(a)

the Welfare Reform Act 2012 introduced changes to the way in which welfare assistance was provided; these reforms were motivated by an aspiration for people to become socially mobile and to get back to work to stave off poverty in a sustainable way;

(b)

the report focused on five reforms that were key examples of the change and impact on customers –

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localisation of council tax benefit;

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replacement of social fund;

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housing benefit/local housing allowance reforms;

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the benefit cap;

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universal credit;

(c)

approximately 20 per cent of Plymouth’s population would be affected by the reforms and other changes to benefits such as –

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working tax credit(s) for people over 50;

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child benefit;

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disability living allowance/personal independence payments;

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incapacity benefit/employment and support allowance;

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income support;

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pension credit;

(d)

it was estimated that the income that would be lost to the city for 2012-13 would be between £13 and £27 million (which did not include changes associated with universal credit, council tax scheme, social fund replacement and other factors such as increasing levels of sanctions for those claiming work benefits;

(e)

the financial implications would be wide ranging and would include –

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increased customer demand at the front line for the delivery of services/benefits;

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increased demand on discretionary pots of funding such as discretionary housing payments, Section 17 funding and the new social fund replacement;

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supporting more customers who have got into financial difficulty via the council’s financial including advice and information services;

(f)

the impact of the welfare reform changes on households and services were far reaching  and varied; households would have reduced income and this reduction would be reflected in the council’s ability to collect debts and generate income for services and an increase in crisis support services such as homelessness;

(g)

there would be an impact on demand for the council’s front line services such as customer support, adult social care and children’s social care.

(h)

reform overview (10 key areas) –

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localisation of council tax benefit

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localisation of the social fund

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housing benefit/local housing allowance

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benefit cap

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incapacity benefit/employment support allowance

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universal credit

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social care reform

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localisation of business rates

cost of living increase

(i)

impact of the changes;

(j)

responding to change;

(k)

financial implications;

(l)

conclusion.

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at this stage, it was difficult to calculate the number of jobs that would be needed to grow the economy to offset the estimated loss of income to the city of £13 - £27 million;

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a communication strategy would published by autumn 2013;

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work had commenced in engaging with the council’s partners to ascertain the impact that the reforms would have on the city;

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discussions had been held with the Credit Union to look at ways of teaching people to better manage their money which could be rolled out to schools and the wider community;

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work had already commenced to find a commercial vehicle that would help deliver much needed housing within the city;

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at this stage, the impact of on front line services was more difficult to identify and quantify.