Agenda item

6.1

The Committee received a report of the Director of Policy, Performance and Communications, which provided an update on the impact of welfare reform on Sheffield’s residents and included latest information, an understanding of how people were being affected by welfare reform and an update on hardship schemes.  The report was introduced by Nicola Rees, Policy and Improvement Officer, who made particular reference to Under-Occupancy (Bedroom Tax), Council Tax Support, the Household Benefit Cap and the introduction of Universal Credit and the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). 

6.2

Also present for this item were Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health, Maxine Stavrianakos, Head of Neighbourhood Intervention and Tenancy Support, and John Squire, Finance Manager.

6.3

Members made various comments and asked a number of questions, to which responses were provided as follows:-

·                The 45 tenants who had been provided with Sheffield Credit Union Budgeting Accounts were all Council tenants.  The delays in taking this up were because Universal Credit had not yet rolled out and it was expected that this would take off when that had been fully introduced.  It should be noted that the use of these accounts had stopped evictions taking place.

·                Thirteen people had been moved so far using the ‘man and van’ service.

·                In relation to the migration to Universal Credit, it should be borne in mind that other authorities did not have the same demographic as Sheffield.  Officers were liaising with colleagues in Manchester and Liverpool, so that lessons could be learnt from its introduction there.  In addition, officers had attended events involving the Councils in Wigan and Oldham.  There were also pathfinders throughout the country with Chesterfield and Barnsley now going live. 

·                It was understood that delays for PIP claimants had been caused by delays in arranging medical assessments and poor availability of assessment venues.

·                Investigations would be made to look into the numbers of EU Migrant Workers who were destitute as a result of increased restrictions on benefits claims.

·                The number of people receiving Council Tax Support fluctuated throughout the year and an analysis would be conducted to examine the causes of these fluctuations.

·                The CRESR (Sheffield Hallam University Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research) report would feed into work being undertaken to integrate welfare reform and policy strategy.

·                Work was being undertaken through the Welfare Reform Implementation Group and the re-organised Citizens’ Advice Bureau to try to mitigate the effects of the welfare reforms.  In addition, circulars were sent out to all Councillors providing them with information on the effects of the welfare reforms.

·                The Department of Work and Pensions would be contacting claimants in receipt of Disability Living Allowance in relation to them making a claim for PIP.

·                References in the report to tenants meant the number of households.

·                The Poverty Strategy and Welfare Reform Implementation Group’s Strategic Direction work were different workstreams and it was planned to look at how the Strategic Direction work on Welfare Reform could be integrated with the Poverty Strategy.

·                No Council house tenants had been evicted in Sheffield as a result of the Under-Occupancy (Bedroom Tax) provisions. 

6.4

RESOLVED: That the Committee:-

(a)       thanks Councillor Mazher Iqbal, Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health, Nicola Rees, Maxine Stavrianakos and John Squire for their contribution to the meeting;

(b)       notes the contents of the report and responses to questions; and

(c)        requests that:-

(i)          officers continue to present update reports to the Committee in their current form, so that Members could request further information on specific items either when they received the report or at the subsequent meeting; and

(ii)        Members wishing to take up the offer to visit the teams working on the impacts of Welfare Reform contact Matthew Borland, Policy and Improvement Officer.