Council Tax Benefit has been replaced with Local Council
Tax Reduction Schemes from 1st April 2013. In
Northumberland, the Council has protected the level of Council Tax
Support provided during 2013-14 so it will be the same as it was
under the previous Council Tax Benefit scheme.
For more
on council tax support
Northumberland Emergency Transition Support (NETs)
The Welfare Reform Act 2012 abolished the discretionary elements
of the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) Social Fund (Crisis
Loans for items and daily living expenses and Community Support
Grants)
As from 1 April 2013 NETs will provide crisis support to
residents of Northumberland in the following ways:
Emergency Support
AIM: To help meet your immediate short term needs for goods or
services that arise because of a disaster or unforeseen
circumstance.
Awards are only available for: food, baby consumables, clothing,
heating and travel and for a maximum of 7 days support.
Transition Support
AIM: To help you remain in the community or move back into the
community after a period in supported or unsettled
accommodation.
Awards are only available for: beds/ bedding, furniture, white
goods, kitchen equipment, floor coverings, curtains, travel and
storage/ removal costs.
Northumberland County Council recognised the added value that
would be achieved if the VCS were engaged to deliver this
process.
DAWN (Advice), working in partnership with Five Lamps and Voices
Northumberland were awarded the contract to deliver the scheme
http://www.dawnadvice.org.uk/social-fund.aspx
http://www.fivelamps.org.uk/finance/northumberland-emergency-transition-support-nets/
Housing Benefit
There will be several changes to Housing Benefit that could
affect how much help you get. If you live in a Homes For
Northumberland property or rent from a registered social landlord
(Housing Association) you could get less benefit if you are:
considered to have too many bedrooms for the number of people
living in the property (under occupation).
Non dependant deductions will also increase
There will also be a maximum limit on the amount of benefit someone
can receive (benefit cap)
For more on housing benefit
Under occupation
If you are of working age (this is someone who has not reached
the qualifying age for pension credit) and live in a council or
housing association property your Housing Benefit will reduce if
your property has too many bedrooms based on the people living in
your household.
The new rules allow one bedroom for:
- Each adult or couple
- Anyone over 16
- Any two children under 16 of the same sex
- Any two children under 10 regardless of sex
- Any other child
- A non-resident overnight carer
If you have one bedroom more than the Government says you need,
your Housing Benefit will be reduced by 14% of your basic rent. If
you have at least two bedrooms more than the Government says you
need, your Housing Benefit will be reduced by 25% of your basic
rent.
For more information on Under
Occupation
Benefit cap
The Government is capping how much money someone can receive in
benefits. This will happen during the summer of 2013 and anyone
affected will have had their benefit capped by the end of September
2013. For anyone receiving Housing Benefit, the total amount of all
benefits a person can receive will be capped at:
£500 a week for couples and lone parents
£350 a week for single adults
If you receive benefits totalling more than these amounts your
Housing Benefit will be reduced. For those not receiving Housing
Benefit the benefit cap will not apply until October 2013 when
Universal Credit is introduced.
This change only applies to people of working age (someone that
has not reached the qualifying age to claim pension credit). People
of pensionable age will remain unaffected by the benefit cap.
However, the benefit cap will not apply to anyone receiving the
following benefits.
- Working Tax Credit
- Disability Living Allowance
- Personal Independence Payments (from June 2013)
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance – income related or
contributory (support component only)
- War Pension/War Widows Pension
Use the Government's
benefit cap calculator to find out if you’ll be affected, and
how much your benefits could go down by.
Discretionary housing payments
In certain circumstances, the Council is able to make
Discretionary Housing Payments to some people who need to
pay more rent than is covered by the amount of Housing
Benefit that they receive. These payments are made from a limited
fund and can be used to help people who are living
in any kind of rented property but
who need more help to pay their rent.
It can also be used to help people who are living in
council or housing association properties that are affected by
under occupation because they need to use an extra bedroom because
they are disabled, for example they are unable to share a bedroom
with their partner, they use a room to store aids or equipment or
their home as been adapted.
