1. Universal Credit Pilot London Borough of Lewisham

2. Introduces a cap on the total amount of benefits a household can receive Transfers the social fund system to local authorities Increases focus on fraud and error with tougher penalties for the most serious offences reforms to Disability Living Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance The introduction of Universal Credit Some key elements of welfare reform… In March 2012 the Welfare Reform Act received Royal Assent, it legislates for the biggest change to the welfare system for over 60 years. Merges housing benefit, income support, income based jobseekers allowance, income related ESA, child tax credit and working tax credit Is paid monthly in arrears Is paid to one member of the household Is always paid directly to the claimant Expectation that benefits are managed online

3. Current Benefit / CreditNational customer baseLewisham customer base Child Tax Credit5.1m households (24.3%)27,400 households (23.7%) Working Tax Credit2.5m households (11.9%)29,400 households (25.5%) Housing Benefit4.9m households (23.3%)38,885 households (33.7%) Employment and Support Allowance or Incapacity Benefit 2.4m people (3.9%)12,630 people (6.7%) Income Support1.7m people (2.7%)12,250 people (6.5%) Jobseekers Allowance1.4m people (2.3%)10,562 people (5.6%) Higher than average claimant rates, means that Lewisham residents will be more significantly impacted by the transition. Language, literacy and internet access are all likely to be barriers for some of our residents Universal credit The cap 880 households affected by the cap They are mostly families (93%), 75% have three or more children and 17% have more than five children. 38% will be impacted by less than £50 per week, 7% will be impacted by over £250 per week. The families are mostly single parents (78%), only 22% are couples They live mostly in the PRS (70%) but there is a significant minority (15%) who are in TA who are already potentially very vulnerable

4. On 31 st August, 12 local authority pilots announced: Bath and North East Somerset Council Birmingham City Council Caerphilly County Borough Council Dumfries and Galloway Council London Borough of Lewisham Melton and Rushcliffe Borough Councils (as a partnership) Newport City Council North Dorset District Council North Lanarkshire Council Oxford City Council West Dunbartonshire Council West Lindsey District Council "We know some people will need support when they first claim Universal Credit and these projects will highlight how councils can use their local expertise to help residents” Lord Freud “Universal Credit marks an enormous shift in the way benefits and tax credits are administered and it is vitally important that people receive the right support both during and after the transition. Councils are uniquely well placed to provide people with the face-to-face help they may need to navigate the new scheme" Sir Merrick Cockell Face to face support Supports the online claim process Holistic approach Enabling – moving people towards online channels Partnership – with Jobcentre Plus & voluntary sector providers Key themes/ expectations emerging for the pilots… About learning – the good and the bad Bringing customer insight to DWP decision making Making best use of what we already do well Testing varied approaches and being flexible to allow pilots to innovate as they learn

5. Financial inclusion Digital inclusion Employment support Housing support Full assessment & support planning Assesses need and establishes an appropriate support package against four categories Single assessment for all housing needs (including HB for pilot) Assesses distance from the labour market and level of support required Low level support needs = referrals to DWP and VCS support services High level support needs = Referral to community budgets project Triage assessment Review Quick assessment establishes ‘vulnerability’ of customer in the UC system Universal credit online system Likely to experience issues on 2 or more of categories (inc. employment or housing) No significant issues anticipated. Some additional signposting for financial and digital inclusion services in VCS made available to all Low level need = referrals to Lewisham Credit Union, online support offering for budgeting, other VCS support for financial skills High level need = Setting up pre-paid cards and Direct debits etc, using DHP/ social fund to deal with immediate issues, a more bespoke package of debt counselling Low level need = provide access to computers at self- serve kiosks, f2f support to access online support at our front office, signposting to free internet, computer services High level need = web skills courses via the VCS, phased mediation of web applications (inc UC following pilot) Low level need = Pro-active early engagement with landlords, access to schemes such as RIS, referrals to VCS support as appropriate High level need = completes homelessness assessment and makes appropriate provision via private/ social rented sector Letters and if required follow up meetings at pre-agreed intervals to establish whether needs are being met

6. Underpinned by a design led approach (Customer insight, Co-design, Prototyping) A mechanism and assessment model for identifying vulnerability A holistic support includes all four quadrants Two key objectives for our pilot. These are what makes our approach unique and where Lewisham will add value to the national approach to transitional support…  Whole system customer contact analysis to identify who identify pilot cohort and potential risk factors  The design of a triage model for assessing vulnerability to transition generated through customer insight and engagement with the front-line and partners  Prototyping and testing the model in different settings and a managed process for evaluating and refining  A cross borough mapping exercise to identify what already exists across the four quadrants  A focus on all quadrants as equal in ensuring a smooth transition to UC  A commitment to delivering through partners and making use of learning, existing projects and good practice from our partners and voluntary sector  A flexible approach in terms of what is provided and who provides it based on individual need

7. WELFARE REFORM BOARD (meets 4 times over project lifecycle) PROJECT MANAGER PROJECT DELIVERY TEAM INVEST/ 2020 PROJECT STRANDS Welfare reform work strands WORKING GROUP – HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT (monthly) DWP boards/ working groups CHAIR: Kevin Sheehan MEMBERS: Genevieve Macklin (strategic housing), Ralph Wilkinson (public services), Joan Hutton (ASC), Ian Smith (CSC), Kevin Jones (Lewisham Homes), Liz Dart (community & neighbourhood development) UNIVERSAL CREDIT PROJECT STEERING GROUP (meets monthly) CHAIR: Peter Gadsdon MEMBERS: Neville Cavendish (JCP), Ralph Wilkinson (Public Services), Mick Lear (Benefits), Karen Shaw (Housing Needs), Madeleine Jeffrey (Strategic Housing), Fen Beckman (Strategic Partnership manager), Kevin Jones (Lewisham Homes), Sandra Jones (Community Sector Unit) Justine Roberts (Transformation & Development) WORKING GROUP – FINANCIAL AND DIGITAL (monthly) Project delivery Project design & oversight 3 * HB staff (assessors and team leaders) 1 * HOC housing advice or assessment officer JCP staff TBC Working strands for mapping provision/ data- mapping and gap analysis To include PiP and other directorate work plans linked to welfare reform CHAIR: JUSTINE ROBERTS MEMBERS: 5- 8 reps from VCS/ partners CHAIR: JUSTINE ROBERTS MEMBERS: 5- 8 reps from VCS/ partners WORKING GROUP – HOUSING PROVIDERS (aligned with SELHP meetings) CHAIR: JUSTINE ROBERTS MEMBERS: Lewisham Homes and SE London RSLs