Policy in Practice The debt landscape in Deven Ghelani response to a changing policy environment
Agenda • About Policy in Practice • The impact of recent policy changes on low income households • Initiatives to help support vulnerable consumers • A national initiative to pool data on low income families
A team of professionals We help local We develop engaging with extensive authorities use their software that helps knowledge of the household level data to people to increase their welfare system who are identify vulnerable income, reduce their costs passionate about making households, target and helps them to build social policy work support and track their their financial resilience interventions
Our analysis of Budget 2018 £1.7 billion boost to benefit support, • benefiting 2.5 million households (1.9m with children & 600k with limited capability for work) £1.0 billion to help 1.1m people • migrating onto Universal Credit (one- third of those left to migrate) Employed households gain • Self-employed, disabled, ill or out of • work don't gain Download our report •
Universal Credit is rolling out fast • 1.6 million people on Universal Credit today • A further 1.6m people moving onto Universal Credit this year • 2.0 million people moving on through ‘managed migration’ from 2020.
Budget 2018: Universal Credit changes UC work allowances: increase by £1,000 per year (from April 2019) • Two week run-on for those on existing DWP benefits (JSA, ESA, IS) in addition to • those receiving housing benefit (from July 2020) Self employed: Protection extended to all; assessed on actual income (not MIF) • for 12 months (from July 2019) Deductions from UC: Max rate down from 40% to 30% (from Oct 2019) • Delay in increasing the earnings limit that triggers surplus earnings (remains the • same until 2020) Period for recovery of advances extended from 12 to 16 months (from Oct 2021) • Slower roll-out of Universal Credit (end now Dec 2023) • Plus increase in minimum wage & changes in tax allowances (from April 2019) •
UNIVERSAL CREDIT ROADMAP APRIL 2018 MAY 2019 DE C 2017 Mixed age couples must make new claims for UC Housing benefit to 'run-on' for the first 2 weeks of UC Direct payments to landlord to continue under UC, instead of Pension Credit Payments for temporary accommodation improved if transferring from HB Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) becomes a loan E nd of UC live service National Living Wage set at £ 7.83 p/hr for over 25 Personal tax allowance up from £ 11 ,500 to £ 1 1,850 JULY 2019 Self-employed familiies moving to UC won ’ t be affected by minimum income floor for the first 12 months of their claim. JAN 2019 Managed migration pilot will begin (starts in full end 201 9) ull Service roll out E nd of F JAN 2018 APRIL 2020 F E B 2019 No new claims for UC live service after 01 /01 /18 National Living Wage likely to rise to £ 8.80 p/hr New UC claims for households with 2+ UC advances repayment period increases to 1 2 months children of UC award UC advances increases to 100% APRIL 2019 DE C 2023 F E B 2018 NLW will increase to £ 8.21 p/hr for over 25s All claims migrated to UC Personal tax allowance will increase to £ 12,500 7 day waiting period for UC abolished Higher rate tax threshold will increase to £ 50,000 UC Work Allowances will increase by £ 1,000/year. 2023 2019 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2020 2017
New Secretary of State – A new direction..? Managed migration was scaled back for 2019, although DWP will still have their hands full with around 1.6m people will still move onto Universal Credit this year through natural migration. The two-child limit to benefits would not apply to children born before April 2017. Flexible payments , including direct payments to landlords, split payments, and the payment of Universal Credit going to the main carer by default. The Secretary of State is also looking at options to reduce the five-week wait for new claimants, and accelerate childcare payments to providers. The High Court found in favour of four working mothers who challenged how the DWP took account of monthly earnings .
People are still going to be worse off
People are still going to be worse off
Initiatives to support vulnerable households Build your social tariffs into a single assessment tool License the tool for advisors to enable holistic support Work with local authorities - use data to target support tariffs to vulnerable consumers most in need Work with central government - Learn more about national initiatives to match data and pool enforcement resources. 11 11 11
Build your social tariffs into a single assessment tool, used by 10,000 people each day via GOV.UK
License the tool for advisors to be able to provide holistic support, making it more likely that they will be able to repay in future.
Work with local authorities: Use their administrative data to target support tariffs to vulnerable consumers, including those less likely to reach out for support.
Work with local authorities Cambridge councils partnership with South Staffs water. Connected to DHPs: £55k to 210 people Removed the income threshold. Great partnership.
Work with central government: Learn more about national initiatives to match data and pool enforcement resources. Reimagine Debt A cross-departmental initiative to improve enforcement activity across government and the private sector. Cabinet Office are pooling data to better understand households to improve collection and better support households in crisis.
Water Poverty: A new measure A new measure of poverty for the UK Takes into account household income, and household needs. What is water poverty? How can you eliminate it by 2030?
Summary • People are still set to be worse off and Universal Credit is rolling out fast. • Utility companies can help people to tackle their debts by giving people access to social tariffs. • You can offer them holistic support too. Your vulnerability teams can check eligibility and increase take-up of local and national support, making it more likely that your customers will be able to pay their bills. • You can also work with central and local government to pool data and share resources, helping you to target your support to reach the most vulnerable. • What is your consumer vulnerability strategy? Have you developed specific plans, and would you like to advance them through analytics?
Thank You Deven Ghelani deven@policyinpractice.co.uk 07863 560677 Oscar Jefferson oscar@policyinpractice.co.uk 07444 158921 www.policyinpractice.co.uk
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