability is identified by the housing officers. Outreach work is also strengthened by the WRO regularly being out and about in the community she serves.

Housing staff do not simply hand over all benefit work to the WRO, they remain responsible for dealing with all but the most complex Housing Benefit cases.

Cassiltoun are taking a holistic approach to financial inclusion work. The WRO delivers basic money advice to tenants, including negotiating with council tax and other creditors. Complex cases are referred on to the local Law Centre. The association recently began the process of developing a financial inclusion strategy which will also cover issues such as access to affordable credit, other mainstream financial services, and financial capability.

Section 6.5


6.6. Equalities - Delivering a High Quality Service to All

DeliveringahighqualityservicetoalltenantsrequiresWROstogivecarefulconsiderationtothepotentialchallengesinreaching out to and supporting particular groups of service users.

Four particular challenges will be discussed in this section, reaching and supporting tenants who are:

• Fromminorityethniccommunitycommunities.

• Migrantworkers.

• Disabledpeople.

• Affectedbydomesticabuse.

The need to ensure that written information is appropriate for targeting at tenants in terms of style and level is also discussed.

Tenants from Minority Ethnic Groups.

A number of challenges present themselves in supporting and reaching out to tenants from minority ethnic communities.

• Evidencesuggeststhatculturalbarrierstoreceivingfullentitlementmaybeparticularlyhighamongstminority ethnic communities, particularly amongst older people, with specific concerns relating to cultures of self reliance and a lack of familiarity with and distrust of the benefit system.

• Languagebarrierscanbecritical,particularamongstolderpeople.Itshouldalsoberememberedthatmanyolder people in particular may not be lierate in their mother tongue.

OvercomingthesechallengesrequiresWROsto:

• Workcloselywithintermediaryorganisationswithstrongroutesintominorityethniccommunities.

• Haveaccess(andthefundingtosupportit)toappropriateinterpretationandtranslationservices.

• Linkwithspecialistactiveservices.

Migrant Workers.

Housing associations are housing increasing numbers of migrant workers, particularly from the EU accession states in Eastern Europe, who are staying in the UK for the medium term at least. Many of those workers are struggling during the recession as the jobs they came to fill begin to disappear.

Rules and regulations in relation to the benefit entitlements of migrant workers are complex, and it is critical that WROs have the relevant knowledge to enable them to give effective advice. In business terms, it is essential that WROs are able to provide appropriate advice to migrant workers who find themselves in unemployment, particularly where they are not entitled to benefit, and are therefore likely to face a considerable struggle to pay their rent.

Again,meetingthesechallengeswillrequireWROstoworkthroughintermediaryorganisationstomakeaneffectiveofferofservice to tenants, and for them to have appropriate access to translation and interpretation services.

Disabled People.

WROsmustensurethattheirservicesaretrulyaccessibletodisabledpeople.Thisrequiresthat:

• Premisesinwhichpreferablyall,butatleastsome,surgeriesandoutreachworkaredeliveredarephysically accessible.

• Homevisitsareofferedtothosewhofinditdifficulttotravelforadvice.

• Theservicehasaccesstoappropriatesupportintermsofsignlanguageinterpreters,typetalketc.

• InformationisprovidedinaccessibleformatssuchaslargeprintandBraille.

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People Experiencing/ Escaping Domestic Abuse.

WROs may find themselves working both with women who are currently experiencing domestic abuse, and with those who have escaped a violent relationship. Financial issues are often closely bound up with other concerns in both situations:

• Womenmaynotleaveanabusiverelationshipbecauseofthefearthattheywillnotbeabletocopefinancially.

• Financialabuseisoftenapartofabroaderpatternofabuse,withabusivepartnerscontrollinglarge,small,orall, money decisions in a house, and denying their partner access to cash, for example taking all the child benefit off their partner to spend for themselves.

• Womenwhohaveescapedanabusiverelationshipandarestartinganewlifemaybeentirelyunfamiliarwiththe benefits system and the range of support that is available to them. Depending on the circumstances they have left behind them, they may be poorer than they have ever been before.

It is important that WROs:

• Arefamiliarwiththerangeoffinancialissuesimpactingonwomenexperiencingorescapingdomesticviolence.

• Establishmutualreferralrelationshipswithlocalprojectsworkingondomesticabuse.

• Aresensitivetothepotentialdesireofserviceuserstoreceiveadviceandsupportfromawoman.

Literacy.

A significant proportion of housing association tenants are likely to have literacy problems, at least to the level of being uncomfortable with, or unable to comprehend, moderately complex written information.

Any written communication with tenants should:

• Dealwithcomplexinformationinasstraightforwardandsimpleafashionaspossible.

• Notforgetitstargetaudience,tenantsarenotinterestedinthesamerangeofinformationasotherstakeholders.

