Guidance

LA Welfare Direct 5/2024

Updated 9 December 2024

Contact

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.

Action

For information.

Editorial

Welcome everyone to May’s edition of the Local Authority Welfare Direct. As we well and truly move into the new financial year, we continue to work on a wide range of new and exciting things alongside our business as usual.

In this edition you will see details of the improvements to the Housing Benefit Matching Service rules HBSA002 and HBBB001 and a new proof of concept being tested in the West Midlands and details on the accelerated migration of Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and ESA Housing Benefit claimants to Universal Credit to name a few.

There is also the opportunity to help with some user research into enabling appointees to complete Personal Independence Payment forms online and to better understand the processes and difficulties they face. If you are interested, please do go to the link in the related article and express your interest. There is no obligation to take part even if you do so.

Finally, I’m hoping that you can all get some well-deserved rest with the bank holidays that are coming up during May. I have my fingers crossed, that as we head towards the summer months, we can all enjoy some better weather and longer days.

Beck Bryning
Head of Local Authority Grants, Local Authority Partnership, Engagement and Delivery division

Update: Housing Benefit Matching Service rules

1. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is continually reviewing and improving the suite of Housing benefit Matching Service (HBMS) rules, to provide quality referrals and to reduce nugatory referrals issued to local authorities (LAs).

Rule HBSA002

2. We have worked closely with LAs to identify issues and improvements to rule HBSA002, which identifies a Housing Benefit (HB) claimant and/or partner with undeclared Self-Assessed earnings which are less than £10,000 per annum. 

3. These improvements include the: 

• omission of supported accommodation and temporary accommodation cases as these are more appropriately dealt with by DWP/Universal Credit (UC)
• removal of non-declared Pay as You Earn data which was erroneously included as part of the rule previously
• individual Self-Assessment earnings for both claimant and partner.

4. The improved referrals were made available to LAs from the week commencing 15 April 2024 and the HBMS Rule Guidance (available on Glasscubes) will be updated to reflect the changes.  

5. The Local Authority Partnership, Engagement and Delivery (LA-PED) division would like to take this opportunity to thank those LAs who participated in the consultation process. 

Rule HBBB001

6. We have reviewed rule HBBB001, which identifies HB claims where a DWP Bereavement Benefit has not been declared by the HB claimant or partner.

7. The following Bereavement Benefits have been abolished and are no longer in payment to any customers:

• Bereavement Allowance (BAllce) abolished in April 2017
• Bereavement Payment (BPT) – abolished in April 2017
• Widow’s Pension (WP) - abolished in April 2001
• Widowed Mother’s Allowance (WMA) - abolished in April 2001

8. BAllce and BPT have been replaced by Bereavement Support Payment, which has a 100% disregard for HB entitlement.

9. HBBB001 will now only reference Widowed Parent’s Allowance (WPA), which is still payable in certain circumstances.

10. Following this update, it is not expected that the number of referrals received by LAs will change.

11. The HBMS Rule Guide, which can be found on Glasscubes, will be updated to reflect the changes and the enhanced referrals will be available to LAs from the week commencing 13 May 2024.

12. If you have any questions about the content of this article, contact [email protected] 

Changes to front end LA IT systems to enable accurate recording of HB Award Accuracy Initiative management information 

13. As part of the LA-PED’s HB Award Accuracy (HBAA) Initiative performance engagement with LAs it was identified that, on occasion, LAs had inadvertently under recorded their HBAA Initiative performance.

14. This was caused by the inaccurate setting of: 

• the fraud intervention type field - in part due to the myriad of obsolete intervention descriptors held on the LA IT system drop down menu (links to population of SHBE Field 173)
• the reason/source of the change to HB award field - in part due to the difference in the wording of the descriptors on the LA IT system drop down menu when cross referenced with the intervention type drop down menu (links to population to SHBE Field 254)

15. To mitigate the risk of LAs inaccurately setting these fields, the following changes have been made to front end LA IT system drop down menus: 

• The removal of intervention options which are no longer required.
• Where the functionality existed, the removal of the LA’s ability to create their own intervention types.
• Alignment of the descriptor wording within both the Intervention Type and Reason/Source Type fields.
• The introduction of validation – to ensure that where you have selected a specific intervention type, any linked change will only allow you to select the same descriptor within the reason/source type field.

