DWP has quickly followed up on its “next step” plans, which included rolling out UC to 12 new council districts, in the north west of England, starting in June, 2014, by announcing its intentions of loosening the reins on the “eligibility” criteria, allowing more single tenants and couples to claim.…

Good Afternoon, I wrote to you some weeks ago explaining how the DWP had issued an HB circular to all councils instructing them to work with social landlords in an attempt to identify possible beneficiaries of the loophole. See http://www.ucadvice.co.uk/housing-associations/2014/01/urgent-bedroom-tax—dwp-accept-the-merit-of-loophole-arguement RSLs have since confirmed that their local authorities have, in…

On 29th September, Ian Duncan Smith announced the national roll-out of Universal Credit to all Jobcentres and local authority areas in the UK. Initially, claims will be restrcted to single claimants, in all areas, but in a phased implementation, claims will later be taken from couples and families. Only a…

Good afternoon, I’ve spent most of the past month visiting RSL and Private Sector clients, throughoutthe UK, anxious to secure an update on the Universal Credit rollout. Some anxiety was created by the DWP announcement, in May 2014, of a further 12 council districts “going live” from June 2014, with seemingly less…

Good Afternoon, DWP has just published its latest circular HB 12-2014. It’s designed to explain how Housing Benefit and Universal Claims must be handled by DWP and LAs when there’s a change in circumstances which affects claimants entitlement to one or both benefits. It also explains what happens when a…

Hi, DWP earlier today published HB U2/2014 its latest Housing Benefit circular, and has sent this to all HB administering authorities so that their staff can use some of the material when responding to Bedroom Tax Appeals and when making submissions to First & Upper-tier tribunals. As I’m sure you’re already…

Hi, The political and media spotlight just now is on the Universal Credit fiasco, and rightly so; every day brings another headline. Ian Duncan Smith (IDS) was recalled, earlier this week, by the Work & Pensions Committee, after its Chair and members complained they had been seriously misled by Ministers,…

Good morning, One of the most common questions we get asked by Social Landlords is: “How much of the tenant’s rent are we likely to receive and when will we receive it”? The answer, in most cases, where the tenant is unemployed, is relatively straightforward. At the point of the…

Good morning, DWP announced on 28th April “new intensive measures to help the long-term unemployed into work” would start immediately, following the re-training of 26,000 Jobcentre staff to enforce the new policy and associated measures, which apply UK wide. DWP maintains the new scheme “will give Jobcentre staff a new range of options to…

Good morning, DWP issued a press release, dated 29th April, in which it sets out, in some detail, how it proposes to roll-out Universal Credit to a range of councils and jobcentres in the North West of England. Full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/universal-credit-first-year-of-welfare-transformation-and-north-west-next-steps Probably the most significant information…