• Ensurethatpublicityinformationremainsverytightlyfocusedonissuesofdirectrelevancetotenants.

Section 6.6


6.7 Monitoring and Evaluation

Deliveringaneffectivewelfarerightsservice,whosevalueisunderstoodbyhousingassociationstaffandcommittees,requiresappropriate monitoring and evaluation of service performance.

Monitoring and evaluation arrangements are needed to:

• Generateperformanceinformationtocheckprogress,outputsachievedandtohelpreviewtheservice.

• Demonstratetheimpactoftheworkontenants,andaccessserviceuserfeedback,bothtobetterillustrateservice impactsandtocontributetothefuturedevelopment/improvementofservices.

• Demonstratethebusinessimpactoftheworkonhostassociations.

• DemonstratethelevelofworkundertakenbyWROs,andthecontributionofotherstafftotheservice,lookingat inputs such as staff time, mailouts, and campaigns, and outputs such as the number of tenants contacted andsubsequentlyassisted.

Servicesshouldberequiredtoreportonprogressatleastquarterly,andsubjecttomoredetailedannualreview.

Demonstrating the Impact on Tenants

Information about service users and access routes.

WROs should record:

• Thenumbersoftenantscontacted/targeted,seenandassistedbytheservice.Thisshowsthethroughputofservice users and successful uptake numbers and rates.

• Demographicinformationrelatingtotheserviceusersseeninrespectofethnicity,age,disabilityandgender.This can then be compared against the demographic make up of the association’s tenant base to identify whether any groups are under represented amongst service users.

• Thenumbersoftenantsseenbytheservicewithintargeteddifferentcategoriesoftenantswillbeofinterest.This may include older tenants, tenants in arrears, and new tenants. Comparison of these numbers against the total tenant base within these categories will help assess progress against specific objectives, for example “to target all new tenants with a benefit check“.

• Theroutebywhichtenantsaccesstheservice,forexample:

- Self referral.

- Self referral in response to campaign.

- Referral from housing officer.

- Referral from partner agency.

- Direct targeting by campaign activity.

• Recording‘routeaccess’informationenablestheidentificationofmoreeffectiveroutesforreachingtenants. Considering this alongside information on benefit outcomes achieved and numbers of tenants engaged will enable the identification of the categories of tenant and referral routes which generate the highest financial gains, i.e. potentially those areas on which scarce staff resources can be targeted.

Benefit Outcomes and Outputs.

WROs should record and report, both in total and disaggregated by benefit type, e.g. Attendance Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit etc:

• Numberofclaimssubmittedonbehalfoftenants.

• Numberoftenantsseenandnoteligibleforclaim

• Numberofsuccessfulclaimssubmitted.

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• Numberofunsuccessfulclaimssubmitted.

• Thenumberofappealssubmitted,andthenumberofappealsthataresuccessfulandunsuccessful.

• Thenumberandamountofcontinuingbenefitawards,expressedasanannualisedfigure.

• Thenumberandamountofbackdatedawards.

• Thenumberandamountofannualisedandbackdatedawardsgainedatappeal.

• Thenumberandamountofgrantsandotheroneoffpaymentsawarded.

Broader Outcomes and Outputs.

WROs are very likely to provide more than benefits advice to their service users. It is critical that they capture the information requiredtodemonstratethattheydeliveramoreholisticservice,asunrecordedworkmayalsogounreported,andsubsequentlyremainundervalued.

Money Advice

WROs should record:

• Thenumberoftenantsprovidedwithmoneyadvice.

• Thenumberoftenantsonwhosebehalftheynegotiatewithcreditors.

• Thetotalamountandtypeofdebt:

- Acknowledged by service users.

- Written off as a result of their intervention with creditors.

- Covered by repayment agreements they have negotiated.

• Thenumberoftenantstheyreferformorespecialistmoneyanddebtadvice.

• Thenumberoftenants:

- Referred to credit unions.

- Informed about possible providers of bank accounts, insurance and other mainstream financial products.

- Provided with financial capability advice

Other Advice and Support.

WROs should record:

• Informationcategorisingtheotheradviceandinformationthattheyprovidetoserviceuserse.g.fuelswitching, about employability services etc.

• Thenumberofreferralsmadetootherpartnerservices.

• Informationonoutcomesrelatingtothesereferrals(requiresfollowupwithclientsoragencies).

Demonstrating Business Impact and Outcomes.

Which Statistics?

Those seeking to demonstrate the business impact of a welfare rights service should look at the following indicators:

• Totallevelofrentarrears,focusingonnontechnicalcurrenttenantarrears,andformertenantarrears.

• Numberoftenantsinrentarrears,includingnumberoftenantswithindifferentbandsofarrearslevels,durationand arrears history.

