BME Communities ‘Disproportionately Impacted’ By Universal Credit

The Race Equality Foundation (REF) has said the move to Universal Credit will have a severe impact on the lives of those from BME communities. The research says UC will leave black and minority ethnic families worse off due to more receiving benefits and tax credits.  The government have estimated 16% of UC claimants will be of BME backgrounds, which is higher than the percentage of the population as a whole. They have also stated that whilst Universal Credit looks to incentivise people into work, the Work Programme has failed to work for BME people. This has left them remaining either in workless households or on low and insecure employment. Read more on 24Housing.

Council Faces High Court Challenge over Crisis Payment Conditions

The High Court has given the go-ahead to a legal challenge that could prevent councils forcing people to join a work programme or move home as conditions of receiving housing crisis payment awards. Anti-poverty charity Zacchaeus 2000 Trust has been given permission to pursue a judicial review against Westminster Council for making receipt of discretionary housing payments (DHP) conditional on seeking work and searching for more affordable properties. Zacchaeus 2000 Trust says Westminster Council’s policy on deciding DHP claims for tenants affected by the £26,000-a-year total household benefit cap is unlawful. Read more on Inside Housing.

Iain Duncan Smith’s Delusional World of Welfare Reform

Politicians may deal in terminological inexactitudes, but I can’t think of many black-is-white, war-is-peace practitioners as downright deceptive as Iain Duncan Smith. Originally, the question was whether to put it down to simple stupidity, as he didn’t understand that the numbers he promised were impossible. Yesterday, poring over his big speech on welfare reform, a few of the more polite experts spoke of his “magical thinking”. But his motives and state of mind hardly matter to the millions affected by his evidence-free, faith-based policy-making. His speech was a paean of self-praise. To read it, no minister has done such good for so many. This was a sublime response to a battery of critics who include Treasury briefers, the National Audit Office on the failure of his work programme, the chair of the UK Statistics Authority for his abuse of figures, and the Major Projects Authority awarding his universal credit an amber/red warning. Read more on the Guardian website.

Easement for Homeless Persons

Work Programme provider memo WP161 about a new easement for homeless persons. Briefly, it says that an amendment has been made to the regulations to help support homeless claimants on Jobseekers Allowance in finding sustainable living accommodation which will help to remove a barrier into employment.  The Regulations allow Jobcentre Plus to treat certain homeless claimants as meeting the jobseeking conditions for periods of longer than one week with no limit on the number of occasions on which it can be applied.  A claimant will not be required to attend the Work Programme for the duration of any easement. Download the memo from the GovUK website.

Government Eases Sanctions For Homeless People

Homeless people have been granted new exemptions from benefit sanctions under regulations laid before parliament. Under the new rules, Job Centre Plus advisors will be given the discretionary power to exempt rough sleepers and those in supported accommodation from looking for work. It comes after a report by Homeless Link in September found that 31 per cent of homeless people on jobseekers’ allowance benefits have been sanctioned, compared to 5.5 per cent of the typical claimant population. Homeless claimants found to be in a ‘domestic emergency’, will not be required to be available for work, actively seeking work or participating in the Work Programme, under the regulations. The measure, which is expected to exempt homeless claimants for up to four weeks, will come into effect on 21 July. Read more on the Homeless Link website.

Campaigners Voice Outrage at DWP’s Regime of Destitution

The DWP is operating a draconian sanctions regime that often penalises claimants for the department’s own mistakes, leaving people at risk of severe hardship and even homelessness, claims the charity Crisis. The charity spoke out against the DWP’s sanctions regime after the department released new figures on the number of sanctions imposed on those claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Crisis made its claims with the publication of new report, ‘Dashed Hopes, Lives on Hold’, which has gathered the experiences of the charity’s clients placed on the Work Programme. It claims that many of the sanctions imposed were “unfair” or made in error.  Download a copy of the report from the Crisis website.

Mandatory Work for Benefits Claimants Could Save £3.51bn

A report has suggested Universal Credit claimants should have a mandatory 30 hour per week work or training commitment or lose their benefit, based on the US system. The Taxpayers Alliance report - Work for the Dole - suggests a return to work programme is the ‘next step’ to cut the number of unemployed people in the UK and claimants could be subject to the programme after claiming universal credit for three months. The proposed scheme could lead to annual savings of £3.51 billion and help 345,000 people off benefits over time.  It is estimated 575,000 people would be eligible for referral onto the programme.  Download a copy of the report from the Taxpayers Alliance website.

