Scottish Social Security Consortium

Minutes of meeting 8 May 2007

Present:
Lorna Bernard - HAIN
Abigail Bremner - Capability Scotland
Helen Fordyce - Scottish Refugee Council
Faye Gatenby - Capability Scotland
Alison Gillies - Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland
Lindsay Isaacs - CAS (minute-taker)
Alice MacAlister - One Parent Families Scotland
Jo McLaughlin - The Action Group
Judith Paterson - Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland (Chair)
Nick Walk - Help the Aged

Apologies
Colette Cummins - RNIB
Craig Dunlop- Shelter
Angela Toal - Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland
John Wilson - Scottish Low Pay Unit
Carol Young - Scottish Low Pay Unit

Welcome and minutes of the previous meeting
Judith Paterson welcomed everyone to the meeting. Minutes of the meeting held on 21 February 2007 were agreed as an accurate record.

What's new? April changes to benefits and tax credits

Judith Paterson started the meeting by delivering a presentation on April 07 changes to benefits and tax credits. The handout and slides are appended to these minutes.

Benefit uprating: Benefits were uprated in a variety of ways in April 2007:

• Contributory and non-contributory by the RPI - 3.6%
• Means tested benefits by the ROSSI index - 3% (the ROSSI index is essentially the RPI with housing costs removed)
• Child benefit in line with inflation
• The child element of CTC in line with average earnings

The fact that the child element of CTC was increased by average earnings is positive, as this leads to a greater increase than other forms of uprating. This is intended to help the Government combat child poverty and meet its targets on this issue. However, other elements such as the disabled child element only rose in line with inflation, and the family element did not rise at all.

Disability Living Allowance (DLA): A new adult DLA form has been in use since the end of April 2007. This form was piloted in the north west of England for about a year - Judith noted that she had not seen any evaluation published by the DWP, but they had decided to roll it out.

Compared with the previous form, the style is based on tick boxes with leads to provide additional relevant information, rather than big blank boxes. However, there are still boxes in which to add extra open-ended information. Overall, it seems to look easier to complete and to gather more and better information.

One concern is the questions relating to the mobility component of DLA. There is scope for people to contradict themselves whilst answering it, as requirements to estimate, for example, how long it might take to walk 40 metres. People are notoriously poor at accurately estimating distances. People should instead be encouraged to actually time themselves walking a set distance, rather than guessing.

DLA/AA special rules: The special rules for DLA and AA apply to people who are terminally ill and likely to die within a six month period. The special rules provide automatic entitlement high rate care (although claimants must still pass the normal tests for the mobility component) and also mean that the claim is processed more quickly.

Special rules claims are now fixed for three years and then re-examined. However, they used to be awarded indefinitely and the DWP is becoming increasingly concerned about people who were awarded DLA/AA through the special rules and are living for a long time and continuing to claim DLA/AA under the special rules. The DWP has therefore started a sample review of claimants who have been in receipt of DLA/AA under the special rules for more than seven years. These claimants will receive enquiry forms which will establish if their awards can be revised to normal awards or, in some cases, they might not qualify at all. It is not clear what the DWP will do in cases where awards are revised - will it treat the claimants as being in receipt of recoverable overpayments because they failed to report a change of circumstances?

Judith referred the group to a recent case (R(DLA)7/06) which went to the social security commissioners, regarding a client who went back to work when terminally ill and did not tell the DWP.

Maternity and adoption benefits: Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), Maternity Allowance (MA) and Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP) have all been improved as the maximum periods of payment have been increased from 26 to 39 weeks. Additionally, the Government has pledged to extend these to 52 weeks by 2010. Women can also choose to transfer some of the leave to the father by extending their paternity leave. Alice MacAlister from OPF Scotland noted a possible issue in that whilst SMP has been extended to 39 weeks, Ordinary Maternity Leave (OML) and Additional Maternity Leave (AML) both remain at 26 weeks. AML is not automatic and has to be applied for, but people might not realise this because SMP is 39 weeks.

Rules about work you can undertake whilst receiving SMP, MA and SAP have also been relaxed, so that claimants can now carry out up to 10 days of work (called 'keeping in touch' days) without it having any impact on entitlement.

JCP rollout: The DWP's rollout of Jobcentre Plus was almost entirely complete by March 2007.

