Understanding the changes to the welfare system and the impact on me

1
Understanding the changes to the welfare system
and the impact on me

• Ken Butler
• Tax Credits and Benefits Adviser
• Robbie Spence
• Benefits of Working Advisor
• Disability Alliance

2
Who we are

• Disability Alliance
• national charity
• aim breaking the link between poverty and
  disability
• publish Disability Rights Handbook
• www.disabilityalliance.org

3
Who is disabled?

• physical or mental impairment
• substantial long-term adverse effect on
• ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities

4
Welfare benefit financial help following a
stroke

• Disability Alliance
• www.disabilityalliance.org

5
Welfare benefit financial help following a
stroke

• A stroke means that the affected person will
  not be able to work, often for some time
• They may also need a level of care and support
  meaning a partner, relative or friend has to give
  up work partly or completely.

6
Statutory sick pay (SSP)

• SSP is paid for up to 28 weeks by an employer
  depending on how long someone has been employed,
  their age, and how much is earned.
• Depending on family make-up, income and
  savings, SSP might be topped up by income
  support, pension credit, working tax credit,
  child tax credit, housing beneift or council tax
  benefit.

7
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• ESA can either be paid as
• contributory ESA (based on national insurance
  contributions) or as
• income related ESA (depending on family make-up,
  income and savings).
• You can get ESA if you are agreed to have a
  limited capacity for work due to ill health or
  disability.
• When you make a claim for ESA you normally
  have an initial assessment period that usually
  takes place over 13 weeks.
• It normally includes completion of a limited
  capability for work questionnaire and attendance
  at a medical examination.

8
Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

• You can claim DLA if you are disabled, are
  aged under 65 and need help to look after
  yourself or have difficulty walking or getting
  around.
• DLA is tax free and not means tested.
• DLA has two components
• the care component, which has three rates of
  payment and
• the mobility component, which has two rates of
  payment.
• You can be paid one or both components
  depending on your needs.
• There is a three month waiting period before
  DLA can be paid and someones care and mobility
  needs must be expected to last at least six
  months.

9
Attendance Allowance (AA)

• You can claim AA if you are disabled, are aged
  over 65 and need help to look after yourself.
• There are two rates of payment
• a lower rate care component and
• a higher rate care component.
• Unlike DLA there is no mobility component.
• AA is tax free and not means tested.

10
Carers Allowance (CA)

• CA is a benefit for people who regularly spend
  at least 35 hours a week caring for a disabled
  person.
• The amount of savings you have does not
  affect your CA although you cannot receive it if
  your earnings are over 100 per week.
• To get CA you must be caring for a person who
  is receiving either higher or middle rate care
  component of disability living allowance,
  attendance allowance

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Other benefits?

• Depending on your family make-up, income and
  savings
• income support, pension credit, working tax
  credit, child tax credit housing or council tax
  benefit might be payable on top of DLA, AA or CA.
• one off grants or loans available from the social
  fund
• Disability Alliance has produced free
  downloadable factsheets on all the benefits
  mentioned available _at_ www.disabilityalliance.org/f
  act.htm
• Disability Alliance also has a free
  downloadable factsheet on how to find a local
  advice centre available _at_ http//www.disabilityall
  iance.org/f15.htm

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Work Capability Assessment

• over half of all appeals are social security and
  child support appeals
• over half of all SSCS appeals are IB/ESA
• 1 in 3 WCA decisions go to appeal
• 40 WCA decisions overturned

13
WCA mis-assessments

• loss of support to disabled people
• loss of extra financial support
• stress and anxiety
• makes health problems worse
• Tribunal Service backlog and cost

14
New WCA from 28 March 2011

• unless claim already underway
• 10,000 incapacity benefits claimants a week being
  re-tested for ESA using the WCA

15
Changes to limited capability for work physical
health descriptors

• walking mobilising
• significant discomfort significant
  discomfort or exhaustion
• standing/sitting remaining at workstation
• no score for bending and kneeling
• sensory impairments

16

• mental health and learning difficulties
• reduced from 10 to 7 descriptors
• memory and concentration
• execution of tasks
• initiating and sustaining personal action
• inability to complete a task
• coping with social situations
• propriety of behaviour
• dealing with other people
• coping with social engagement
• appropriateness of behaviour

17
time-limiting contributory ESA for WRAG
claimants

• 400,000 people on
• Incapacity Benefit or
• contribution based ESA
• lose all support after one year

18
Personal Independence Payment

• Welfare Reform Bill
• replaces Disability Living Allowance
• 20 budget cut
• 652,000 on low rate care to cease

