Universal Credit 1 Universal Credit - overview Housing Benefit - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Universal Credit 1 Universal Credit - overview Housing Benefit - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dec 19, 2022 27 likes •200 views

Universal Credit 1 Universal Credit - overview Housing Benefit Income based Income based Jobseekers Employment Allowance and Support Allowance Universal Credit Working Child Tax Tax Credit Credits Income Support Will replace

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Universal Credit

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Universal Credit - overview

  • Will replace six main working age benefits with one simple payment
  • UC is paid monthly – in a single payment to a household rather than an
  • individual. This includes housing costs and is paid monthly in arrears.
  • Is for people in work and out of work
  • Uses PAYE in real time information (RTI) – a revolutionary change in the

way earnings are handled by HMRC, which reduces the burden of reporting for

  • employers. The new system provides DWP with the information to adjust the

amount of Universal Credit payment any employed claimant receives.

Universal Credit

Income based Jobseekers Allowance Income based Employment and Support Allowance

Working Tax Credits Child Tax Credit Income Support Housing Benefit

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What’s different about Universal Credit?

IT ENCOURAGE S WORK IT’S LIKE WORK IT’S ABOUT WORK

PAID MONTHLY PAID DIRECTLY CLAIMANT COMMITMENT – LIKE A CONTRACT IN AND OUT OF WORK CLAIMANT COMMITMENT REQUIREMENTS FULL TIME WORK SEARCH EARNINGS, NOT HOURS A SIMPLE TAPER SO BETTER OFF IN WORK EASY TRANSITION UC TO WORK (AND BACK)

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UC gateway for single claimant

Couples and people with dependent children are excluded from the UC ‘single’ claimant gateway for national roll out. In order to claim UC the single claimant with no children must:

  • Have a National Insurance Number.
  • Be in the correct postcode area.
  • Be aged between 18 and 60 and 6 months.
  • Not own or partially own the home they live in.
  • Not be homeless or living in temporary or supported accommodation.
  • Be a British citizen.
  • Have lived in the United Kingdom (UK) for last 2 years.
  • Not be required to pay child maintenance for a child.
  • Not in receipt of a disability benefit.
  • Not be unfit for work.
  • Not be pregnant or given birth in the last 15 weeks.
  • Not be a carer.
  • Require a Personal Acting Body (PAB) or Corporate Acting Body (CAB).
  • Not be in education or training or expect to start in next month.
  • Not be self-employed.
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UC gateway for single claimant

  • Be unemployed or declared earned income for the first month of the UC

claim is not expected to exceed £330.

  • Capital must not exceed £6000.
  • Must have a bank, building society, post office or current account with a

credit union.

  • Must not be receiving Employment and Support Allowance (ESA),

Jobseekers Allowance (JSA), Income Support (IS), Incapacity Benefit (IB), Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) , Disability Living Allowance (DLA), OR Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

  • Must not be awaiting a decision on a claim for ESA, JSA, IS, Child Tax

Credit (CTC), Working Tax Credit (WTC) or Housing Benefit (HB).

  • Must not be awaiting the outcome of an application to revise a decision of

non-entitlement to ESA, old rules JSA, IS and HB.

  • Must not have an undecided appeal against non-entitlement to old rules ESA,
  • ld rules JSA and IS.
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UC Claimant Journey – Pictorial Representation

Customer Touch Points

Online/ UC Helpline UC Service Centre

If the claimant has a change of circumstance it is reported to the Service

  • Centre. The

claimant is notified regarding any change to the award of Universal Credit The MOU scan the claim on to the Data Repository System (DRS). Any evidence

  • r correspondence

sent in separately by the Claimant creates a CAMLite task for the agent in the SC. On receipt of the task, the agent updates the UC Portal. Once all evidence has been verified, this triggers the processing of the UC claim The Jobcentre print the UC claim and

  • btain a signature

from the claimant. Any additional information is gathered and the Claimant Commitment (CC) is

  • completed. The UC

Portal is updated and the claim documents and any supporting evidence are sent to the Mail Opening Unit (MOU) On receipt of the

  • nline UC claim, the

Service Centre (SC) contact the Claimant by telephone to arrange an interview at the Jobcentre. An SMS text message is issued to remind the claimant about their appointment Claims to Universal Credit (UC) are made on-

  • line. If a claimant requires

assistance, the Universal Credit Helpline is available. In exceptional circumstances, claims can be made by telephone or face to face

Business Process

I receive a telephone call inviting me to attend an interview in the Jobcentre I notify the UC Service Centre if there is a change in my circumstances I receive a text message to remind me about my interview at the Jobcentre I receive my UC decision letter which includes my payment schedule if

  • appropriate. I am

also advised about my on- going responsibilities as agreed in my CC I am asked to attend the Jobcentre I receive a notification to advise me that my Universal credit entitlement has changed

  • r ceased

I get information

  • r advice

about how to claim Universal Credit (UC) I make my claim on-line. If I need help, I can telephone the Universal Credit helpline for assistance I attend my interview in the Jobcentre and take any evidence that has been

  • requested. I sign

my printed claim and complete the Claimant Commitment (CC)

Jobcentre UC Service Centre Claims Closure

The Claimant is invited to attend the Jobcentre to undertake specific work related activity as agreed in the CC. There is on- going interaction at the JC I send any additional missing evidence to the Mail Opening Unit (MOU)

UC Service Centre Jobcentre

I attend the Jobcentre and engage in work related activity

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Universal Credit – one year on

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Promoting personal responsibility

  • Universal Credit deliberately fosters independence and personal
  • responsibility. It does this through a series of important changes to the way

claimants are required to interact with the service.

