Westminster Insight’s timely Welfare Reform Forum explored how to process the huge upsurge in claims, improving advice for those dealing with immediate cash flow problems, changing assessment processes to safeguard claimants, identifying people falling through gaps in the system and supporting the most vulnerable people financially affected by the pandemic. Zoe's keynote address covered: - The implications of the Government’s response to COVID 19 on the social security system - Improving system design, delivery, flexibility and speed to support people in times of crisis - Ensuring the social security system can weather the longer-term effects of the crisis - Creating a person-centred, holistic and supportive social security system

1. Policy in Practice
Zoe Charlesworth
Current Challenges and
the Future Direction of
Social Security Reform
Monday 23 November

2. www.policyinpractice.co.uk
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software
analytics
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3. www.policyinpractice.co.uk
A team of professionals with extensive knowledge of the welfare
system. We’re passionate about making social policy work
We help over 100 local authorities use their household level
data to identify vulnerable households, target support and track
their interventions
Our benefit calculator engages over 10,000 people each day.
We identify the steps people can take to increase their income,
lower their costs and build their financial resilience
Policy in Practice: What we do

4. Today’s speaker
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Zoe Charlesworth
Director of Policy and
Operations
Zoe has worked in the field of welfare benefits for over 20 years and
has a comprehensive knowledge of benefit policy and regulation. She
has practical experience and policy knowledge of council tax support
schemes including administrative processes, drivers of scheme
design, award calculation, and service delivery.
Zoe has an extensive understanding of regulation and practice of both
legacy benefits and Universal Credit. She has previously been a
Benefit Manager and a Revenues and Benefit Manager with
responsibility for council tax support and benefit delivery, at three
local authorities. She understands the business of local government
and the role of local delivery of support through her work in local
authorities, the Association of District Councils, and the Local
Government Association.
Zoe has published numerous articles on welfare benefits and has
spoken extensively on the impact of welfare policy and the impact of
Universal Credit on localised council tax support.

5. Agenda
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Current Challenges and the Future Direction of Social Security Reform
● The implications of the Government’s response to COVID 19 on the social
security system
● Improving system design, delivery, flexibility and speed to support people in
times of crisis
● Ensuring the social security system can weather the longer-term effects of
the crisis
● Creating a person-centred, holistic and supportive social security system

6. Challenges pre-covid
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● Migration to Universal Credit resulting in parallel systems with unequal
support
● Austerity measures were embedded in the system
- reduced overall benefit spend
- two child limit
- benefit cap
- restrictions on housing support
● Little public appetite for a more generous benefits system
● Historically low benefit rates
● Low levels of household savings
● Greater reliance on discretionary support (food banks, DHPs, local welfare
assistance)
Sources: ONS, OBR, DWP, Citizens Advice

7. Historically low benefit levels
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Benefit levels have been reducing
as a proportion of earnings for 40
years.
1979 - 20% of mean earnings
2019 - 9% of mean earnings
But different rules for
Pensioners (triple-lock), Disability
benefits (CPI), child benefits (CPI)
(Source: DWP Abstract of benefit
rates

8. Low levels of financial resilience: many
unprepared for income shock
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At the start of 2020:
● 10% of households in the UK had no savings
● 30% of households had less than £600 savings
● Average household financial debt rose 9% to £9,400 in 2019
● 44% of those in debt found it burdensome
● 41% of households don’t have enough savings to live for a month
without income
Sources: Global Banking and Finance, Gov.uk, Money Advice Service, ONS

9. Impact of Covid
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● 5.7m in receipt of Universal Credit (September 2020) - a 90% increase
● 2.7m people were unemployed and looking for work, 117% increase since
March 2020 (August 2020)
● 7.5 m furloughed workers (August 2020)
● 800,000 job losses since Feb 2020 (latest estimate of 2m by April 2021)
Increase in debt
● 6 million adults across the UK have fallen behind on at least one bill during
the pandemic
● 2.8 million households have missed a council tax payment
Sources: ONS, OBR, DWP, Citizens Advice

