Locating credit and debt within an anti-poverty strategy for the UK

This paper examines the evidence on the links between problem debt, consumer credit use and poverty to better understand how tackling problems in relation to debt and credit use can contribute to combating poverty. Based on this evidence we recommend four policy and practice interventions for inclusion in an anti-poverty strategy for the UK that would help to increase disposable income and for those already in poverty, help to prevent their financial circumstances from worsening.</jats:p

Local housing allowance final evaluation : implementation and delivery in Coventry

This report is the last in a series of evaluating the impact of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) on Housing Benefit (HB) delivery in the Coventry Pathfinder. It provides an overview of the impacts of LHA on HB administration, the issues raised over the two year evaluation period and seeks to answer the broad evaluation question of whether, overall, the LHA offers substantial administrative advantages

Deferrals in Jobcentre Plus : research into staff understanding and application of deferral guidance for non-Jobseeker’s Allowance customers

The overall objective of the research was to explore Jobcentre Plus staff understanding of deferrals and waivers for non-JSA customers, following the revised guidance provided to local offices in April 2002. The research also intended to evaluate the impact of the guidance and, more specifically, aimed to: • explore staff attitudes to the process of applying deferrals and waivers; • explore staff attitudes and understanding of the new guidance on waivers and deferrals; • ascertain whether guidance is being adopted at local level, how, and whether it works well; • obtain examples of good practice; • determine whether staff think that systems have improved since the new guidelines have been issued; • check that the ‘right’ customers are being deferred; • examine customers’ views and experiences of deferrals; and • see whether systems are in place for picking up deferred customers. This research included face-to-face interviews with a wide range of staff from the Public Offices and Contact Centres and with non-JSA customers. Non-JSA customers included in the research included lone parents, carers, bereaved customers, and sick or disabled customers. The research was carried out in four case-study areas. The areas were chosen to ensure a good mix of deferral rates (based on averages May- October 2002), geographical spread (urban/rural), and whether the Pathfinders had been included in previous phases of the Jobcentre Plus research (these were avoided)

Does universal credit enable households to reach a minimum income standard?

This report looks at the impact Universal Credit (UC) will have on the disposable incomes of families with low or no earnings. It examines whether they have enough to reach a minimum acceptable standard of living, as measured by the Minimum Income Standard (MIS) for the United Kingdom. The report helps to show how successful UC will be in achieving the key objective of improving work incentives. It also explores how far the credit will enable households to work in order to obtain a socially acceptable standard of living rather than simply to escape dire poverty. This report shows: • how much families on various wages and working hours will be left with after paying taxes, rent and childcare costs and receiving UC; • what potential they have to increase this amount by working more hours; • how these amounts compare to a minimum benchmark, MIS; • how this situation compares to the old system in 2013; and • the impact of other changes in state support, past, present and planned for the future

High hopes: supporting ex-prisoners in their lives after prison

[Taken from Summary] The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) commissioned the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) to undertake this exploratory study to gain an indepth understanding of the attitudes and expectations of prisoners immediately prior to and following their release from prison. It also aimed to gain an understanding of their views on the impact of support services on the decisions they made and experiences following release. More specifically, the research explored: • ex-prisoners’ attitudes to, and expectations of, work, their interactions with the labour market, the barriers they experience in relation to work and how these change over time; • ex-prisoners’ interactions with, and views of, service providers, such as Jobcentre Plus, and the extent to which service provision is integrated across agencies; and • the relationship between crime, employment and unemployment. The Government, through Jobcentre Plus, delivers a number of initiatives targeted at prisoners and ex-prisoners to assist them with benefit claims and employment and thereby contributes to their rehabilitation and reduces re-offending. These include: Freshstart1 appointments; Employment and Benefit Surgeries (EBSs); progress2work-LinkUP (p2w-LinkUP)2; and early entry onto New Deal programmes. The findings of this research may help to explain Jobcentre Plus and other agencies’ thinking about how the way in which they provide their services to ex-prisoners 1 The Freshstart appointment guarantees a prisoner a new claims interview appointment at their local Jobcentre Plus office as soon as possible following release. This process aims to connect ex-prisoners more quickly with financial and employment support. 2 Specialist employment support for people experiencing disadvantage in the labour market as a result of an offending background, alcohol misuse or homelessness

Well enough to work?