Bedroom Tax Is Creating a False Economy

The ‘bedroom tax’ is creating a “false economy” that is harming local growth Wakefield and District Housing’s (WDH’s) chief executive Kevin Dodd has warned.  The northern economy has put forward a more workable solution in local job creation schemes he said which can save the Treasury almost twice as much each year as the spare room subsidy. “WDH invest £3 million each year in employment initiatives, as it is good business to reduce benefit dependency. Last year over 300 people have been found employment opportunities by WDH, which is over 25 people per month. Work such as this by registered providers is pro-rata, on a par, or better than the Government’s ‘Work Programme’ targets on a regular basis,” said Dodd.  “Having more local people in work saves the Treasury nearly £6 million a year, which in turn boosts the local economy by around £18 million a year just in the Wakefield district.”  Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Work Programme ‘Failing Homeless People’

Crisis – the charity for single, homeless people - has echoed the concerns of a committee of MPs critical of the Work Programme for not helping disadvantaged people into work. The committee’s report warned that although people who are closer to work are getting a better service, disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, including homeless people, were not getting the help they needed.  Download a copy of the report - Can the work programme work for all user groups? – from the Parliament  website. 

Work Programme Is Not Working For Homeless People

Many homeless people are being failed by the government's flagship Work Programme.  The Programme’s Not Working draws upon surveys and interviews conducted by three homelessness charities. It found that homeless people are being failed by the Work Programme. Findings from the report:

    *58 per cent of those surveyed were not asked about the barriers to work that they face, and Jobcentre Plus is not identifying homeless people eligible for additional Work Programme support

    *58 per cent said they were not treated with dignity or respect

    *54 per cent saw their advisor less than once a month

    *22 per cent had their benefits sanctioned

Download a copy of the report from the Crisis website.

Welfare Changes Could Harm Work Programme

The Department for Work and Pensions has failed to consider the impact welfare reform will have on its flagship employment programme, according to a group of MPs.  In a report on the work programme, the Public Accounts Committee warns that the DWP ‘must be vigilant’ over the effect of the introduction of universal credit, adding that it could lead to major changes to the definition of claimant groups.  The committee praises the department’s ‘significant administrative achievement’ in getting the payment by results programme off the ground quickly but said that it must show that it is making sure contractors deliver the promised results.  It further warned that the programme should be judged not just on value for money but on whether it ‘produces the expected wider benefits to society of getting more people off benefit and into work’.  Download a copy of the report from the Parliament website.

Work Scheme Fails Homeless

The government’s flagship work programme has been accused of failing homeless people as another homelessness charity pulled out.  St Mungo’s has confirmed it had exited three five-year contracts it took on as part of the £5 billion work programme because it had not been able to help anyone into employment since the contracts started last June.  The news follows London-based Single Homeless Project’s decision to drop out in March on the grounds the programme was ‘not adequately resourced or structured’.  Mike McCall, executive director of operations at St Mungo’s, said: ‘We had not received any referrals [from prime contractors] so have withdrawn but look forward to participating in future activities when we can be assured there is sufficient emphasis on working with those that are furthest from the labour market.’ Few charities are taking part in the work programme, which supports benefit claimants into employment, because the majority of money is paid after a person has been in a job for a minimum of six months, making it unviable for small organisations.  Read more on Inside Housing.

Just 42% of Housing Providers Know Employment Status of Tenants

Less than 30% of housing providers are engaged in the Government's £5bn Work Programme and only 42% know the employment status of their tenants or residents, a new report shows.  Analysis by The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI) and housing charity HACT shows that only 28% of housing providers are engaging in the Government's flagship back to work scheme, despite 88% of providers offering their own employment services.  The report found that housing providers had so far left the Work Programme alone because past experiences of subcontracting had put them off, or because they found prime Work Programme contractors’ requirements too broad or rigid for their organisation.  However, the report warned that "effective partnerships between housing and the Work Programme are a must". In 2011, 56 per cent of working age social residents were not working – more than 3.5 million people.  Download a copy of the report from the CESI website.