LA action

16. All IT software suppliers have now implemented these changes in releases over the last three months. Therefore, it is imperative that all LAs deploy, test and implement these releases by the end of June 2024, where they have not already done so. 

17. Release notes have been supplied by the IT software suppliers directly to LAs and can be found in each supplier’s area on Glasscubes.  

18. LAs can also refer to the SHBE Guidance and specification, which also can be found on Glasscubes regarding these SHBE entries. 

19. If you have any questions about the content of this article, contact [email protected]  

Urgent reminder: Memorandum of Understanding compliance audit pre-audit questionnaire deadline 

20. LAs who have been selected for the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) compliance audit have been issued with a notification letter and two pre-audit questionnaires in advance of their MOU compliance audit Microsoft Teams call.  

21. Your LA must return their completed pre-audit questionnaires with supporting evidence at least three weeks in advance of your LA’s call to LA-PED at [email protected]

22. Any LA who cannot meet this deadline must contact the Compliance Team at the same email address as soon as possible. 

23. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession

24. From 16 February 2024, the Home Office has changed the name of the Destitution Domestic Violence Concession (DDVC) to Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC).

25. The MVDAC allows individuals who were previously granted leave to stay in the United Kingdom (UK) as the spouse or partner of a British citizen or someone settled in the UK, and whose relationship has broken down due to domestic abuse, to apply for three months ‘Leave Outside the Rules’ which allows recourse to public funds. 

26. The Home Office will issue those affected with a letter confirming that they are covered by the MVDAC (formally DDVC).

Impact on HB claims

27. There is no change in the leave individuals are granted under the concession or how affected HB claims should be managed. 

User research opportunity: Appointees completing Personal Independence Payment forms

28. We are exploring options for enabling appointees to complete Personal Independence Payment (PIP) forms online and are looking to conduct some research to better understand appointees’ current processes and difficulties. The intention of this research is to inform future design of the online service.

29. The research will include speaking to appointees from LAs, charities, support organisations or similar; rather than those acting personally (for example, for a friend or relative).

30. Therefore, if you have acted as an appointee for PIP in this capacity for one or more applicants within the past 12 months, then we would really appreciate talking to you.

31. Taking part would involve a Microsoft Teams call of up to an hour where we would discuss your recent experience of acting as an appointee.

32. If you would like to take part, then please fill in this short survey to express your interest. This form will be available until Friday 31 May 2024. Do note, there is no obligation to take part if you change your mind.

Rent Simplification and Support – Proof of Concept

33. The Labour Market, Evaluation and Pilot Fund has funded a new pilot to address barriers to work faced by those aged 18 to 24 living in supported housing, which is accommodation provided alongside care, support or supervision to help people live as independently as possible in the community and can act as a pathway to transitioning into work.

34. To support young people in making that transition, DWP and the West Midlands Combined Authority have developed a Proof of Concept (PoC) that will test financial support and simplification of the benefits system for 18 to 24 year olds living in commissioned supported housing who move into work or increase their working hours. This will help them to build their employment prospects further, work towards becoming financially independent and progress into move on accommodation in a planned way.

35. The PoC was launched on 6 March 2024 and will run until 31 March 2025. Further updates will be provided as progress on the PoC develops.

Publication of HB speed of processing statistics for October 2023 to December 2023

36. The department published HB speed of processing statistics and associated data for quarter 3 (Q3) of the financial year ending (FYE) March 2024 on Wednesday 24 April 2024.

Some key points

• During Q3 of FYE March 2024, there were 97,141 new HB claims and 970,644 changes of circumstances to existing HB claims processed in Great Britain.

• For new HB claims, this is a decrease of 4,473 (4%) since last quarter, and an increase of 5,785 (6%) when compared to a year earlier.
• For change of circumstances to existing HB claims, this is a decrease of 86,528 (8%) since last quarter and a decrease of 19,319 (2%) when compared to a year earlier.

New claims

• The average time taken to process a new HB claim during the latest quarter was 18 calendar days. This is two days lower than last quarter and two days less as a year earlier.

Change of circumstances

• The average number of days taken to process a change of circumstances to an existing HB claim during the latest quarter was eight calendar days. This is one day lower than last quarter and the same as a year earlier.

