Universal Credit

Digital Champions in Libraries17th Sept 2015

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• One simple payment

• Paid monthly

• For people in and out of work

• Use PAYE in real time information (RTI)

Universal Credit

Income basedJobseekers Allowance

Income relatedEmployment and Support

Allowance

Working Tax

Credits

Child Tax Credit

Income Support

Housing Benefit

Universal Credit – overview

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Universal Credit - it’s all about work

• Universal Credit aims to reward work

• Universal Credit will encourage a new type of relationship with claimants

• Universal Credit aims to support jobseekers through the Claimant Commitment

• Universal Credit claimants are expected to use Universal Jobmatch

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What’s different about Universal Credit?

IT ENCOURAGES

WORK

IT’S LIKE WORK

IT’S ABOUT WORK

PAID MONTHLY

PAID DIRECTLYTO THE CLAIMANT

CLAIMANT COMMITMENT

IS LIKE A CONTRACT

IN AND OUT OF WORK

CLAIMANT COMMITMENT

REQUIREMENTS

FULL TIME WORK SEARCH

EARNINGS, NOT HOURS A TAPER SO

BETTER OFF IN WORK

EASY TRANSITION

FROM UNIVERSAL CREDIT TO WORK

(AND BACK)

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Making Work pay

Universal Credit helps to ensure people are better off in work than on benefits by:

• Removing the limit to the number of hours someone can work each week

• Reducing a claimant’s Universal Credit payment gradually as their earnings increase, so they won’t lose all their benefits at once if they’re on a low income

Universal Credit claimant journey

I get information or advice about how to

claim Universal Credit.

I receive a telephone call

inviting me to attend an interview in the

jobcentre.

I attend my interview at the jobcentre, taking along any paperwork

that has been asked for. I sign my Claimant Commitment, which

records the activities I’ve agreed to do in return for

receiving Universal Credit.

I receive my Universal Credit decision letter. It

tells me when I will receive my

payments, and confirms what I

need to do in return for getting Universal

Credit.

I telephone the helpline if there is a

change in my circumstances,

including if I start work. My Claimant

Commitment is reviewed and may be changed to take

into account my new situation.

I make my claim online at

GOV.UK. If I need help, I can

telephone the Universal Credit

helpline for assistance.

I receive an email (or text message if

no email address) to remind me about my

interview at the jobcentre.

I undertake my agreed activities. I can get advice on

jobseeking, budgeting and going online from my work

coach.I regularly visit the

jobcentre where my work coach and I

discuss the actions we’ve agreed in my

Work Plan.

If a change in my circumstances

means my Universal Credit payments

change, I receive a letter confirming the

new details.

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Labour Market conditionality

• Labour market conditionality is the term we use to describe what claimants must do to receive working-age benefit payments

• Our welfare system is based on a two way contract: we do everything we can to help people find work, but equally we expect claimants to do everything they can to find work as well

• We have a role to make sure that people fulfil their obligations for receiving benefit and that we apply conditionality fairly and consistently. That is a fair deal for the claimant and fair to the taxpayer

• Sanctions are not about punishment. They are about encouraging people to job search relentlessly until they are successful.

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Claimant Commitment

Claimant Commitment

Individually tailored to take account of someone’s circumstances

Outlines what a claimant must do in return for their benefit

Sets out clearly the consequences of not meeting Claimant Commitment

Claimant Commitment reviewed on a regular basis

Work

Claimant

Work Coach

Claimant

Create Accept Work Requirements

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Work Coaches should make it clear, and ensure that the claimant has understood, what the requirements are to receive benefit and what the consequences will be if they fail to meet those requirements.

Conditionality should be tailored to the individual circumstances of each claimant within the constraints of the law.

A disallowance or sanction should never come as a surprise to a claimant.

