With the assistance of the Head of Customer Services and the Housing Needs and Resources Manager, Councillor M G Baker, Leader of the Principal Opposition Group, will lead the headline debate on the impact of recent welfare reform on Huntingdonshire residents.
Minutes:
The Chairman reminded Members of the decision by the Council to suspend Council Procedure Rule 11 (Rules of Debate) to enable the ‘headline debate’ and “Green Paper” proposals to be discussed by Members in an open manner. The Council, therefore,
RESOLVED
that Council Procedure Rule 11 (Rules of Debate) be suspended for the duration of the discussion under Minute No. 44 during which time the common law rules of debate be observed by Members and applied by the Chairman.
The Chairman invited Councillor M G Baker, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group to open the debate. Councillor Baker was assisted by the Head of Customer Services, Mrs J Barber and the Benefits Manager, Ms A Burns. By reference to a powerpoint presentation (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) Councillor Baker indicated that it was his intention to raise the awareness of the Council and encourage Members to share their experiences of working with various services in the District. The Council also were reminded that a paper on the impact of welfare reform, authored by the Chief Executive Officer of Rural Cambs CAB had been circulated to Members in advance of the meeting.
Mrs Barber described each of the main areas of welfare reform in turn starting with the “spare room subsidy”. Questions from Councillor M F Shellens and B S Chapman reminded the Council that this aspect of reform did not apply to the retired and was designed to encourage individuals to move to the right sized properties for their needs. Councillor P L E Bucknell urged the Council also to be mindful of the needs of the partially sighted both young and old. Mrs Barber confirmed that this policy had been successful in freeing up properties and that the District Council had been more successful than others in this respect having worked closely with Housing Associations locally to identify suitably sized properties. It was acknowledged, however, that the opportunity to move relied on housing associations having smaller properties available. Mention also was made of the advantage that had been taken of the mutual exchange scheme. In response to questions from Councillors T D Sanderson and M F Shellens, reference was made to the priority accorded to occupiers of Bands A and B properties and the need for one bedroomed properties to be available if the policy was to work effectively. Councillor Mrs M Banerjee commended the service provided by the family shop in Yaxley which appeared to be encouraging mutual exchange of property.
Given the number of cases – 816 affected by the spare room subsidy, Councillor J P Morris asked whether the Council had considered exercising more discretion in awarding increased discretionary housing payments. In reply, Members understood that legislation would allow the extension of the payment scheme but given that any increased budget for payments would require to be met from Council Tax, the decision to do so lay with the District Council.
Following a question from Councillor S M Van De Kerkhove, Members were advised that the Council would continue to assist households wishing to move whilst the budget allowed. Referring to an individual case involving a disabled person in a specially adapted house, the questioner, Councillor D A Giles was informed that whilst discretionary housing payments were not granted indefinitely, a decision to continue or withdraw a payment would be subject to review and depend on an assessment of any change in circumstances.
The Executive Councillor for Customer Services, Councillor B S Chapman explained that the District Council had allocated, as an indication of their desire to care for the most vulnerable, more discretionary housing payments (DHPs) than any other Council in Cambridgeshire.
In terms of Council tax support, the Executive Councillor for Resources, Councillor J A Gray wished to place on record his appreciation for the work of Mrs Barber and her Team. On the same theme, Councillor R J West also applauded the work of the Team and in particular the efforts which had been made in advance to prepare for the introduction of the welfare regime which, in his view, had avoided certain issues and problems.
In response to a question from Councillor Gray, it was explained that the case load had reduced from 4,973 to 4,472 in August because Council Tax support had become less generous at that time. Referring to increases in the level of debt and arrears being experienced by registered social landlords, Councillor M F Shellens asked whether this could result in additional evictions and use of bed and breakfast accommodation in the District and whilst Mrs Barber admitted that she had no access to this type of information, the Council was working constantly to ensure the availability of alternative accommodation should this be necessary.
The Council also was advised that rather than complaints about the new reforms, the District Council had experienced an increase in enquiries asking for information and for an explanation as to the reasons why the reforms had impacted on an individual’s circumstances. The District Council continued to offer help, including the suggestion of paying by instalments, to make things as easy as possible for individuals and families.
Regarding discretionary housing payments and in response to the assertion from Rural Cambs CAB that their clients did not know about the fund, Mrs Barber informed Members that the Council had written to each individual with advice on the potential for a reduction in their benefit and encouraged each person to ring or visit the Council for further information. Many preferred Rural CAB to make enquiries on their behalf. As Rural Cambs CAB was responsible for a wider area than Huntingdonshire, there was a possibility that the comment made related to clients outside the District area.
Whilst expenditure on applications for DHPs across the County had increased, Mrs Barber was not aware how the Council compared with other Districts but reported that £112,000 had been committed to payments thus far in 2013/2014.
Councillor M G Baker indicated that experience of the food banks in St. Ives and St. Neots had suggested that it was younger people rather than the retired who were making greater use of them and that, in his opinion, the sanctions on benefits had resulted in increased use of this type of service. Councillor Baker also was of the view that debt could lead to mental and other health concerns. Councillor Chapman also confirmed that young rather than elderly people were likely to experience a change in benefits and thus made greater use of food banks. Whilst the District Council was able to advise on the location of food banks, it was not able to offer any assistance for travel to them.
The Deputy Executive Leader, Councillor N J Guyatt acknowledged the need to make provision to care for the poor and vulnerable in society but he wished the Council to recognise that there were others who were not quite as deserving of help. He also drew attention to the tendency for families in rural areas to be more flexible in looking after themselves by moving from four bedroom homes, for instance, to accommodate other family members. Councillor Guyatt was of the view that the Government might have improved the reform legislation by linking it to strategic housing and by encouraging provision of suitably sized accommodation to enable individuals to live in appropriately sized properties. He also pointed out that tenancies should not be for life but for a maximum of five years so that properties could be released for others as family circumstances changed. Councillor Guyatt concluded by drawing attention to the problems experienced by other Authorities which the District Council had avoided through careful and planned introduction of the welfare changes.
The Executive Leader, Councillor J D Ablewhite admitted that the impact of the reform had not been as severe in the District as elsewhere. However, he pointed out that this was partly due to the careful and sensitive way in which the changes had been delivered and implemented. He added that the level of welfare assistance could not be sustained in the long-term and illustrated this assertion by reference to high profile Councils and examples. In his view, it was essential that funds were available to support the most needy and vulnerable rather than those who were able to work. Councillor Ablewhite considered that the Council had done as much as it could to implement the changes as sensitively as possible within the resources available.
In closing, Councillor J P Morris indicated his support for some aspects of the reforms but deplored the impact that the spare room subsidy had had on the disabled and family households.
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