  • A Clamant Commitment – this encourages claimants to take greater

responsibility for preparing themselves for work, and for their job search. – Set their own goals. – Tailor their job search to those goals and their circumstances. – Understand from the outset that receipt of Universal Credit is conditional on taking the action they commit too.

  • The Claimant Commitment has been rolled out nationally, for all those

making new claims for Jobseekers Allowance.

  • Over 26,300 Jobcentre staff have already been trained, helping them move

from an advising and monitoring role to become a Work Coach who will help a claimant through their goals and aspirations, and to overcome barriers to work.

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Universal Credit Work Coaches

Universal Credit Work Coaches:

  • Will engage with all households at their work search interviews to assess

financial capability.

  • Where appropriate this includes making Personal Budgeting Support

appointments for advice and identifying if an Alternative Payment Arrangement is necessary for the housing element of Universal Credit.

  • Will encourage access to local support services as they reinforce the

connection between work readiness and good money management to help households break down barriers and move into work faster so they can earn more.

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10 REQUIREMENT FOR A PERSONAL BUDGETING STRATEGY IS DRIVEN BY THESE CHANGES

Personal Budgeting Support - Context

Housing costs direct to tenant Single payment to household Monthly Payment

We want to help people to be able to manage their own finances successfully, whether they are in or out of work

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Alternative Payment Arrangements Money advice Financial products

Claimants managing their money

Personal Budgeting Support - Overview

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Personal Budgeting Support

  • Online budgeting tools for claimants who can help themselves - such as those
  • ffered by Money Advice Service and Citizens Advice.
  • Advice services offered by external organisations for those who need more

support with, for example, getting a bank account or doing a monthly budget plan.

  • Advice will be delivered through online, telephone and face-to-face channels by

expert providers at a national and local level.

  • A personal planner is available on gov.uk to help claimants understand and

prepare for financial changes arising from the introduction of Universal Credit.

  • Up to 1.3 million potential UC claimants currently do not use a transactional bank

account to manage their benefit payments.

  • We are looking at ways to make accounts with budgeting functionality, such as

‘jam jar’ accounts, more widely available. We are consulting with financial providers across the private, social and third sectors and considering the best ways to make these types of products more available.

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What are Alternative Payment Arrangements?

  • Alternative Payment Arrangements (APA) will be available to help claimants who need

additional support: – paying the UC housing cost element (rent) as a managed payment to landlords – making more frequent than monthly payments – splitting payment of an award between partners We will also have the option to make rent payments direct to the landlord if a claimant reaches a certain level of rent arrears.

  • More importantly, the APA process should be completed in agreement with the claimant

and should be part of a wider Personal Budgeting Support discussion and referral.

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Universal Credit Advance (new claim or CoC)

  • A Universal Credit Advance (new claim) or (change of circumstances) is an advance

payment of a claimant’s future award of Universal credit which is recoverable from subsequent payments of benefit. The purpose of this is to: – provide emergency funds where a claimant doesn’t have enough money to support them through the period of 5 weeks until their first UC payment or – provide access to financial support where a claimant has a change in circumstances (such as the birth of a child that will increase their UC award). They will have to verify the change in circumstances in order to request an award. – provide an interim payment to pay a claimant’s full award where their payment due date has been reached but their benefit cannot be paid for technical reasons

  • It is a discretionary decision that depends on the claimant’s individual circumstances.
  • The claimant will need to contact the UC service centre to request an advance
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Universal Credit Advance (new claim or CoC)

  • The UC Advance (new claim) and (change of circumstances) will be available

to claimant’s who are: – in receipt of or who have an underlying entitlement to Universal Credit based on the information they have provided – in financial need – there must be a serious risk to the health or safety of the claimant, partner or any child/young person they are responsible for. They must have no access to personal resources (including cash and capital). – can afford to repay the Advance over the next 6 months.

  • The maximum advance is:

– 50% of the total indicative monthly award before the claimant’s payday or – 50% of the additional increase in the award if there is a change of circumstances that increases the award or – 100% where the pay day has passed

  • The recovery period will be 6 months starting from the first benefit payment

except for those Advances made at the due date for payment of the UC, in which case recovery is made immediately from arrears.

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Useful links for stakeholders

  • An introduction to Universal Credit video

http://youtu.be/E7GUu7Xa7Nw

  • Universal Credit pages on GOV.UK

https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit

  • A toolkit for Partners

https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit-toolkit-for-partner-organisations

  • The Claimant Commitment

https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit-toolkit-for-partner-organisations#the-claimant- commitment

  • A Personal Planner to help claimants prepare for Universal Credit

http://ucpp.dwp.gov.uk/universal-credit-preparation/

  • A pictorial representation explaining Better off in Work

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/301408/ho w-uc-tops-up-earnings-to-make-work-pay.pdf

  • Budgeting help and support

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budgeting-your-universal-credit-quick-guide

  • Operating Guidance for Personal Budgeting Support & Alternative Payment

Arrangements https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181399/pe rsonal-budgeting-support-cover-note.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181400/pe rsonal-budgeting-support-guidance.pdf

  • The Local Support Services Framework

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181395/uc

  • local-service-support-framework.pdf
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Useful links for stakeholders

  • The Money Advice Service

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en

  • A Money Advice Service Universal Credit video

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/videos/get-ready-universal-credit

  • Making work pay comparison graph explaining how Universal Credit compares to

the current system when claimants increase their hours https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/301411/ho w-uc-helps-to-make-work-pay.pdf

  • A quick guide for employers about Universal Credit and RTI

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-works-for-employers-and- claimants-quick-guide

  • HMRC and RTI

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/payerti/getting-started/paye-basics/rti.htm

  • Eight Ways Universal Credit can help your business

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/307091/ho w-uc-can-help-your-business.pdf