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Tailoring the Claimant Commitment

• Victims of Domestic Violence (Easement)

• Homeless Claimants (Easement)

• Domestic Emergency

• Care Leavers

• Lone Parents

• Volunteering

• Refugee

• Drugs & Alcohol Dependency

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JSA – Extended Period of Sickness (EPS)

From 30 March 215, claimants who suffer a third or longer period of sickness can choose to stay on JSA (rather than claim ESA) for up to 13 weeks. The EPS is one continuous period of 13 weeks or less and cannot be split into separate periods.  Claimants are treated as available during an EPS. Depending on the expected length and reason for the illness, the work coach will tailor work search requirements to the revised personal circumstances of the claimant. Work search requirements may be reduced or turned off completely but claim may be disallowed if claimant fails to undertake whatever activities are required of them.  NB: An EPS is one exception when a revised CC is not required; any amendments will be recorded in LMS Conversations instead.

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Universal Credit

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Local Area

Support for claimants with complex needs

BudgetingWork

OnlineHousing

Support for claimants

LA Services

National Partners

Local Partners

Jobcentre Plus

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UC gateway for single claimantCouples and people with dependent children are excluded from the UC ‘single’ claimant gateway for national roll out. In order to claim UC the single claimant with no children must:• Have a National Insurance Number.• Be in the correct postcode area.• Be aged between 18 and 60 and 6 months. • Not own or partially own the home they live in.• Not be homeless or living in temporary or supported accommodation.• Be a British citizen.• Have lived in the United Kingdom (UK) for last 2 years.• Not be required to pay child maintenance for a child.• Not in receipt of a disability benefit.• Not be unfit for work.• Not be pregnant or given birth in the last 15 weeks.• Not be a carer.• Require a Personal Acting Body (PAB) or Corporate Acting Body (CAB).• Not be in education or training or expect to start in next month.• Not be self-employed.

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UC Gateway for single claimant

• Not be a company director or part of a limited liability partnership.• Be unemployed or have household earnings below an agreed threshold (to be

agreed), and each have individual earnings of less than £330 a month if over 25years and £270 if under 25years.

• Have capital of less than £6000.• Have a bank, building society, post office or credit union account.• Not receive old rules Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Jobseekers

Allowance (JSA), Incapacity Benefit (IB), Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) and Income Support (IS).

• Not challenging/appealing a decision on ESA, JSA, IB, SDA, IS, Housing Benefit (HB) and Working Tax Credit (WTC).

• Not waiting a decision on ESA, JSA, WTC, HB and IS.• Not be staying away from their main home.• Not be responsibility for children/qualifying young persons who are fostered,

adopted or being looked after.• Not be responsible for children/qualifying young persons who are registered

blind or have a disability benefit

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Delivering the policy – how Universal Credit is rolling out to eligible claimants

The test and learn approach to Universal Credit has allowed us to continuously improve

• Budgeting Support

• Data sharing

• Universal Support - delivered locally

• Management of Universal Credit housing cost element

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• Offered to anyone claiming Universal Credit

• Now included as part of the work coach role

• Online budgeting tools for claimants who are able to self-help. Worked closely with the Money Advice Service to produce a range of products

• Money advice services offered via the LA using a mix of face to face and telephony support

• Longer term will be delivered via Universal Support – delivered locally through delivery partnership agreements

• The Universal Credit personal planner on GOV.UK: https://secureonline.dwp.gov.uk/universal-credit-preparation/

Personal Budgeting Support - Money Advice

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• For a minority of claimants, Alternative Payment Arrangements may be required; these might include

– DWP will pay housing costs directly to the landlord (managed payment to landlord)

– making payments more frequent than monthly

– splitting the payment within the household

• Option to make managed payments directly to the landlord if a claimant reaches a certain level of rent arrears (usually 2 Calendar months / 8 weeks)

• Considered on a case by case basis and assessed on their individual needs

• The decision about whether an Alternative Payment Arrangement is suitable will be made by a Universal Credit Decision Maker

• All Alternative Payment Arrangements are subject to review

Personal Budgeting Support – Alternative Payment Arrangements

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Alternative Payment Arrangements: consideration factors

Highly likely / probable need for Alternative Payment Arrangements

Drug / alcohol and / or other addiction problems e.g. gambling

Learning difficulties including problems with literacy and/or numeracy

Severe / multiple debt problems

In temporary and / or supported accommodation

Homeless

Domestic violence / abuse

Mental Health Condition

Currently in rent arrears / threat of eviction / repossession

Claimant is young: either a 16/17 year old and / or a Care leaver

Families with multiple and complex needs

Less likely / possible need for Alternative Payment Arrangements

Third party deductions in place (e.g. for fines, utility arrears etc.)