10. The Government response
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● Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough scheme)
○ Up to 80% of wages (up to £2,500) until the end of March 2021
○ Must be on PAYE payroll on 30 October 2020. Ex-employees on the
payroll on 23 Sept 2020 can be re-employed and furloughed
● Self employed grant is to be extended
○ 3 months from Nov 2020 to Jan 2021 with a further grant from Feb - April
○ 80% of trading profits (up to £2500/month)
● MIF suspension extended to end April 2021
● Further grants for businesses
● Payment holidays (up to a total of 6 months)
● Eviction protections
● Benefit increases; LHA to 30 percentile, MIF suspension, £20 uplift
● £170m to councils to provide Christmas support with bills

11. But many people fall through the gaps
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● Employed and self-employed not eligible for support schemes
● Households not eligible for UC
○ partner’s income
○ over £16,000 capital
○ No Recourse to Public Funds
○ students
● Those that do not benefit from Covid benefit uplift
○ legacy benefits and should not move
○ benefit capped

12. More uncertainty on its way
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Forthcoming changes
● 10% of furloughed workers likely to be made redundant (OBR); with second
lock-down this may increase
● Emergency benefit increases to end in April 2021
● Brexit

13. Implications - parallel welfare benefit
systems
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14. Implications - demographics of benefit
claimants are changing
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● Younger (46% +8%)
● Higher proportion of BAME (8% +2%)
● Higher proportion of males (49% + 6%)
● More private tenants (30% +5%) and owners (29% +4%)
● Lower proportion living with illness/disability (38% - 29%)
● More middle class (Social grade AB 26% + 11%)
Source: Who are the new COVID-19 cohort of benefit claimants? Welfare at a (Social) Distance Rapid Report #2,
Salford University
● PIP analysis of local authority data show households that joined since April
20 contained a higher proportion of single people (+ 1-2%), lower
proportion in work (-18%),

15. Implications - the rise of the second
safety net
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The welfare support system has its own
welfare support system
Welfare benefits are insufficient for many
households
Risk factors for low financial resilience:
● Tenant
● Children
● Previous debt
Foodbanks project a 150% rise in 2020/21
(Source: HoC briefing Nov 20)

16. Implications - the need for targeted
holistic support
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● Identifying those in high social or economic risk as a result of COVID-19,
now and in the future
● Giving accurate advice within a changing welfare context
● Targeting support to those most in need
Local authorities can use their data to help with this

17. Who are your vulnerable groups?
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19. www.policyinpractice.co.uk
Identify Engage Track
People who need your
support the most
Your residents with
targeted support
The impact of policy
and effectiveness of
interventions

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Maximise income and financial resilience
● E.g. self employed
household would be better
off on UC but not if MIF is
reinstated.
● Ensure the claimant is
receiving all the benefit to
which they are eligible

21. Weathering longer-term effects of the
crisis
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● The increased generosity of the welfare system to be maintained after April
● The savings limit in Universal Credit to be suspended for next twelve months,
and reassessed thereafter, particularly in relation to the self-employed
● MIF suspension to be maintained after 2021
● Increase the benefit cap at least to CJRS levels
● Suspension of conditionality
● Suspension of the two child limit
● Sharing more data to allow councils to support their residents
BUT the Government will be budgeting carefully - they have indicated that
they plan to recoup some of the Covid spending

22. An opportunity to make real longer term
change...
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● Changes to introduce greater flexibility into Universal Credit, e.g.
○ backdating up to a month under reasonable circumstances,
○ Explicit consent
○ Separation of payments from the assessment of the monthly award,
○ Real time responsiveness and flexibility to changes in personal
circumstances
● Greater partnership with councils and advice agencies
○ Sharing data
○ Financial support to councils to provide holistic support
● The opportunity to examine levels of disability & housing support
● The opportunity to revisit the inclusion of austerity measures and benefit
levels - public opinion is changing
○ This is a political decision - what is the benefits system for?

23. An opportunity to make real longer term
change...
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24. www.policyinpractice.co.uk
Questions and discussion

25. Thank you
www.policyinpractice.co.uk
Zoe Charlesworth
Director of Policy and Operations
zoe@policyinpractice.co.uk
@ZoeCharleswort1
hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
www.policyinpractice.co.uk
@policy_practice
0330 088 9242