• NumberofNoticeofProceedingsissued,courtactionsundertaken,andevictionscarriedout.

• Ratesoftenancyturnover.

• Numberofevictions,abandonmentsandtenantsleavingforaccommodationwithintheprivaterentedsector.The latter may often indicate affordability concerns.

• Ratesofterminationofnewtenancieswithinthefirstyear/twoyearsofbeingtakenup.

Section 6.7


Identifying a Baseline

Demonstrating the business impact of a welfare rights service involves demonstrating that the service has brought about change over a period of time that would not have happened without the service being in place.

Thiscanbedonebyidentifyinganassociation’sbaselineperformance,orcomparatorRSL(s),againstwhichperformancecanbe measured, i.e. an appropriate set of housing performance statistics against which to compare the performance of the host association before, during and after the period of the service’s operation.

Comparing with Past Performance

Whereaserviceisnew(orwheretherehasbeenagapinservicedelivery),themostusefulstatisticsmaybethoserelatingtothepastperformanceoftheassociationbeforetheservice(re)commenced.Forexample,theperformanceofanassociationinthe first year of a welfare rights service might be compared to performance in several previous years.

If such a comparison is carried out, confounding factors must be acknowledged:

• Thedifficultyofisolatingtheimpactofthewelfarerightsservicefromotherchangestohousingmanagement practice being undertaken by the host association.

• Thedifficultyofaccountingforbroaderpolicy,socialandeconomicchanges.Forexample,theimpactofarecession may in itself have driven an association’s arrears and tenancy turnover higher, meaning that since a new service has been put in place, the association may have found itself having to run harder to just stand still on its arrears performance.

Comparing with a Peer Group

Identifyinganalternativecontrolgroupcanreducetheconfoundingimpactonmeasurementofwidersocial/economic/legislative change, and may be particularly appropriate when a service has been in place for while.

Comparison may be conducted against those against whom the association already benchmarks its performance, or with the groups detailed within the Housing Regulator’s RSL Performance Statistics.

While it may not be possible to identify an exact peer group match, some thought should be given to selecting a range of 3-6 “best fit” peer RSLs. Fewer than this number, and the evaluation risks a particularly strong confounding impact as a peer association, or a number of associations within a peer group, may also have decided to change the way they operate during the comparison period, for example undertaking efforts to test out different ways of reducing rent arrears.

Focusing on Tenants Seen

Overall performance figures for an association will, of course, contain information relating to all tenants, including those not seen by a service. The total figures may obscure the positive impact of service intervention.

For example, it is possible that there have been no evictions across a three year period for the tenants seen by a welfare rights service, but that evictions have risen amongst those not seen by the service. This would suggest there would have been an even larger total increase in evictions if the service had not been in place, but would be missed by just looking at the overall figures.

Identifying housing management information relating solely to those tenants engaging with the welfare rights service creates a third comparison group; those not seen by the service.

However, care must be taken to compare like with like. If a welfare rights service has engaged with vulnerable tenants who are likely to have comparatively high rent arrears, an appropriate comparison would focus on the rate of evictions amongst tenants in high rent arrears seen by the welfare rights service, and those in high rent arrears not seen. Looking at a comparison between those seen and the general tenant base would include consideration of tenants with no rent arrears, and would give a falsely negative understanding of service performance.

Acknowledging the Limitations of Different Comparator groups

Itwillnotbepossibletoidentifyatrulymatchedcomparatorgroup/periodthatcanbecontrolledforallexternalfactors,thatwill be totally identical to the host association, and which presents no issues with confounding factors.

“Goodenough”groups/periodsshouldbeobtainable.Evaluationsshouldinvolvetheuseofeachofthethreemethodsdiscussed above, and acknowledge why particular comparisons have been chosen, and the limits of what they indicate.

45 45

Collation of Case Information

The type of analysis described above should be accompanied by the collation by WROs of tracking information relating to impact on tenants’ housing careers.In particular WROs should record the number of: • Interventionstheymakethatsuccessfullypreventevictions.• Tenantsinrentarrearsthattheyareabletoengagewhenpreviousattemptsbyhousingstaffhavefailedtodoso.• Tenantstheysupporttomakestablerepaymentarrangements.• Newandothertenantsidentifiedasvulnerablebyhousingstaffwhohaveprovedabletomaintaintheirtenancies after welfare rights support.

Three further bits of information should be collated:

• Theamountsofrentrepaidbytenantsseenbytheservice,andthosehelpedontorepaymentplansbytheservice. (NB-thisdoesnotcapturetheextentoftheimpactoftheserviceintermsofpreventingarrearsproblemsfrom gettingworse,somethingonlyvisibleintheoverallarrearsstatistics.)

