Agenda item

(Director of Housing) To consider the attached report.

The Panel received a report from the Director of Housing regarding the Welfare reform Mitigation Action Plan Quarterly Progress Report.

On 8 March 2012, the Welfare reform Act 2012 received Royal Assent, legislating for the biggest change to the welfare system for over 60 years. To understand and prepare for the changes, the Council had commissioned the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) to undertake a major study into the impact and implications of the welfare reforms on the Council and its residents. The CIH estimated that the total loss in housing benefit and other welfare benefits to both Council and private tenants in Epping Forest, as a result of the welfare reforms, would be around £1.1 million per annum. In addition, the direct financial impact on the Council itself was estimated at between around £240,000 and £460,000 per annum. The CIH had identified that as a result of these changes, there was likely to be a significant increase in the amount of homelessness for the Council to cope with.

Welfare Reform Mitigation Project Team and Mitigation Action Plan

In view of the significant effects of the welfare reforms the Welfare Reform Mitigation Project Team was formed in September 2012, chaired by the Director of Housing. The Team had formulated an Action Plan which was adopted by the Cabinet in October 2012. The Cabinet had asked this Panel to monitor progress with the delivery of the Action Plan.

Progress to date

The first Quarterly Progress Report on the Welfare Reform Mitigation Action Plan was presented to the Panel at its January 2013 meeting. The latest report was attached to the agenda for this meeting. Good progress continued to be made to date in delivering the 59 actions of the Action Plan.

The key points noted within the latest Progress Report on the current position and progress were as follows:

(a)        There were 391 under-occupying Council tenants affected by the “Bedroom Tax”;

(b)        In December 2012, the Government announced that the Benefit Cap would be introduced in only four London Boroughs from April 2013, and then rolled out in all other local authorities before September 2013;

(c)        The Department for Work and Pensions and the Council’s Benefits Division had established that 78 households in the District would be affected by the proposed Benefits Cap. The highest loss by a household would be around £210.00 per week. All District Council tenants affected had been written to, offering for their Housing Management Officer to visit them and advise on how to mitigate the effects;

(d)        An updated Housing Service Strategy on Under-Occupation had been agreed;

(e)        As at 15 February 2013, 183 out of a possible 389 visits (47%) had been undertaken to EFDC tenants affected by the “Bedroom Tax.” However 21% of tenants had expressed an interest in downsizing;

(f)         It was expected that the earliest the direct payments of Universal Credit would be made to claimants in Essex would now be March 2014;

(g)        The Cabinet had agreed to provide the requested funding of £67,000 to the Citizen Advice Bureau to appoint two full time Debt Advisors for 18 months;

(h)        The Cabinet had agreed that part of the CLG’s funding for homelessness prevention for 2013-15 should be used to appoint an additional Homelessness Prevention Officer;

(i)         The Benefits Division had formulated a Draft Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) Policy; and

(j)         The Panel had recommended to the Cabinet that some of the Housing Improvements and Service Enhancements Fund for 2013/14 be used to meet all the HRA costs to deliver the Mitigation Action Plan.

RECOMMENDED:

That the latest Quarterly Progress report on the Welfare Reform Mitigation Action Plan, as at 1 March 2013, be noted.