Little is known about the characteristics of people leaving Incapacity Benefit and entering Jobseeker’s Allowance, or of those leaving Jobseeker’s Allowance and remaining economically inactive because of their health condition, and who are here assumed to have moved onto Incapacity Benefit or Income Support. In order to explore the characteristics of these groups more thoroughly the Department of Social Security has commissioned secondary analysis of two datasets: the Leaving Incapacity Benefit survey and the Jobseeker’s Allowance evaluation surveys. Although neither of these datasets was designed specifically to explore the issues at hand, each offers useful common material, as well as unique insights into the circumstances and fortunes of the target groups. The Leaving Incapacity Benefit survey allows an exploration of people’s circumstances at three points in time: 1 after leaving Incapacity Benefit; 2 at the survey interview (five to 10 months later); 3 at the postal follow-up (12 to 18 months after leaving Incapacity Benefit)

Housing Benefit and the Appeals Service

The review system, also known as appeals, allows Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claimants to challenge the determinations made by local authorities. There are two stages to the review process: the first stage, known as an ‘internal review’, is conducted by local authority officers; the second stage, known as a ‘further review’, consists of a hearing conducted by a ‘Review Board’ which comprises local authority councillors. Throughout this report, the terms ‘appeals’ or ‘appeals cases’ refers to requests for an internal review or further review. To bring the review system into line with arrangements for decision making and appeals in child support and social security, it is intended that the second stage of the review process will transfer from local authority Review Boards to the Appeals Service (Section 1.2). The Centre for Research in Social Policy was commissioned by the Department of Social Security to conduct a study of current Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit appeals activity in local authorities (Section 1.3). The aim of the research was to inform the transfer of the second stage of the review process from local authorities to the Appeals Service. The research involved nine local authority case studies. There were three elements to the research design: depth interviews with Housing Benefit managers and appeals officers (or equivalent); recording of details from cases which went to a Review Board hearing during the period April 1999 to March 2000; and collection of data on the volume of appeals activity. The fieldwork took place in August 2000. The nine local authorities were selected to provide a range of local authority types, locations and experience of appeals activity

Minimum income standards and older pensioners’ needs

This paper was commissioned as part of the JRF programme on minimum income standards, which aims to establish how much people need to achieve a minimum acceptable standard of living in the UK today, based on what ordinary people think should be in a household budget and experts’ views of what is adequate. It also aims to influence debates about the nature of poverty in the UK

Sustaining debt repayments. Experiences of people in informal repayment arrangements

This report provides insight into the experiences of people in informal debt repayment arrangements and the Scottish Debt Arrangement Scheme, and the factors influencing the sustainability of debt repayments. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative research it seeks to improve understanding of the consumer experience of setting up and managing a debt repayment arrangement, and the key influences on the outcomes of repayment arrangements. The report also provides an account of the similarities and variation across different informal debt repayment arrangements, looking at free and fee-charging Debt Management Plans (DMP), self-negotiated agreements (SNA), and the statutory Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) in Scotland

Delivering the Jobcentre Plus vision : qualitative research with staff and customers (Phase 3)

Jobcentre Plus is a key part of the Government’s strategy for welfare reform. It brings together the services of the Employment Service (ES) and the Benefits Agency (BA) to provide a single point of delivery for jobs, benefits advice and support for people of working age. In October 2001, 56 Jobcentre Plus Pathfinder offices and associated contact centres were established in 17 clusters across the UK, offering a fully integrated work and benefits service. The aim of the Pathfinder offices was to lead the way in demonstrating the new service, culture and organisation of Jobcentre Plus. Representing the second stage of the national implementation of Jobcentre Plus’ ‘day two’ offices were planned to roll-out between April 2002 and March 2003 across twenty-four districts (some of which included Pathfinder offices). Further offices are planned to open over the next three years and the network will be complete by 2006. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) commissioned the Labour Market Research Partnership (led by ECOTEC Research & Consulting Ltd) and the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) at Loughborough University to conduct a qualitative evaluation of Jobcentre Plus. The overall purpose of the research was to assess the extent to which Pathfinder and day two offices were delivering the Jobcentre Plus vision. This report presents the findings of qualitative research conducted with staff and customers in Jobcentre Plus offices. It builds on earlier research to show the progress achieved by Pathfinder offices over the last year and includes an assessment of delivery within the new, day two offices. First Contact