Guidance

LA Welfare Direct 12/2022

Updated 12 December 2022

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If you have queries about the:

• technical content of this bulletin then contact details are given at the end of each article
• general content and distribution of this bulletin, contact: [email protected]

Who should read

All Housing Benefit staff

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For information

Crown Copyright 2022
Recipients may freely reproduce this bulletin.

Editorial

I cannot believe how quickly the year has gone but here we are again in December!

It’s still a very busy time of year for us all and, as I type, my team are preparing the annual uprating circular to issue out to you all this month in good time for your own preparations in the new year.

Hopefully you’ve all seen the details announced in the Autumn Statement and will have received the letter from Clare Elliott, highlighting some of the key areas. Whilst there are many positive changes for our claimants in there, we don’t underestimate the challenge we all have in delivering these changes in both DWP and your local authorities (LAs).

I had the pleasure of facilitating one of our Housing Benefit Award Accuracy (HBAA)/Verify Earnings and Pensions (VEP) workshops last month in London. It was great to see many LAs colleagues face-to-face and to hear both the positive and challenging aspects of delivering HBAA/VEP locally. There was a great deal of interaction and sharing of good practice which we’ve captured across all the workshops that we’ll share with you early in 2023.

And on that note, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Darren Baker
Head of Fraud, Error, Debt, Change and Communications Team

Housing Benefit Debt Service: Correct completion of the template

1. The Housing Benefit Debt Service (HBDS) provides LAs with access to real time employment and income information to help with the recovery of Housing Benefit (HB) debt and has been in place since 2018.

2. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has identified issues with some LAs incorrectly completing, saving and uploading their templates to Transfers Your File.

3. These issues are creating unreadable data and, as a result, LAs are not getting all matches available.

4. To ensure the required data is provided, LAs must follow the guidance (HBDS File completion and HBDS Full Guidance V2.1) on Glasscubes which sets out how to use the HBDS template.

Key points when completing the HBDS template

5. LAs must:

• create a new file each month using a new template and not edit a previous one. Editing a previous template causes blank rows which transposes into special characters and is unreadable data.
• save the template in excel as a .csv file. If this is saved as an .xls file, and subsequently amended to a .csv file, it will not be a true .csv file type and will cause unreadable data.
• not copy and paste to prevent blank rows or create corrupt data that cannot be processed.
• not complete more than the 1200 maximum rows allowed
• complete all fields, where known, in the correct format as outlined in the guidance as referenced above.

6. For access to Glasscubes or if you have any questions about this article contact: [email protected]

Update: Payment Deduction Programme full reconciliation exercise

7. Following the Local Authority Partnership, Engagement and Delivery (LA-PED) division’s Performance Development Team’s (PDT’s) review of the Payment Deduction Programme (PDP) in 2018, we identified a need to reconcile LA HB debts and balances against those held on DWP’s Debt Management System (DMS).

8. The staged approach rollout of the PDP full reconciliation exercise started in October 2022 with the first tranche of LAs. This tranche consisted of 41 LAs with a combined total of 19,175 debts that are currently held within the DMS. Of those 41 LAs:

• 456 (2.38%) dealt with by first line enquiries (balance transaction enquiry proforma)
• 162 (0.85%) referred to the second stage of the enquiry process (escalation enquiry proforma)
• 69 of the second stage enquiries were triaged and did not require input from Debt Management
• 93 cases were referred to Debt Management
• 25 LAs completed the exercise and returned the certificate of reconciliation by the deadline. A number of LAs requested a small extension to the deadline.

Other tranche start dates

9. Tranche 2 LAs started their reconciliation on the 18 November 2022.

10. Tranche 3 will commence their reconciliation in January 2023 and PDT is proposing to hold a pre-launch call with those LAs on the 9 January 2023. An invitation to this call will be sent directly to tranche 3 shortly. Going forward, PDT will be able to reflect on the previous tranches and highlight areas that LAs need to focus on.

11. More detailed information and updates will be provided to LAs in tranches 3 to 8 in due course.

Reminder to provide single point of contact details

12. We would also like to take this opportunity to remind all LAs (especially those in tranches 3 and 4), to forward single point of contact details for the reconciliation exercise to: [email protected] It is important that we get this information as soon as possible so we can make sure that we are sending information to the correct contact. If an LA is unsure which tranche they are in, a list is available on Glasscubes (via LA Data Share – Announcements folder - PDP Information - PDP Full Reconciliation information - National Full Reconciliation).

Questions and answers

13. Prior to commencing the rollout of the PDP reconciliation, PDT held an all-LA call on 28 September 2022 to explain the process and answer any questions. Unfortunately, we were unable to answer all of the questions during the time allocated for the call. However, we documented all the questions with responses, which can be found on Glasscubes (via the same pathway as above).

Guidance

14. Circular HB A7/2022 (which replaces circular HB A6/2016) has been published on www.gov.uk. It can also be found on Glasscubes (via LA Data Share - Announcements folder - PDP Information - PDP General Guidance & Updates).