Claimant is a refugee / asylum seeker

History of rent arrears

Previously homeless and / or in supported accommodation

Other disability (e.g. physical disability, sensory impairment etc.)

Claimant has just left prison

Claimant has just left hospital

Recently bereaved

Language skills (e.g. English not spoken as the ‘first language’).

Ex Service personnel

NEETs - Not in Education, Employment or Training

Digital Jobcentres: The Story So Far

• The Case for Digital Jobcentres

• The Digital Challenges

• Digital Jobcentres – Background

• Digital Jobcentre Model

• How it will work in practice

• Accessibility

• Evaluation

Digital Jobcentres: The Next Chapter

Create your Digital Jobcentre Environment

CREATE OWNBUILD

Build your Work Coach Delivery Model

Own your Digital Development

Digital Jobcentres Scotland: Minimum Standards

Digital Jobcentres: The Next Chapter

Progress

Assess

VisualiseSetting clear objectives and understanding the

possibilities

Identifying areas of opportunity for innovation

Creating clear plans to turn new ideas into action

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The Universal Credit digital service

• We have been successfully testing the new Universal Credit digital service, developed by our own in-house teams, in the London Borough of Sutton

• Following the success delivery of this test we are now expanding this service to Croydon in June with further expansion scheduled for November 2015

• The digital service lets us test and learn how Universal Credit works with the full range of claimants, no matter how complex their needs or circumstances. The service is designed to work as well on a mobile as on a computer, making it easier for claimants to access the service in a way that suits them

• There’s one online account for payments, reporting changes of circumstance, and getting job alerts and work coach feedback

• Learning from this test will inform the future development of our digital service as we rollout Universal Credit gradually across Great Britain

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Universal Credit Rollout

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UC Expansion Tranche 1

Council Go Live Date

Highland 16/02/15

West Dunbartonshire 09/03/15

North Lanarkshire 09/03/15

City of Edinburgh 09/03/15

Scottish Borders 27/04/15

Midlothian 27/04/15

East Lothian 27/04/15

North Ayrshire 27/04/15

Dumfries & Galloway 27/04/15

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UC Expansion Tranche 2

Council Go Live Date

Orkney 11/05/15

Shetland 11/05/15

Western Isles 11/05/15

Aberdeenshire 25/05/15

Falkirk 25/05/15

Stirling 25/05/15

Clackmannanshire 25/05/15

Glasgow 08/06/15

Renfrewshire 22/06/15

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Tranche 3: September 2015 – November 2015 Local authority Jobcentre area

Aberdeen City Aberdeen Ebury House

Dundee City Dundee Wellgate

Inverclyde GreenockPort Glasgow

South Ayrshire AyrGirvan

South Lanarkshire CambuslangEast KilbrideHamiltonLanarkRutherglen

West Lothian BathgateBroxburnLivingston

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Tranche 4: December 2015 – April 2016

Local Authority Jobcentre Area

Angus Arbroath JCPForfar JCPMontrose JCP

Argyll & Bute Campbeltown JCPDunoon JCPHelensburgh JCPOban JCPRothesay JCP

East Ayrshire Cumnock JCPKilmarnock JCP

East Dunbartonshire Kirkintilloch JCP

East Renfrewshire Barrhead JCP

Fife Cowdenbeath JCPCupar JCPDunfermline JCPGlenrothes JCPKirkcaldy JCPLeven JCPSt. Andrews JCP

Perth & Kinross Blairgowrie JCPPerth JCP

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Thank You

Any questions?