• TheamountsofannualisedandparticularlybackdatedpaymentsofHousingBenefit.

• TheamountofDiscretionaryHousingPaymentsawarded.

Tracking Outcomes - Time Factors.

One aspect of demonstrating the impact of welfare rights services on tenants and business performance needs to be understood by all those managing services, the time lag between the service being delivered and its impact appearing.

In particular:

• Decisionsontheawardofbenefitsarenotinstant,andindeedmaytakeseveralmonths.Atanygivenstagethelevel of financial gains reported by a service during its operation will be an undercount of those which it ultimately generates.

• Unlesstheyareinreceiptofsufficientlylargeamountsofbackdatedbenefit,tenantsinarrearswillnotrepayalltheir arrears immediately on a successful claim.

• Informationabouttenancysustainmentamongstnewtenantscanbeonlybegeneratedafteraperiodoftime has elapsed. For example, if the maintenance of a tenancy for 12 months is considered a significant milestone, an exploration of the business impact of a two year old welfare rights service on tenancy sustainment can only look at the housing careers of new tenants seen during the first year of the service.

Customer Satisfaction Survey

It is important that the evaluation of welfare rights services does not concentrate solely on the monetary and other gains that the service has been able to generate for its users. Engaging tenants in providing feedback on the support they have received is also essential in demonstrating impacts at an individual level, and ensuring that the service remains responsive to tenants needs.

The issuing of regular customer satisfaction surveys to tenants should be a standard part of WRO practice. These could be conducted with clients as a routine part of the service, for example clients could complete these anonymously at a third visit. A postal survey may also be appropriate and responses encouraged by including reply paid envelopes and possible incentives such as entry to a prize draw.

Any independent evaluation of a survey should include engagement of service users, potentially conducting a sample of interviews with clients and those who decided not to engage with the service, to give a depth of anonymised “case study” information not available through survey or statistics.

NB It can be difficult to engage people to discuss financial matters. Any attempt to do so must absolutely guarantee tenant confidentiality.

Independent Peer Review of Case Work

No matter how experienced a WRO, there is always something new that they can learn, and always the risk that their practice might not develop in ways that it should, or stagnate in some way.

WROsbasedwithexternaladviceagenciesshouldbesubjecttotheiragency’sownaudit/casereviewprocesses.

Those services directly provided by housing associations should consider engaging with another housing association linked service, or a local independent agency, to subject their own case work to peer review.

Section 6.7


Case Study: Melville Housing Association, Midlothian.

MelvilleHA,basedinDalkeithinMidlothian,haveprovidedtheir1700tenantswithadvicethroughaparttimeWROsincetheassociations was created following a stock transfer of Scottish Homes stock in 1996.

The WRO has built extremely strong and effective relationships with other housing staff, and benefits from referrals through the range of the holistic services that Melville provides which also include a money advice worker and an occupational therapist. Further success has been achieved through positive relationships with senior staff that have ensured the centrality of welfare rights services to relevant housing management work.

In 2008 Melville undertook an audit of their advice service, as their first step towards achievement of the Scottish Advice Standards, something they achieved in 2009. The process enabled them to review all aspects of their service, and had led to the commissioning of the local CAB to peer review their case work. The WRO believes that the process has been extremely beneficial and prevented any complacency arising in her practice.

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6.8 Funding

An effective strategy for funding a welfare rights service involves having a clear understanding of the sources of funding that will support it in both the short and long term.

Short Term/ Pilot Funding.

Those considering developing a welfare rights service are not likely to make an instant long term commitment to investing in it. In this context it is likely to be necessary to explore the value of a pilot project approach.

The term pilot is often misused by applying it to short term opportunistic projects to which there is unlikely to be a long term funding commitment. Doing a pilot properly means subjecting a new service to a rigorous, preferably independent, evaluation after it has been established for long enough to demonstrate its efficacy, with a commitment to funding it in the future if the evaluation is positive.

Fundingapilotproperlyrequiresthat:

• Itsoverallcostcanrealisticallybemetinthelongerterm.

• Ifanindependentevaluationistobeundertaken,fundingissetasideinthebudgetforthispurpose.

• Asignificantcontributionismadebytheassociationsinvolved.This:

- Demonstrates their commitment to other funders.

- Establishes the principle with their committees that they are prepared to financially support successful welfare rights services.

- Encourages the associations to take the pilot seriously.

- Ensures that there is less of a financial shock in the future if service levels are to be maintained, and other funding sources used for the pilot are no longer available.

In addition to contributions from the associations involved, funding for welfare rights services may be obtained from:

• TheScottishGovernment’sWiderRoleFund.

• Charitabletrusts/theBigLottery.

• Localauthorities.

