Agenda item

5.05pm to 5.45pm

The Service Director – Digital, HR and Customer Services presented a progress report on the implementation of Universal Credit in Chesterfield borough and the latest position regarding the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Cabinet Member for Business Transformation and Customer was unable to attend and provided a written note that was circulated to members of the Committee.

The Universal Credit system had been complex to embed however the staff involved had coped well with all the changes. Relationships had been developed with Job Centre+ and budgeting support had been transferred to voluntary sector organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau.

In October, 2021 the Government removed the £20 uplift; the impact of this on residents was still emerging however the number of enquiries about access to housing support fund had increased and it had also placed additional administrative burdens on the team due to the need to re-calculate the Council Tax Support benefit.

The team were now working with Derbyshire County Council to develop the Household Support Grant scheme which aimed to provide further additional support to residents in need over the winter period. In addition, opportunities to maximise the discretionary housing support fund were being explored to supplement areas where funding had been cut.

Members enquired about the process for moving claimants onto management payments and were advised that there was an additional burden due to the administrative process which increased costs for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The Service Director explained that a different approach to supporting those in rent arrears was needed, targeting those with smaller arrears where there was more chance of making a difference. Members were also advised that behavioural analytics would be used as part of a pilot exercise to get a better outcome for those in rent arrears.

Members asked about how they could best support residents who they know are falling into rent arrears. The advice from the Service Director was to notify the team; the more intelligence they had, the better they could tailor their response. A new digital platform, Salesforce, was being introduced that would pull together all information about a person, in compliance with data protection, to enable whichever advisor they are dealing with to understand their situation fully.

A need to cross-skill staff had been identified as revenues, benefits and housing were all separate teams. A restructure was under development to put those relationships and skills in place which would be formally consulted on with staff in January, 2022 before consideration by the Joint Cabinet and Employment and General Committee in February, 2022.

In response to questions, Members were advised that discretionary housing payments were provided to people who needed extra help with their housing costs and were awarded depending on needs. The payments were often used to support those with arrears in order to prevent homelessness.

Members discussed whether the foodbank network could be used as part of the intelligence gathering and acknowledged that foodbanks relied on volunteers who may not have the time and resources to undertake this role, however there may be an opportunity for larger organisations such as the Trussell Trust to engage more with the council.

The Chair and Members thanked the Service Director for providing the update and asked for the thanks of the Committee to be passed to the staff involved for all their work. Members also commended the positive reduction in arrears that had been achieved through managed payments. The Chair noted that the Committee’s remit and recommendations for the monitoring of Universal Credit had now been achieved and proposed to remove the item from the Committee’s work programme and monitoring schedule.

RESOLVED –

1.   That the work of the officers involved in the implementation of Universal Credit be supported and that the thanks of the Committee be passed on to the team.

2.   That the Committee is satisfied with the progress made towards the implementation of Universal Credit against the recommendations included on the monitoring schedule and therefore resolves that the work on this scrutiny review area is complete, and that this item be removed from the monitoring schedule and work programme.

3.   That it be noted that the Committee may consider as part of its future work programme any significant changes or developments with regard to Universal Credit that impact on Chesterfield residents.