Association of Directors of Adult Social Services 18 April 2013 Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality John Hocking, JRHT Executive Director

History Joseph Rowntree, Stephen Rowntree, Seebohm Rowntree, Arnold Rowntree & Oscar Rowntree (from left to right) 31 May 1923 Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality

Seebohm undertook “The Rowntree Surveys” of 1899,1936 and 1950 To investigate “the conditions which govern the life of the working classes in provincial towns, and especially the problem of poverty” Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality

Joseph established JR Village Trust in 1904 to “alleviate the condition of the working classes by provision of improved dwellings and organisation of village communities. Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality

Aerial Shot of New Earswick Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality

Joseph Rowntree Foundation Website Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality

Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust Website Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality

Our Joint Work Programme Poverty, Place, An Ageing Society Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality search demonstrate influence

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Our Work Programmes and Aims Our aim: To identify the root causes of poverty and injustice PLACE AN AGEING SOCIETY Our aim: To support resilient communities where people thrive Our aim: To respond positively to the opportunities and challenges of an ageing society POVERTY

Still Developing Derwenthorpe Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality

The current Benefit/MIS Gap pre Welfare Reform Act Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality MIS Safety net benefits as a percentage of MIS requirements

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Welfare – in context of The Economy : job market changing Increase in the low paid self employed and part time In work but poor Rising housing costs Political Priorities

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Wages and House Prices in York Average salary £22,100 and £11,700 for tenants of social housing Average house price £203,000 Average social rent £76 Affordable (80% market value) £140 Most social landlord business plans based on rent increases against predicted decline in average wages and significant fall in benefit income

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Protecting the Pensioners Predicted growth in pensioners Largest slice of the Welfare Budget Largest contributors to under-occupation Council Tax protection Political Priorities

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Welfare Reform Summary Disproportionate impact on youth and those of working age The cap and bedroom tax : forced migration Phased and complex No assessment made of overall impact Overall £30bn withdrawn for individuals and neighbourhoods Food banks will be busy

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Welfare Reform – some gory details Council Tax –2.4m families will pay an average of £138 more in council tax –1.9m claimants will have to find an average £140 per year –730,000 families claiming CTB are also in receipt of Disability Living Allowance Bedroom Tax –Apply Local Housing Allowance size criteria for PRS to Social Housing 1 bed for a couple A person 16 or over Two children same sex Two children different sex under 10 PRS Rules not applied –Max four bedrooms and shared accommodation rates for under 35s –Pensioners exempt along with your armed services

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality The Cumulative Impact is Unknown DEMOS estimates of impact of 15 benefit related cuts to the disabled Over next five years 2013 to 2018: –3.7m disabled people would experience some reduction in income –£28bn as a group –At least 1,000 to 5,000 will experience 6 cuts total £23,300 –99,000 experience quadruple cuts and –120,000 experience triple cuts of around £6,300

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality And the rest……… WRA is one of a number of changes Localism Act Re-defining the purpose of social housing to one of meeting temporary need Social Housing fails the aspiration test

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Legal Aid : University of Warwick Study 64% of civil legal aid practitioners at risk of redundancy were specialist advisors 98% of these worked in areas of law covering housing, debt and money, employment or welfare benefits North hardest hit

English Authority Budget Cuts Examines national evidence of the scale and distribution of the cuts across local authorities highlights impact on most deprived authorities Evidence from senior local government officials on strategic response Assesses pattern of reductions and how they relate to deprived communities Looks at the future Serving deprived communities in a recession What are the early impacts of English local authorities budget cuts since 2010? Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality

Main Focus of Cuts Environment, transport, leisure and culture main areas for cuts Services to older people were among the three areas most affected in 15% of local authorities, with learning disabled adults close behind at 13%. Types of service day care and domiciliary care 33% cutting youth services due to it’s non statutory nature. Connexions most widely cited

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Impact for the Future: Hollowing out of research capacity across the sector more difficult for local authorities to understand impact and outcomes of service provision in the future Equality impact assessments but no requirement for local authorities to assess impact on socioeconomic groups means assessing impact on people in poverty has been lost Difficult to predict long term consequences particularly for preventative services

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Future Service Provision One stop shops and shared services between local authorities and other agencies. Easier access to services Some services will be provided by volunteers or will be community owned Different relationship between local authorities and service users More emphasis on putting more responsibility onto service users, ie use of internet, self assessment or challenging behaviour Danger of services becoming stigmatised and residualised and service delivery more intense and expensive

Impact on Public Opinion What percentage of the UK’s population is dependent on the Welfare State? –20.3m families receive some kind of benefit (64% of all families) –8.7m pensioners –9.6m families benefits make up more than half their income (30%) 5.3m are pensioners –Changes to child tax credit will take out 1 to 3m families Family size : 8% of claimants have more than 3 children (194,220). UK spends about the same as European average on unemployment and disability related benefits, 12% per head tan France and 81% less per head than Germany Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Welfare Myth Busting

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Generations who have never worked : Finding Unicorns easier JRF December report on where the three generations of the same family that have never worked. Unable to find them Under 1% of workless households might have two generations who have never worked (15,000 households in the UK). No evidence of a culture of “worklessness” often results of multiple problems Benefit fraud in % or £1.2bn 18% of working aged households were workless of which only 2% had never worked

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Who Suffers? IFS Report: –2.8m workless households of working age, 2.5m will see their entitlements reduce by an average of £215 a year in 2015/16 –Of 14.1m working aged households 7m will see their entitlement reduce by an average of £165 per year JRF council tax benefit 2.4m low income families will pay an average of £138 more in council tax in , 78% live in non working households average additional payment will be £132 for those in work and £140 for those out of work

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality Managing in the New Landscape when faced with a centralisation of power and devolution of blame: Remind ourselves what we are aiming for : Living wage Affordable housing options to buy and let Affordable choices for care Sustainable neighbourhoods / healthy residents

Welfare Reform : Managing the New Reality We can: Build cheaper good quality homes in mixed development USE HRA surpluses intelligently Neighbourhoods for ageing society : reduce hospital admissions and set up joint funding Let go and stimulate community response : risk and regulation Increasing disposable income and tackling debt through high interest free zones Build neighbourhood response to loneliness Create integrated low cost service hubs