Those developing services should be clear that neither of the first two sources of funding can be relied on for the longer term:

• WiderRolefundingisonlysecureuntiltheendof2010/11,itisimpossibletopredicttheattitudeoftheScottish Government to the preservation of this funding beyond that point.

• BothcharitabletrustsandtheBigLotterytendtosupportprojectswhichareneworinnovativeinsomeway,or contain a substantial learning element for those involved. Associations and others may be able to use such sources for stop gap funding to maintain a service by ‘spinning’ its objectives in a different way, but this does not constitute a genuine strategy for sustainable funding.

Longer Term Funding.

In the longer term a commitment to continue funding from the associations involved is the strongest guarantee of a sustainablewelfarerightsservice.Makingsuchacommitmentwillrequiretheassociationtobeclearonboththebusinessand social cases for doing so.

Assuming that a service does demonstrate a positive impact on the business performance of associations involved, it should be possible make a rough estimation of the return and hence the ‘break-even’ point made on the investment. Fndsing made available up to that level can be seen as a business investment.

Associations can view the social case for investing their own resources in welfare rights services in two ways, both of which are expressions of their broader objectives to meet the needs of their tenants. The social case can be seen as complementing the business case for investment, or it can be seen as justifying any investment in welfare rights services that goes beyond the estimated break-even point.

Section 6.8


Accessing Local Authority Support.

Basing the core long term funding of a service around the investment of internal housing association resources does not mean that the possibility of accessing additional long term funding from other sources should be neglected. Local authorities, charged with delivering Single Outcome Agreements which include a focus on poverty, should also be considered.

Associations can make the clear case to local authorities that investing in housing association linked welfare rights services is one of the most effective ways possible of reaching the most vulnerable people in their area, and of reducing some of their own costs. This is particularly true in local authorities in which disadvantaged people are spread widely, rather than concentrated in specific communities.

That case is based on the range of housing association assets outlined on page 13 which puts associations in the role as trusted intermediaries between tenants and advice services:

• Theinformationtheyhold.

• Theirrelationshipwithtenants.

• Theirroleasthefirstlineofdefenceagainstproblematicdebt.

• Theirstatusasstable,wellregulatedorganisationsattheheartoftheircommunities.

It is also based on the fact that tenants who are evicted, or whose tenancies otherwise fail, place considerable additional costs against local authorities and other public organisations.

Tips for Making Funding Applications.

Toomanyprojectsletthemselvesdownbythequalityoftheirfundingapplications.Associationsseekingfundingfromothersources should:

• Concentrateinitiallyondevelopinganeffectiveserviceplan,ratherthanonbeingledbythepotentialavailabilityof funding.

• Onlyreshapeaplannedservicetofitfundingcriteriatotheextentthatthisdoesnotaffectserviceintegrity.

• Establishpersonalcontactwiththoseadministeringfunding.

• Wherefundsareoversubscribed,avoidwastingtimeby‘takingaflyer’onabidforfundingwhichdoesnotreallyfit relevant criteria.

• Presentproposalsclearly,focusingonthekeyoutcomesthatwillbeachieved,andavoidingexaggeration/over- eggingthepuddingwithquestionableclaimsforwiderimpacts.

• Submitproposalswhichdemonstrateclearlythattheyconformtotherulesgoverningfunding;e.g.ifafundrequires partnership working, associations should clearly demonstrate how they will work together in the delivery of a service.

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Appendix 1: Financial Inclusion Activity Checklist

Partnership.

The association:

• Placesitsfinancialinclusionstrategyinthecontextofnationalandlocalstrategies.Inturn,itsownfinancialinclusion strategyisreflectedinotherlocalstrategies.

• Hasaclearviewofitsownrolesinpromotingfinancialcontribution.

• Hasestablishedaclearrationaleforthedecisionsittakesrelatingtoinhouseorexternaldelivery.

• Seeksanappropriatelevelofinvolvementinactivitiesbasedontheexpertise,effectivenessandvaluedeliveredby different partners.

• Buildsstrongrelationshipsandcommunicationlinkswithfundingstakeholders,towhomaclearofferofaddedvalue is articulated.

• Engageswithabroadrangeoflocaldeliverypartners.

• Engageswithothersociallandlordsinjointworking.

Whole Organisation Approach

The association:

• Takesawholeorganisationapproachtotacklingfinancialexclusion,withanidentifiedstrategyfordeliveringfinancial inclusion.

• Basesitsstrategyonhighqualityinformationaboutthespecificissuesfacingtenants,andthetenantsmost vulnerable to experiencing problematic debt.

• Makesastrategiccommitmenttopromotingfinancialinclusioninthecontextofitsrentarrearsandtenancy sustainment work.

• Putsinplaceprotocolsandproceduressettingoutexpectationsofstaffinrelationtotheearlyidentificationand referral of tenants experiencing financial exclusion related problems.