Latest update: Move to Universal Credit

37. On Friday 19 April 2024, the Prime Minister made a speech that included the announcement to accelerate the movement of Employment Support Allowance (ESA) and ESA with HB claimants to UC.

38. Many claimants will be better off on UC than legacy benefits and we estimate around half of our ESA and ESA with HB claimants would receive over £100 a month more on UC. Claimants will also be able to benefit from improved work incentives and enhanced labour market support for those who want it.

39. Our delivery approach and timelines will be informed by detailed planning and engagement with stakeholders, but our current planning assumption is that we would begin notifying this group in September 2024, with the aim of notifying everyone to make the move by December 2025. 

40. A new Move to UC communications campaign launched in March 2024 to help prepare claimants with other benefit combinations for their move to UC. The campaign is running nationally and is being delivered through radio, paid search (Google and Bing), outdoor advertising (bus stops and billboards), digital and social media advertising.

41. The campaign aims to tackle claimant fear and anxiety about moving to Universal Credit, using the headline ‘Keep things smooth by making the move to Universal Credit’. Advertising also signposts to www.gov.uk/ucmove, which is a new website containing supportive information, real life case studies and advice on how to prepare for the move.

42. A campaign toolkit has been produced for stakeholder use which includes frequently asked questions, newsletter copy, an email signature and social media posts. This can be accessed from this link Move to UC Toolkit

43. In addition, to aid stakeholders in supporting conversations about moving to UC, a third-party guide of useful information has been produced and distributed to stakeholders to enable them to support those households required to make a move to UC. This was emailed to all LAs. If you have not received a copy, please contact your local Partnership Manager.

Practitioners’ Operational Group and LA Welfare Steering Group 

44. The last Practitioners’ Operational Group meeting took place on 18 April 2024. Agenda items included the LA Welfare issues Highlight Report, LA funding, Move to UC, Cost of Living and an update on the HB Fraud Investigations and Joint Working Group.

45. Both groups’ meetings are held bi-monthly (and alternately), so the next LA Welfare Steering Group meeting is scheduled to take place on 23 May 2024. 

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

HB decisions by the Upper Tribunal  

47. Decision Making and Appeals (DMA) Leeds is not aware of any HB cases that have been decided by the Upper Tribunal (UT) since the last edition of the LAWD bulletin. 

48. 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. 

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

HB cases awaiting decision by the Upper Tribunal

50. DMA Leeds have not been made aware of any new HB cases that are awaiting decision by the UT.

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

New Legislation

52. The following Statutory Instrument (SI) has been laid:

• 2024 No. 529 The Universal Credit (Administrative Earnings Threshold) (Amendment) Regulations 2024, made on 12 April 2024

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

What’s new on our HB pages on GOV.UK

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

Document Type	Subject	Link
Bulletin	Editorial Change of tax year for Housing Benefit Matching Service self-assessment referrals Improvements to the Housing Benefit Matching Service rule HBSA002 Local authority funding for DWP’s requirements provided by IT software suppliers Memorandum of Understanding compliance audits Clarification regarding the LA17 form and how to use Update to enhancing the UC data available to LAs Invitation to all LAs to participate in the email solution for the Personal Independent Payment form PIP3007 Publication of refreshed HB Assurance Process modules for the financial year ending March 2024 Invitation to the next Data sharing and IT consultation and engagement forum Help to Claim support from 1 April 2024 Latest update: Move to UC Practitioners’ Operational Group and LA Welfare Steering Group Secondment opportunities in LA-PED division New Legislation HB decisions by the Upper Tribunal What’s new on our HB pages on www.gov.uk Update: LCTR data feed spring release	LAWD4/2024
Adjudication circular	Housing Benefit Award Accuracy Initiative for the financial year ending March 2025	A5/2024
Adjudication circular	The Social Security (Class 2 National Insurance Contributions) (Consequential Amendments and Savings) Regulations 2024	A6/2024
Subsidy circular	Housing Benefit Award Accuracy Initiative funding for the financial year ending March 2025 for local authorities participating from 1 April 2024	S5/2024
Subsidy circular	Funding for the Verify Earnings and Pensions service for the financial year ending March 2025	S6/2024