Welfare Reform in Bullet Points: are you staring down the barrel?

See the following overview of Welfare Reforms in bullet points:

Social Fund Reform

From April 2013

• Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans for general living expenses will end. Funding will be transferred to local Authorities in England and Devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales to establish alternative provision.
• Crisis Loans for alignment to benefit and Interim Payments of Benefit will be replaced by Short Term advances of benefit and will be administered by DWP from April 2013

From October 2013

• Budgeting Loans will be replaced by Budgeting Advances and be paid as part of Universal Credit
• Regulated Social Fund Payments will continue with Universal Credit as a qualifying Benefit.

Benefit Cap effective from April 2013

• Contacting individual claimants likely to affected offering support to find work.
• Limit Benefit payments to a household to no more than average household earnings
• Cap excludes one-off payments and non-cash benefits
• Exemptions of households includes recipients of Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance or Industrial Injuries Disability Benefit
• Those in the ESA Support Group also exempt.
• Those entitled to Working Tax Credit are exempt

DLA reform – Personal Independence Payment Overview

• Replaces DLA with a new benefit to be introduced to eligible working age people (16-64) called the Personal Independence Payment
• Retains the key features of DLA
• Public Consultation regarding new assessment criteria ends April 2012 and consultation on regulations and design to 2012
• Personal Independence Payment is being introduce in stages

Universal Credit Overview

• Will replace a range of working age benefits with a single payment that provides both in-work and out –of work support.
• Designed to ensure that work will always pay
• Expect Universal Credit to begin in 2013 with existing claims transferred to the new system by the end of 2017
• Aspects of the Social Fund will be incorporated within Universal

Credit and will be delivered by Local Authorities in England and devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales

Social Justice Strategy

• Social justice Strategy launched on the 13 March 2012 sets out the

Governments support to individuals and families facing multiple disadvantage

Jobcentre Plus Support

• Focus on supporting and diagnosing customers individual needs
• More flexibility for Jobcentre Plus Advisers
• Increased flexibility for local Managers
• Working with Customers commitment to finding work
• Supporting customers to move from benefits into work
• Extending range of digital services
• Work with customers to access the range of programmes

Get Britain Working Measures

• Sharing of skills and work experience through Work Clubs
• Volunteering as a way of developing work skills through Work Together
• Self-employment as a route through the New Enterprise Allowance and via Enterprise Clubs offering community based and locally led support for unemployed people
• Support people into work through Voluntary Work Experience
• Pre- employment training and work placements through sector-based work academies
• Partnership between voluntary sector, colleges, employers and government.

Support for the Young Unemployed

• Early access to the Work programme for 18 year olds who claimed JSA when aged 16/17
• Voluntary work Experience available to 16/17 year old JSA claimants
• Increased Adviser Support for 16/17 year olds on JSA
• Signposting advice available to 16/17 year olds who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)
• Access to Work Clubs
• Additional support available to help 16/17 year olds develop job seeking skills

Youth Contract

• Contract with Jobcentre Plus and claimants
• Extra Jobcentre Plus support for all 18-24 year olds
• Wage incentives for Employers to take on young people
• To support customers to engage in Apprenticeships

Lone Parents

• Supporting lone parents into work
• From 21 May 2012 Lone Parents with a youngest child aged 5 or older will no longer be eligible to claim Income Support solely on the grounds of being a Lone Parent
• For existing Income Support Claimants the changes will be phased in stages
• Work Focussed support also available for those on Income Support

Work Programme

• Work programme is available nation-wide
• Local Provision designed and delivered by providers
• Payment by results and performance measures
• Help people with a wide variety of needs
• Provides and complements Jobcentre Plus Support and Get Britain Working measures

Support for Families with Multiple Problems

• European Social Fund (available in England only
• Support families into work
• Voluntary for participants who will be identified by Local Authorities
• 12 month programme of support delivered by contracted providers
• Support and the whole family approach
• Closely aligned with the Work programme

Specialist Disability Support

• Support to give Disabled people the opportunity to realise their aspirations and get into and progress in work.
• Specialist Disability employment programme to support customers
• There are no changes to the Access to Work programme at present.
• 12 month programme of support delivered by Contracted providers

Thankyou to Citizen Eye for this policy breakdown

Futher detail from Department of Work and Pensions