• Setsoutexpectationsoffrontlinestaffwithregardtofinancialinclusionwithintheirjobdescriptions.

• Providescomprehensivetrainingforstaffinfinancialinclusionissues,andtheirrolesintacklingthem.

• Ensuresregularreportbackandcommunicationtoallstaffinrelationtosuccessofinterventions.

• Ensurescloselinksbetweenstaffwithprimaryresponsibilityfortenancysustainmentandthoseworkingonfinancial inclusion,andcreatesprocedurallinksreflectingthese.

• Achievesidentifiableculturalchangewithintheorganisationachievedasaresultofinterventions.

• Achievesidentifiablechangestopoliciesandproceduresasaresultofinterventions.

Monitoring and Evaluation.

The association:

• Collatesandrespondsto

- Comprehensive information on activity outputs, broken down in socio economic and demographic terms as appropriate.

- Comprehensive information on activity outcomes for tenants, for example monetary gains due to welfare rights intervention, debt written off due to money advice.

- Comprehensive information on activity outcomes for housing association business, in particular the impact on tenancy abandonment, rent arrears, and evictions, but also broader organisational outcomes.

• Providesregularperformanceupdatestoallinternalandexternalstakeholders.

Appendix 1


Five Pronged Approach

An association delivering each one of the interventions below would be delivering a fully comprehensive financial inclusion strategy,

Welfare Rights and Money Advice:

The association:

• Providesnewtenantswithafinancialhealthchecktoensuretheyareclaimingthebenefitstheyaredue,particularly housing benefit, and identify any money problems.

• Offersalltenantsaccesstowelfarerightsandmoneyadvice,whetherdeliveredinternallyorcommissionedfroman external provider.

• Makesreferralstowelfareandmoneyadviceservicesaspartofastrategyofearlyinterventioninarrearscasesand prevention of tenancy failure.

• Developscloserelationshipsbetweenitswelfarerightsadvisorsandhousingbenefitsstaffwithinlocalauthorities.

• Providesaccesstoemergencywelfarerightsandmoneyadvicetothoseatimmediateriskofeviction,andsuspends eviction actions pending decisions from benefit authorities.

• Buildsaccesstowelfarerightsandmoneyadviceintoallemployabilityprogrammesitsupports.

• Offerswelfarerights/moneyadviceinterventionstoalltenantsattimesofincreasedvulnerabilitysuchas bereavement or job loss.

• Deliversspecificcampaignstargetedatoldertenants.

• Ensuresthatfrontlinestaffdonotexceedtheircompetenceintheadvicetheyoffer,butrefertootherserviceswhen appropriate.

Improving Access to Financial Services:

The association:

• Workswithpartnersfromthestatutory,thirdandprivatesectortoidentifyandrespondtogapsinthelocalprovision of financial services.

• ProvidesfinancialandpromotionalsupporttoCDFIsandcreditunionsofferingaffordableloansandqualitysavings products.

• Explorespotentiallinksbetweenaffordablecreditprovidersandschemesofferingcheaperaccesstowhitegoods/ furniture.

• Promotesaffordablehomecontentsinsurance.

• Partnerswithbankstoimproveaccesstoappropriatebankingservices.

• Considersthepossibilityofmatchedsavingsschemes,perhapslinkingthemtotenantrewardschemestofurther incentivise positive behaviours.

• Buildsimprovedaccesstofinancialservicesintoallemployabilityprogrammesitsupports.

Improving Financial Capability:

The association builds financial capability work:

• Intoallitstenancysustainmentinitiatives.

• Intoallitsemployabilityprogrammes.

Accessing Goods and Services.

The association

• Switcheshomestothecheapestsupplier/cheapmeterwhenatenancyconcludes.

• ConsidersthepossibilityofjoiningordevelopinganEnergyCluband/orsharesinformationwithtenantsabout supplier switching advice.

• Trainsitsstafftodeliverbasicenergyefficiencyadvice,andcarriesregularenergyefficiencyinformationin newsletters.

• Distributesenergyefficientproductssuchaslightbulbstotenants,andensureswhitegoodsschemesetcfocuson the provision of energy efficient products.

• Theassociationlinkswithfurnitureprojects,againpossiblyinvolvingaffordablecreditproviders.

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Appendix 2: Scottish National Standards for Advice (Cross-referenced to Section 6 of the Guide)

1 General Management Standards

Standard 1.1 All service providers must have clear management structures that identify the roles and responsibilities of all postholdersinvolvedintheplanning,managementanddeliveryoftheservice(Sections6.1,6.2,6.3)

Standard 1.2 All standard office procedures must be documented.

Standard 1.3 All service providers must have robust systems for financial management.