19
Personal Independence Payment

• age 16-65
• need help for six months before claiming
• two components
• daily living component
• no low rate
• no night needs
• no supervision needs
• mobility component  

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PIP activities for daily living

1. planning and buying food and drink
2. preparing and cooking
3. taking nutrition
4. managing medication and monitoring health
   conditions
5. managing prescribed therapies other than
   medication
6. washing, bathing and grooming
7. managing toilet needs or incontinence
8. dressing and undressing
9. communicating with others

21
PIP

• fluctuating needs
• continual and intermittent needs
• fixed period awards
• social and leisure activities

22
Social Fund

• Regulated Social Fund
• will remain
• Discretionary payments
• replaced by new local provision
• Budgeting loans and crisis loans
• replaced by payments on account

23

• Passported Benefits under Universal Credit, eg
  free prescriptions
• Social Security Advisory Committee
  Consultationclosing date for responses 22 July
  2011.

24
Work Programme

• 2.9 million people
• including 1.5 million on incapacity benefits
• less support for disabled jobseekers
• less cash
• more conditionality

25
Work Programme
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conditionality

• none the ESA support group
• Work-focused interview
• Work preparation ESA WRAG
• all - JSA

27
Universal Credit

• Disability Alliance
• www.disabilityalliance.org

28
Universal Credit will replace

• child tax credit
• housing benefit
• income related employment and support allowance
• income based jobseekers allowance
• income support
• social fund budgeting loans
• working tax credit

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What about other benefits?

• Universal credit does not include
• carers allowance
• contributory jobseekers allowance
• contributory employment and support allowance
• disability living allowance
• child benefit
• industrial injuries disablement benefit
• statutory sick pay
• pension credit
• council tax benefit
• maternity allowance
• statutory maternity pay

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Aims of Universal Credit

• According to the Government universal credit aims
  to
• improve work incentives
• smooth the transitions into and out of work
• simplify the system by making it easier to
  understand and cheaper to administer.

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When will it be introduced?

• Current claimants will be migrated to
  universal credit starting in 2013 and finishing
  in the next Parliament.
• Pilots will run from May 2013.
• A full national roll out will begin from
  October 2013.

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Who can claim Universal Credit?

• Those on a low income who are unemployed, working
  in a low paid job or are sick or disabled and
  unable to work.
• The amount of universal credit will depend on
  your level of income and other family
  circumstances.
• There will be a basic personal amount with
  additional amounts for disability, caring
  responsibilities, children and housing costs.

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How much will it be?

• The amount of universal credit will depend on
  your level of income and other family
  circumstances.
• There will be a basic personal amount for a
  single person or coupe with additional amounts
  for
• disability
• caring responsibilities
• children and
• housing costs.

34
How much will it be?

• There will be two components which will be
  similar to the support and work related
  components for ESA. These will be
• a higher addition (ESA support component
  equivalent)
• a lower addition (ESA work-related activity
  component equivalent).

35
How much will it be?

• It is intended that there will also be
• Equalised disability additions for adults and
  children including increased support for the most
  severely disabled children
• Eligibility for the disabled child additions
  will, as now, be linked to the rate of Disability
  Living Allowance they receive.

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What about existing claimants?

• If you are getting ESA you will eventually be
  moved onto universal credit. There will still be
  a work capability assessment under universal
  credit.
• If you are on an incapacity benefit you will be
  reassessed under the Work Capability Assessment
  and if you pass the test will be 'migrated' onto
  ESA between October 2010 and March 2014.
• This process overlaps with the conversion of ESA
  claimants to universal credit and it is not clear
  how these two processes will interact.

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What about existing claimants?

• The Government has said that transitional
  protection will apply to current claimants.
• This should mean that no claimant at the point
  of transition will be made worse off as a direct
  result of the introduction of Universal Credit.

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resources

• Disability Rights Handbook and factsheets
• published by Disability Alliance
• 020 7247 8776 (not an advice line)
• office_at_disabilityalliance.org
• www.disabilityalliance.org

39
Questions for discussion at your table and with
your communication champion

• 1. We have mentioned several changes to ESA and
  the Work Capability Assessment
• Which one causes you the most concern?

40
Questions for discussion at your table and with
your communication champion

• 2. We have mentioned several changes to
  Disability Living Allowance and Personal
  Independence Payment
• Which one causes you the most concern?

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• 3. 45 4.30 Workshop session 1
• Benefits for people of working age
• 4.45 5.30 Workshop session 2
• Benefits for people aged over 65 years
• Terrace
• Write down your question and bring it to the
  workshop