• Contact Centres (CCs) deal with initial claims, sending claimants to JCP offices for work focused interviews etc
• Benefit Delivery Centres (BDCs) deal with claim decisions and maintenance
• JCP local offices are primarily focused on getting people into employment rather than assisting with claims and form-filling

A key concern relating to the rollout of JPC is the cost of phoning CCs or BDCs. Helen Fordyce from SRC noted that she had seen cases where JCP staff have refused to call people back on mobile phones as it is too expensive. The Government has promised an 0800 number for BDCs, which would solve some of these issues but, critically, would not help people calling from mobile phones.

Work Focused Interviews (WFIs): These are a very prominent feature of current Government welfare policy. The WFI requirement has increased for some lone parents claiming income support:

• Children aged 5-13: six monthly WFIs for the duration of the claim (previously were six monthly for the first year and then once a year)
• Children aged 14 & 15: six monthly WFIs for the first year and then three monthly (no change)
• Additionally, a pilot is being run in various JCP districts - including Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders - which requires lone parents to attend three monthly WFIs when their youngest child reaches 11 (during the first year of their claim WFIs remain six-monthly)

These changes are in the context of stated improvements in childcare - by 2010 the intention is to have in place wrap-around school-based childcare from 8am till 6pm. However, Alice MacAlister noted that childcare is still the biggest barrier that lone parents face in returning to work. Coverage is very patchy and the costs are prohibitive. Additionally, childcare is extremely limited for children with disabilities and/or additional needs.

Judith noted that the Government is considering proposals that are more radical for lone parents. For instance, the recent Freud Review proposes that lone parents transfer from Income Support to Jobseeker's Allowance when their youngest child reaches 12, instead of 16. There was a general consensus among the group that this change would happen.

Tax credits: The majority of tax credit changes have been designed with the aim of reducing the level of overpayments. For instance, the annual declaration deadline has been moved from 31 August to 31 July. This is a positive step, as it means that if claimants are being paid too much, they will not have as many months in which to accrue large overpayments. There has been no change to the timing of the second deadline in the following January. if claimants only submit their annual declaration by the second deadline and can demonstrate that they have 'good cause' for the delay, the claim can be backdated to the previous April. It is therefore positive that this second deadline has remained in the same place as it essentially gives claimants a longer window between the first and second deadlines.

However, penalties are going to become more of an issue in relation to tax credits, as the list of what claimants have to report is growing. There are laws (in the form of regulations) about where penalties can be applied, but they are discretionary, so the HMRC also publishes guidance about when to apply them.

Benefits for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals: On 1 January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania (the A2 countries) joined the EU. The right to work and right to reside of A2 migrant workers are restricted, as is their right to benefits. Exemptions apply to certain groups such as those who are highly skilled and who have been issued with a registration card for a certain type of employment.

Healthy start scheme: This is a scheme which replaces the Welfare Food Scheme, and provides free vitamins and vouchers for milk, fruit and vegetables for pregnant women, mothers and children on low incomes. For most groups, eligibility is based on entitlement to a qualifying benefit (IS, I-JSA, CTC with some restrictions). Pregnant women aged under 18, however, are eligible whether or not they are in receipt of a qualifying benefit.

Welfare to work linking rules: These linking rules allow people who move into work/training from an incapacity related benefit to reclaim their benefit on exactly the same terms if they become incapable of work again within a specified period, From October 2006 this period was doubled from 52 to 104 weeks. The rules have also been simplified so that claimants no longer have to notify the DWP that they have started work/training. The 104 week protection applies afresh whenever someone leaves benefit to start work or training.

Disregards for IS/JSA: Disregards for IS and JSA have changed:

• Charitable income: is now fully disregarded (used to be a £20 disregard)
• Voluntary income: is now fully disregarded (used to be a £20 disregard)
• Personal injury payment: income is now fully disregarded (used to be a £20 disregard)

Case law: DLA and communication: A tribunal of commissioners (R(DLA)1/07) has held that brain function counts as a bodily function. This should help people with autistic spectrum disorders qualify for the care component of DLA, as they may get DLA to help them overcome their problems interacting with other people.