Standard 1.4 Theremustbeclearlinesofinternalcommunication(Section6.2)

Standard 1.5 Each service provider must be able to demonstrate that it is complying with all relevant general legislation.

2 Standards for Planning

Standard 2.1 All service providers must be clear about the remit of their service and the boundaries of their service. (Sections6.1,6.2,6.3)

Standard 2.2 All services must undertake a regular exercise to determine the profile of their local community and any specialneedsthatmayexist.(Section6.1)

Standard 2.3 Allserviceprovidersmustdeveloplong-termplansthatcoveraperiodofthreetofiveyears.(Section6.1)

Standard 2.4 All services must produce an annual service plan that seeks to ensure the best match between the needs of serviceusersandtheresourcesavailabletoprovidetheservice.(Section6.1)

Standard 2.5 All services must regularly review their work against the aims and objectives for their service and make the resultsofthesereviewsavailableinapubliclyaccessibleformatatleastonceayear.(Section6.1)

Standard 2.6 Allservicesmustbesubjecttoregularindependentreviewand/orevaluation.

3 Standards of Accessibility and Customer Care

Standard 3.1 Allserviceprovidersmustbecommittedtoprovidingequityofaccesstoservicesforall.(Section6.6)

Standard 3.2 All service providers must have a clear commitment to treat service users with respect and be clear about anyexpectationsofbehaviourtheyhaveofserviceusers.(Section6.2)

Standard 3.3 Allserviceprovidersmusthaveprocedurestoreviewtheirpremisesatleastonceeverythreeyears.(Section 6.6)

Standard 3.4 All service providers must regularly review the methods of delivery for their service to ensure both accessibilityandtheeffectiveuseofresources.(Section6.6)

Standard 3.5 All service providers must regularly review their hours of service to ensure that these meet the needs of their current and potential service users.

Standard 3.6 All service providers must ensure that potential service users are aware of the service that is provided. (Section6.4)

Standard 3.7 All service providers must be able to provide information in a range of formats and community languages thatareappropriatetotheneedsofdisabledpeopleandthelocalcommunity.(Section6.6)

Standard 3.8 Services must not disadvantage users whose first language is not English. All Type II and Type III services must have access to interpreters in appropriate languages and clear procedures for the use of interpreters. (Section6.6)

Standard 3.9 All service providers must have effective and appropriate policies on confidentiality and access to information.(Section6.2)

Standard 3.10 Service providers must have procedures for the safe maintenance of files and for file destruction.

Standard 3.11 Serviceprovidersmusthaveaneffectivecomplaintsprocedureandadequateinsurancetoproviderightsof redress.

Standard 3.12 All service providers must have procedures that actively encourage feedback from service users.

Appendix 2


4 Standards for Providing the Service

Standard 4.1 All service providers must provide an independent and impartial service that can represent the interests of theirserviceusers.(Section6.2)

Standard 4.2 All services must have arrangements to ensure that their service has access to up-to-date reference materials andappropriatejournals.(Section6.3)

Standard 4.3 All service providers must maintain regular contact and liaison with other providers in their locality. Referral agreements must be established between agencies to ensure that service users receive a consistent and seamlessservice.(Section6.5)

Standard 4.4 Type II and Type III services must have systems that ensure that service user information and case files are well organised.

Standard 4.5 Type II and Type III services must have a casework procedure that can be applied consistently to all service users.

Standard 4.6 Type II and Type III services must ensure that the casework files of individual advisers are subject to suitably qualified,independentreview.(Section6.7)

Standard 4.7 Allserviceprovidersmusthaverobustmeansofrecordingservicewideactivityandserviceuse.(Section6.7)

5 Standards Around Competence

Standard 5.1 Allserviceprovidersmusthaveaclearcommitmenttoequalopportunitiesinemploymentpractice.

Standard 5.2 Allserviceprovidersmustensurethattheyhavesystemstoidentifytheskillsandknowledgerequiredto meetusers’needsandtheprocedurestomatchtheserequirementswithstaffandvolunteersdeliveringthe service.(Section6.3)

Standard 5.3 Allserviceprovidersmustensurethatthosedeliveringtheserviceareprovidedwithadequatetrainingand development.(Section6.3)

Standard 5.4 All service providers must ensure that all staff involved in delivering the service have core competences beforetheyadvisethepublic.(Section6.3)

Standard 5.5 All service providers must ensure that all cases are dealt with by an adviser competent in that area of law. (Section6.3)

Standard 5.6 Allserviceprovidersmustensurethatallinformationandadviceworkissupervisedbyasuitablyqualified individual, either from within or outwith the service.