15. If you need any further information, do not hesitate to contact: [email protected]

Refresh of HB Assurance Process Module X for the financial year ending March 2022

16. DWP has recently refreshed HBAP Module X: DWP reporting framework instruction for further work. The updated module will apply to further work requests in respect of the financial year ending (FYE) March 2022.

17. Read the refreshed Module X along with other HB Assurance Process (HBAP) modules on www.gov.uk.

18. If you have any questions regarding this article, contact: [email protected]

Reminder: Procurement of reporting accountants for the FYE March 2024 HBAP

19. As part of HBAP, DWP has published a number of instructional and guidance modules.

20. Module 1 (which includes the standard engagement terms for the HBAP) was originally issued in March 2018, supported by further guidance in circular HB S7/2018

21. This is a reminder that, as part of the standard engagement terms, each LA is required to provide DWP with notification confirming the procurement of a reporting accountant to carry out HBAP testing in relation to the FYE March 2024 by no later than 1 March 2023.

22. The firms currently registered on the Local Public Audit register and available to facilitate the HBAP in respect of the FYE ending March 2023 and FYE March 2024 are:

• Azets
• BDO
• Ernst Young
• Grant Thornton
• KPMG
• Mazars

23. Included below is the relevant extract from Module 1 of the HBAP guidance.

Role of the LA

24. Module 1 includes the relevant responsibilities and timings pertinent to the receipt of the reporting accountant notification as follows:

• the LA is required to appoint a reporting accountant by 1 March prior to the commencement of the financial year for which this procedure will apply, to perform the specific test requirements set out in the DWP’s HBAP modules in force for that year
• if the LA fails to appoint a reporting accountant by the deadline of 1 March the Secretary of State may withhold part or all of subsequent payments of subsidy. The amount and scale of withholdings will be the decision of the Secretary of State. When the LA confirms the appointment of a reporting accountant the subsidy withheld can be released
• it is for the LA to appoint a reporting accountant to undertake this work and notify the DWP of the successful appointment, no later than the 1 March prior to the commencement of the financial year for which this procedure will apply.

25. The notification confirming the audit firm procurement should be forwarded to [email protected] and include:

• name of the audit firm
• length of the contract
• lead audit contact name
• audit office location

Multiple year arrangements covering the FYE March 2023 and FYE March 2024 reporting periods and future years

26. If an LA secured a multi-year engagement with a reporting accountant that covers HBAP in respect of the FYE March 2023 and FYE March 2024 and previously notified the DWP of that engagement, then a further notification is not required.

Update: Public Services Network

27. LAs will be aware that two DWP IT applications, namely Searchlight and the Verify Earnings and Pension service, are still accessed via Public Service Network (PSN). We previously communicated that DWP digital colleagues are currently developing the solutions to migrate these two services off PSN by April 2023.

28. There is still a significant amount of work to do in this area. Therefore, it is likely that the migration from PSN will not be completed by April 2023. LAs should anticipate a period of dual running and will still need access to PSN beyond April 2023. We will be providing regular communications over the coming months to keep LAs updated on progress and to help with their planning.

29. If you have any questions regarding this, email: [email protected]

Invitation to the next Data sharing and IT consultation and engagement forum

30. The next forum will be held on Friday 27 January 2023 from 11:30am to 12:30pm.

Joining instructions

31. The joining instructions are:

• the MS Teams link to this forum has been shared in the version of the LAWD12/2022 that was sent directly to each LA’s single inbox.
• note: It is more difficult to ask questions through dial-in so, if you anticipate having questions, we recommend joining through MS Teams where possible.
• aim to join the event two or three minutes before the start time, as we intend to start promptly.
• speakers will be muted by default, but instructions will be given during the event if you want to ask a question.

Forum agenda

• A 15-minute introduction from the DWP, covering projects recently delivered, projects currently in delivery, insight into future planned projects, as well as the most recent common issues that have been reported to us.
• 30 to 45 minutes of questions from LAs on the call about the projects and matters covered in the introduction and any other IT and data sharing questions and issues LAs may have.
• If time allows, 15 minutes focused on suggestions from LAs about future data sharing, data matching or automation projects that DWP could consider funding and delivering.

32. The call will be recorded, and the recording published on Glasscubes.

33. The forum is open to all LAs and it would be beneficial for every LA to have at least one representative dial into the forum to help us maximise feedback. Each LA representative should:

• seek input and feedback from as many of their colleagues as possible prior to dialling in, for example, questions they might need answering
• have knowledge, at least at a high level, about data sharing, data matching and current IT topic areas
• feedback to their colleagues about how the conference call went, including the answers to the questions asked.

34. We look forward to your participation on the call. However, if you have any questions in the meantime, please contact: [email protected]

Further Household Support Fund extension

35. For those who require extra support, the government is providing an additional £1 billion, to help with the cost of household essentials, for the FYE March 2024. This is in addition to what has already been provided since October 2021 and brings the total funding for this support to £2.5 billion.

36. In England, the extension to the Household Support Fund, backed by £842 million, will run from 1 April 2023 until 31 March 2024. Devolved administrations will receive £158 million through the Barnett formula.

37. Guidance and individual LA indicative allocations for this further extension will be announced in due course.

LAs to provide DWP with the draft wording for Council Tax Reduction Scheme common law charge (Scottish LAs only)

38. The Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) is not a social security benefit and the responsibility for drafting the CTRS charge within Scotland is the responsibility of LAs.