For more information on
discretionary housing payments
Non-dependant deductions
A non dependant is an adult aged 18 or over, who lives with you.
They could be a son, daughter, parent, relative or friend. When
working out Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support, it is
assumed that a non dependant contributes towards rent and Council
Tax even if they do not, and so benefit is reduced to take account
of this. These non-dependant deductions will increase.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is the new
benefit that will replace Disability Living Allowance as the main
non-means-tested benefit for working-age people with a long term
health condition or disability that affects their daily living or
mobility.
It was introduced on 8th April 2013
but it will not affect all claimants immediately.
On 8th April 2013, Personal
Independence Payment was introduced for new
claims, instead of DLA, in most of Northumberland. People
living in TD postcode areas will continue to make new claims for
DLA until June 2013.
Existing DLA claimants aged 16 to 64
on 8th April 2013 will be affected by the introduction of
Personal Independence Payment, even if they have an indefinite or
lifetime award of DLA.
From October 2013, people who
report a change in how a health condition or disability affects
them, they reach the end of an existing award of DLA, or they are
approaching the age of 16 will be invited to claim
Personal Independence Payment. The exception will be renewal claims
for a fixed period award due to expire before the end of February
2014 when the renewal claim will still be for DLA.
People with indefinite (“lifetime”) DLA awards
do not need to contact DWP now. They will be contacted in
October 2015, at the earliest, unless they report
a change in how their health condition or disability affects
them.
There will be no automatic transfer
from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence
Payment.
What is PIP?
PIP has a daily living
component and a mobility component. Each component
has two rates;
a standard rate and an enhanced
rate. People can get both components if they satisfy the
conditions for both. People will need to satisfy the disability
conditions for 3 months before the claim and be expected to
continue to satisfy them for 9 months afterwards, unless they are
terminally ill and are claiming under “special rules”. PIP daily
living component will be paid at the same rates as high and middle
rate DLA care component, but there will be no equivalent to DLA low
rate care. The criteria are different, so it can't be assumed that
people on high or middle DLA care will all transfer to the
equivalent PIP rates, just as it can’t be assumed that everyone
currently on low rate DLA will not qualify for PIP.
Entitlement is assessed by considering
12 activities. Points are awarded depending on how
well people can carry out each of the activities. Detailed
information about the assessment can be found
here.
Conditionality
The Government states that through its reforms it is seeking to
speed up entry into employment from benefits for those able to
work. These will include certain conditions for people
returning to work or taking up training opportunities.
For more information
Changes to benefit from October 2013
Universal Credit
Universal Credit will replace several means tested benefits paid
to working age people. It will be introduced on a small scale in
the North West region on 29th April 2013 for new benefit
claims. It is intended to begin rolling out Universal Credit for
new claims in other regions from October 2013. Existing benefit
claimants are expected to be moved onto Universal Credit sometime
between 2014 and 2017. Older people will still claim Pension
Credit, however a couple’s eligibility for Pension Credit will be
based on the younger partner’s age, rather than the older partner’s
age as is used currently, once Universal Credit has been
introduced.
Universal Credit will replace claims for Income Support,
income based Jobseekers Allowance, income related Employment and
Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit and Child
Tax Credit. Universal Credit will be worked out by awarding a
personal amount based on age and whether someone is single or part
of a couple. Further additions for disabilities and carers,
children and housing costs will be awarded depending on a person’s
circumstances. For those unable to work due to a health condition
or disability, entitlement to the disability element will be based
on the existing assessment used for Employment and Support
Allowance.
For
more information
Useful Links
For more information regarding Welfare Reform, please click on
the images below:
Homes for Northumberland
Department for Work
& Pensions - information and updates on Welfare reform
ISOS
Berwick Borough
Housing
Two Castles Housing Association
Johnnie Johnson Housing Association
Bernicia
Shelter
Department for Work and Pensions
Gov.uk
National Housing Federation