Standard 5.7 All service providers must ensure that they understand the work of other relevant agencies in their localities. (Sections6.5,6.7)

6 Resourcing Standards

Standard 6.1 All service providers must have premises that ensure that the service can be accessible to all members of the communityandmeetstheneedsofserviceusers.(Section6.6)

Standard 6.2 Service providers must pay sufficient attention to human resource planning to maintain service outputs and inform future planning.

Standard 6.3 Allservicesmustbeabletodemonstratethattheirannualbudget(Standard1.3)issufficienttoresourcethe requirementsoftheseStandardsandsufficienttoresourcethecommitmentsestablishedintheserviceplan (Standard2.4).(Section6.8)

53 53

Appendix 3: Other Relevant Anti Poverty and Financial Inclusion Resources

Sources of Statistics Relating to Poverty, Financial Exclusion and Benefit Take Up:

- Department of Work and Pensions. Use the tab tool to get take up statistics including break downs for local authority areas and parliamentary constituencies. www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp

- Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. For comparing the communities that you serve to the most disadvantaged in Scotland, overall, and on a number of different dimensions such as employment and access to services. www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/SIMD/

- Scottish Household Survey. Useful for figures relating to financial exclusion amongst social housing tenants. www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/16002

Social Landlords, Arrears Management and Tenancy Sustainment.

- ‘Improving the Effectiveness of Rent Arrears Management: Good Practice Guidance’ Highlights the importance of early intervention in tackling rent arrears, touching on the value of advice interventions. Available at: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/improvingeffectiveness

Publications Focusing on Social Landlords and Financial Inclusion:

- ‘Community Access to Money: Social Landlords Reaping the Benefits’ . Great case study information on social landlords’ engagement in financial inclusion activity. Available at www.housingcorp.gov.uk/upload/ pdf/Reaping_the_benefits.pdf

- ‘Credit where Credit’s Due: A Report for the National Housing Federation.’ Presents a case for social landlords supporting their tenants to access reasonably priced loans, and describes the ways this can be done. Available at www.housing.org.uk/Uploads/File/Policy%20briefings/CREDIT_WHERE_CREDIT’S_DUE_ FINAL_060807.pdf

- ‘Financial Inclusion in Social Housing, Policy into Practice’. Best practice toolkit looking at general financial inclusion practice by social landlords. Available from National Housing Federation Bookshop at www. housing.org.uk/OnlineStore/Default.aspx?tabid=44&action=INVProductDetails&args=5996

Useful Information for Tenants.

- ‘Money, Money, Money’. Award winning guides to personal money management produced by Argyll Community Housing Association and partners, and adaptable for other areas. www.acha.co.uk/press/PDF/ MONEY%20MONEY%20MONEY%20Handbook.pdf

- ‘You Can Afford to Leave’. Guide to money management for women escaping domestic violence. www. refuge.org.uk/cms_content_refuge/attachments/You%20can%20afford%20to%20leave%20(web).pdf

Useful Financial Inclusion Websites.

Representative Bodies/ Forums working on Financial Inclusion:

- Money Advice Trust Info Hub- The best source of money advice research on the web at www.infohub. moneyadvicetrust.org/

- Rights Net- The website for welfare rights advisers. www.rightsnet.org.uk/

National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers. www.nawra.org.uk/

- Transact, the National Financial Inclusion Forum.www.transact.org.uk.

- Association of British Credit Unions. The representative body for credit unions. www.abcul.org.

Appendix 3


- Citizens Advice Scotland. The representative body for CABx in Scotland. www.cas.org.uk/

- Community Development Finance Association, the representative body for CDFIs www.cdfa.org.uk

- Money Advice Scotland. Representative and trade body for the independent money advice sector in Scotland. www.moneyadvicescotland.org.uk/

Government Bodies:

• FinancialServicesAuthority.Thebodychargedbythegovernmentwithprotectingtheconsumersoffinancial products and promoting financial capability. Useful for accessing relevant financial capability information. www.fsa. gov.uk

• TreasurySelectCommittee-Reportsrelatingtofinancialexclusion.www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_ committees/treasury_committee.cfm

Funding for Financial Inclusion Work:

• BarclaysFinancialInclusionFund.www.barclays.com

• HBOSFoundation.www.hbosfoundation.org.

• FinancialServicesAuthorityInnovationFund.www.fsa.gov.uk/financial_capability/innovation

• LloydsTSBFoundation.www.lloydstsbfoundation.org.uk

• ScottishPowerEnergyPeopleTrust www.energypeopletrust.co.uk

• TudorTrust.www.tudortrust.org.uk

GOOD PRACTICE GUIDE 56 56

For further information please contact:

Ann Timoney Treasurer – Welfare Rights Forum

c/o Maryhill Housing Association Ltd45 Garrioch Road, Glasgow G20 8RG

Tel: 0141 946 2466Email: [email protected]

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