39. Therefore, in Scottish joint worked cases, when it is agreed that DWP will prepare and submit the Standard Prosecution Report (SPR) to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) with details of the DWP benefit offences and a Council Tax Reduction (CTRs) offence, the LA must provide DWP with the draft wording of the common law charge (along with the evidence) to be used in the SPR.

40. For CTRS to be included, the draft charge must be provided to DWP soon after it has been agreed DWP will draft and submit the SPR to COPFS. Any contact DWP receive from COPFS about the CTRS charge and the associate evidence, will be passed to the LA investigator for reply.

Practitioners’ Operational Group and LA Welfare Steering Group

41. The last LA Welfare Steering Group meeting took place on 17 November 2022. Agenda items included LA Welfare issues Highlight Report, Move to Universal Credit and the Autumn Statement.

42. Both groups’ meetings are held bi-monthly (and alternately) so the next Practitioners’ Operational Group meeting is scheduled to take place on 15 December 2022.

43. If you have any questions regarding topics raised at these consultation groups, you can email: [email protected]

Secondment opportunities in the LA-PED division

44. Working with LAs, as one of our major stakeholders in Welfare Reform, continues to feature heavily and for this reason we value the expertise and knowledge that LA HB experts can bring to the team. These secondment opportunities provide an opportunity to gain an insight and experience of policy development and workings of central government.

45. The LA-PED division has had a programme of bringing HB experts from LAs in to work alongside data sharing, subsidy, change and performance teams on secondment. We are now looking to register your interest for further secondment opportunities over the coming months.

46. LA-PED comprises of approximately 120 staff. The division is responsible for overseeing the performance of LAs in their delivery of HB. It monitors a range of performance data including how quickly and accurately HB is paid and the prevention and detection of fraud and error. LA-PED offers support and challenge to those LAs not meeting performance expectations.

47. It supports a large programme of data sharing activity that is paramount in helping LAs pay the correct amount of HB and is heavily involved in managing change activity supporting the Welfare Reform agenda.

48. It’s also responsible for paying HB Administration Subsidy, Discretionary Housing Payments, New Burdens and additional grant funding.

49. This is an exciting opportunity to play a leading role in maintaining and improving stakeholder relationships between DWP and LAs and in designing innovative opportunities for closer working during this busy and complex period of Welfare Reform.

Personal requirements

50. Candidates should possess the following:

• good understanding of HB procedures and regulations
• good drafting and communication skills
• ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with LAs and other stakeholders
• ability to work with people at different levels in the organisation and to work as part of a team to achieve results
• ability to deliver work at pace and with successful, quantifiable outcomes

Further information

51. Secondment posts would be offered for either 12 months or 24 months dependant on the role offered across the division. The posts would usually be full time and based across the country, although no moves at public expense would be considered. These opportunities will be determined by business need so your CV will be kept on file, and you will be contacted once a suitable opportunity arises.

52. If you are keen to register your interest and are at S01/S02/SO3 and Pay Band level 4 or equivalent, (roughly equates to civil service HEO/SEO/G7 grades) please:

• check with your LA that you could be released, and then
• send your CV by email to: [email protected]

HB decisions by the Upper Tribunal

53. Decision Making and Appeals (DMA) Leeds is not aware of any HB cases that have been decided by the Upper Tribunal (UT) since October’s edition of this bulletin.

54. A selection of decisions of the UT are published on their website. Do be aware that there is an undefined time lapse between decisions being issued and their appearance on the website.

55. If you have any queries about cases before the UT Judges or courts, please contact us by email at: [email protected]

New Legislation

56. The following Statutory Instruments (SIs) have been laid:

• SI 2022/1229 laid on 25 November 2022. Coming into force 1 January 2023
• State Pension Revaluation for Transitional Pensions Order 2022
• SI 2022/1251 laid on 29 November 2022. Coming into force in accordance with article 1(2)
• State Pension Debits and Credits (Revaluation) Order 2022
• SI 2022/1250 laid on 29 November 2022 in accordance with article 1(2)

57. Copies of SIs can now be downloaded from legislation.gov.uk

What’s new on our HB pages on www.gov.uk

58. The following items can be found on the website link shown:

Document Type	Subject	Link
LAWD11/2022 bulletin	Editorial Special Rules for End-of-Life extension from 6 to 12 months for disability benefits Reminder: Single point of contact for the Payment Deduction Programme full reconciliation exercise Housing Benefit circular A3/2022 (revised) – Changes to supported housing and temporary accommodation SHBE management information Household Support Fund extension 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023 (England only) Practitioners’ Operational Group and LA Welfare Steering Group HB Decisions with the Upper Tribunal New Legislation What’s new on our HB pages on www.gov.uk	LAWD11/2022
Circular HB S10/2022	Housing Benefit Award Accuracy Initiative funding for financial year ending March 2023 for local authorities participating from October 2022	S10/2022
Circular HB A7/2022	Housing Benefit debt recovered by the Department for Work and Pensions’ Debt Management	A7/2022