webinar: helping people transition onto universal credit

Helping people transition

onto Universal Credit

Wed 6 September 2017

Housekeeping

• Audio check

• Please ask questions

• Polls and a survey

• Finish by 11:30

Speakers

Deven Ghelani, DirectorZoe Charlesworth, Head of PolicyPolicy in Practice

Ian CoryWelfare Reform Manager, Aster Housing Group

Natasha JebbisonKarl LarteyCroydon Council

Agenda

1. Introduction

Deven Ghelani, Director, Policy in Practice

2. Organisational preparedness

Ian Cory, Welfare Reform Manager,

Aster Housing Group

3. Strategies for client preparedness and support

Zoe Charlesworth, Head of Policy, Policy in Practice

4. Frontline perspectiveNatasha Jebbison and Karl Lartey, Croydon Council

5. Next Steps

555

Poll: What are your biggest challenges for rolling out Universal Credit?

We make the welfare system simple to understand, so that people can make the decisions that are right for them

www.policyinpractice.co.uk

SOFTWARE

individual impact

Analytics

local impact

POLICY

national impact

Successful transition to UC

Helping Customers Transition onto Universal Credit

Helping Customers onto UC

Helping people to claim benefits is the job of the benefit provider…

Do we add value or cause delay?

Do different messages give clarity or confusion?

What role should a social landlord have in todays world?

Helping Customers onto UC

Supporting our Customers

Protecting the Business

Getting the balance right is key.

Everyone’s customer profile is different

Everyone’s business is different

Helping Customers onto UC

Know your customers

Generic verses Specialist?

WR specialists?

Customer champions?

Communications…digital or non digital?

Helping Customers onto UC

Helping customers onto UC is just the start

Getting them to pay their rent is the outcome we all need.

Helping Customers to Pay Rent

Aster’s Focus is on Rent Payment not Transitioning onto Universal Credit

Triage – a risk assessment – what are the barriers to you paying your rent?

• Digital Exclusion

• Financial Exclusion

Helping Customers to Pay Rent

Triage Outcomes:

Support referral – internal or external

Alternative Payment Arrangement – MPTL

Payment plan and agreement

Identification of the non-engagers

Helping Customers to Pay Rent

Aster’s new support service is coming…

Combining digital and financial support.

A menu of options under the headings of:

Support neededDigital: Equipment, Skills

Financial: Banking, Budgeting, financial management

Delivery method121, classroom, referral

Helping Customers onto UC

Aster’s Learning:

Don’t panic…get a plan

Take the low hanging fruit – R U UC Ready?

Start a HB 2 U campaign

Start a rent in advance campaign

Think carefully about buying external data

Target your work:

• Who

• When

• How

Helping Customers onto UC

Aster’s Learning:

Engage with the DWP

Sing the benefits of UC

Understand the common purpose

Use DWP communications, You Tube videos and documents

Helping Customers onto UC

Aster’s Learning:

Manage staff resistance:

Anger, resistance, learning, acceptance, buy-in

Understand customer resistance:

Anger, confusion, learning, acceptance, benefit realisation

Helping Customers onto UC

Aster’s Learning:

Recognise that UC = increased arrears

Ensure your business plan can cope

Predict future arrears and update:Example – annual debit = £50,000,000. 10,000 customers

No. on UC 1000 – av arrear = £350. Total Arrear = £350,000

No. no UC 9000 – av arrear = £50. Total Arrear = £450,000

So we see £800,000 debit = 1.6%

No. on UC 5000 – av arrear = £350. Total Arrear = £1,750,000

No. no UC 5000 – av arrear = £50. Total Arrear = £250,000

So we see £2,000,000 debit = 4%

Helping Customers onto UC

And finally…

Look out for announcements from the DWP on Trusted Partner Status and on the Portal

And recognise their test and learn approach will continue to drive change as they

improve the system, receive feedback, improve the system, receive feedback,

improve the system, receive feedback,improve the system, receive feedback,

improve the system, receive feedback…

242424

Mitigating the impact for the customer

The key issues for claimants

1. Knowledge: Enables the customer to make informed choices

2. Errors in assessments: What is the correct amount?

3. Monthly payments: budgeting, weekly income and monthly UC

4. Landlord payments

5. 6 week wait: Interim payments?

6. Who to contact?

• Problems with contacting benefit centres

• Time-consuming and costly

• High drop-out rate with application form

• Housing Benefit will no longer be there for advice

Mitigating the impact for claimants

Who to target?

What support is needed?

How is support delivered?

1. Who to target?

Pro-active identificationdata analysis / client tracking

Dependant on organisational requirements e.g:

• To protect rents: • Tenants with arrears and no monthly income and no savings

• Self-employed with no savings

• Homelessness prevention: • Private tenants with no non non-dependants, savings or monthly earnings

• Households that will lose under UC:• Those losing ESA WRAG/disability premiums. Self-employed

On-demand

2. What support is needed?

Self-identification of need

TriageWhat is the trigger?Do you have the right tools?

Triage

Triage

3. How is support delivered?

• Self-service toolsSimple and easy to use

Easily accessible

Engaging

• Support tools Benefits calculator

Advice and support

Meeting the needs of your clients

of tenants require no support

30%of clients require some support

50%of clients require a lot of support

(and take up 80% of staff time)

20%

Source: Curo Group, 2017

Demo of calculator

Client preparedness - knowledge

Calculator example

Budgeting Support

Budgeting

• During 6 week wait and ongoing

• Impact of landlord payments?

• Impact of advance payments?

• Weekly earnings against monthly UC?

Demo of budgeting

Demo of calendar

Assisting claimants transition to UC:Conclusion

CHALLENGEMITIGATING STRATEGY

Identification & targetingPro-active: data analysis, publicity

Re-active: triage and triage tools

Customer knowledge

Errors in assessments

Pre-UC assessments:

Self-service facilities

Advisor comparison of UC

Advisor assessment explanation

A calculator/advice tool can really help - Benefits are complex !

Monthly assessment A tool to calculate monthly UC against weekly income

Landlord paymentsEngagement & discussion

Personal budgeting tool

6 week wait

Triage

Personal budgeting (to ensure priority bills are paid)

Understanding of ongoing impact of advances

Support

Self-service access to support tools

Engagement with customers

Tools to facilitate support and advice

414141

Mitigating the impact for the customer

The Croydon experience

424242

Poll: What do you need help with to successfully roll out UC?

Clients

454545

It is very quick to use so it was not taking up all our time during the meeting it left more time to discuss the results with the customer.

I will definitely be using this in the future, a very good tool to have.

I think the calculator is brilliant and really easy to use, it can email and print out calculations and the comparison was fab

The best reaction I got was a customer that stated "I am definitely getting a job now“.

Feedback from frontline advisors

46

Questions

Next steps

Download our Benefit and Budgeting Calculator handout

Short survey:

• We value your feedback

• Ask questions or clarifications

• Book a demo for you and your colleagues

Next webinar:

• How to future proof your Council Tax Reduction Scheme for Universal Credit

• Wed 11 October at 10:30

www.policyinpractice.co.uk

Thank you

hello@policyinpractice.co.uk0330 088 9242