Agenda item

To receive the report of the head of finance.

The committee considered the report of the Head of Finance which detailed the effect on local residents of the welfare reforms arising from the Welfare Reform Act 2012. 

The officers reported that, to date, there had been no significant changes in the levels of homelessness as a consequence of the introduction of the “social sector size criteria” rules and the national “benefit cap” but that the situation would continue to be monitored closely.

Tom Fox, representing the South and Vale Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) commended the council on the way in which the legislative changes had been managed and confirmed that there was no evidence that the situation was worsening.  However he expressed the view that the legislative changes, coupled with the roll out of Universal Credit, would have a cumulative detrimental effect on those struggling to survive on low pay and/or benefits.  He reported that, following the closure of Oxfordshire County Council’s Support Fund in March 2014, the only options for those in need were charities or moneylenders.  He offered to circulate a report from the Oxford Food Bank and asked Members to lobby the County Council to re-establish the Support Fund.

South Oxfordshire Housing Association (SOHA), the main social landlord in the SODC area, had been unable to send a representative to the meeting but had submitted an update which stated that, whilst most households affected by the welfare reforms wished to “pay and stay”, there had been a reduction in the number of people able to do so due to the pressure on limited budgets.

In response to questions, officers and Tom Fox reported that:

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• Although the highest priority was given to anyone on the housing register downsizing by two or more bedrooms there had been relatively few such moves as, generally, residents wishing to downsize, wanted to stay within the locality or look for specific properties.
• There was a lack of information about the number of food banks in South Oxfordshire as there were many small, independent ones.  However Thame, Henley, Didcot and Wallingford all had food banks.
• When Universal Credit was rolled out, self-employed claimants would be treated as earning a minimum income floor, regardless of their actual income.  They would be expected to report their earnings monthly and there were concerns that some people might be discouraged from becoming self-employed.
• SOHA would be requested to provide further information regarding the number of tenants affected by the social sector size criteria rules and the number in arrears prior to the welfare reform changes.
• SOHA would be requested to confirm whether it encouraged tenants to take in lodgers.
• The SOHA Welfare Reform Project Officer was a new post.
• Council officers held regular meetings with Jobcentres, Registered Social Landlords neighbouring authorities and the CAB to monitor the situation.
• Once Universal Credit was rolled out, significant resources would need to be allocated to support tenants in receipt of direct payments to help them manage their budgets.  The CAB was in discussions with SOHA in order to offer proactive support to tenants rather than wait until they got into debt.
• Any underspend in the Discretionary Housing Payment budget would have to be refunded to the Government and would affect allocation of this fund to the council in future years.
• The welfare reform changes resulted in a significant increase in calls to the benefits contact centre causing a deterioration in response times. It was not known how many calls would be made to the council rather than Jobcentres when Universal Credit was rolled out.

RESOLVED: to

a)      consider the effect of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 on South Oxfordshire’s residents annually; and

b)      request that the housing allocations policy banding scheme be circulated to committee members.