Matters arising
Judith Paterson noted that the Welfare Reform Bill received Royal Assent on 4 May 2007. Although there were no substantive shifts in policy, a few successes can be noted, such as removing from contracted-out organisations the power to decide on whether or not to apply sanctions to claimants who may not be complying with conditionality requirements. In other words, decisions on the application of sanctions will remain solely with Jobcentre Plus The Bill is now at the regulations stage, so there is still scope to try and influence the details of the legislation. Draft regulations are available in the welfare reform section of the DWP website.

Information Exchange
Abi Bremner from Capability Scotland commented on the revised PCA which had been piloted in the south of England. The testing has been 'behind the scenes' ie using the existing test for real claimants but shadowing it with the revised PCA. Abi noted that it seemed like the revised PCA made it easier for people with mental health conditions to qualify, but harder for those with physical conditions. Judith reported that she had heard similar feedback and that, because the revised PCA made it so much harder for people with physical conditions, it has been revised again and is in the process of being re-tested. The statistics from the first set of pilots have been released and are available on the DWP website.

Lindsay Isaacs from CAS reported that a CAB adviser had seen a number of cases where tribunals and commissioners were using the 'treadmill test' as the ultimate test of a person's ability to walk, when the test is actually designed to measure how the heart copes with exercise. Appeals are difficult as commissioners feel unable to dispute this medical evidence, despite the fact that the treadmill test does not assess ability to walk. The group noted that the treadmill test has been used at tribunals for some time - in some cases is might be relevant to a claimant's heart condition, but in other cases it might be being used inappropriately to assess ability to walk. It was agreed that advisers need to understand exactly what certain medical tests measure as they can be put on the back foot otherwise, particularly at appeal tribunals as medical officers there will have very through understandings of different medical tests used. It is also possible that the use of evidence based on tests such as the treadmill test might increase, as the new DLA form asks if the claimant has attended a pain management clinic. Although this information needs to be provided, the claimant/adviser can ensure they highlight where it is and is not relevant.

The group discussed a recent case (CDLA/2747/2006) relating to 'Waddell Signs'. These refer to instances when an individual has responded to certain specific tests in a manner which suggests they are exaggerating their symptoms. The Commissioners concluded that the presence of Waddell Signs may be indicative of exaggeration of symptoms, but is not in itself conclusive.

Helen Fordyce reported ongoing and significant problems with JCP benefit delivery, with severe delays in payment leading to families facing destitution. It is virtually impossible to contact any of the local offices, contact centres or benefit delivery centres by phone or fax. Many of these problems are the same as those faced by non-refugee families, but with the additional difficulties of, for instance, getting NINos. She is collecting case studies and considering taking the issue to the press or politicians.

Lorna Bernard from HAIN noted that she was seeing problems in relation to contacting Clydebank BDC by phone. She reported that a number of articles had appeared in the Northern Star paper on this issue, including one highlighting the fact that Clydebank BDC had been operating on only 20 phone lines.

Alison Gillies from CPAG in Scotland reported that HMRC has still not issued the revised version of COP26 (What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?), but it is expected very soon. Also, leaflet COP1 (Putting things right. How to complain) has been replaced by a new factsheet.

Alison also reported that the CPAG in Scotland tax credit project has been issuing monthly email updates of its activity. New factsheets have also been produced on judicial review and challenging decisions. Alison noted that, although judicial review is not an easy option for claimants or advisers as it needs to be done on an individual case by case basis, people should be aware of it as a potential option. The following factsheets are planned for production in the near future: tax credits for IS/JSA claimants; tax credits and passported benefits; tax credit penalties.

Judith Paterson from CPAG in Scotland commented on confusion over the centralisation of social fund payments. The group thought that social fund delivery is now operating out of two BDCs - Inverness and Springburn, but it was agreed that Lindsay would contact Graham Gould from JCP to clarify this situation. [Post meeting note: Social fund payments and crisis loans are currently administered in three Benefit Delivery Centres, Springburn, Inverness and Portobello. Portobello work will move to Springburn BDC later this year and will be confirmed nearer the time.]

Judith also alerted group members to the extension of the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) across the DWP. The ICE considers complaints from customers who are dissatisfied with the way in which their complaints have been handled by the Department, for instance if they feel they have not been treated fairly or their complaint has not been handled in a satisfactory manner. This is important as people need to complain about poor service as well as appealing against unfavourable decisions.

Topics for future meetings

Possible future topics were suggested:

• September 07: Integration Loans
• November 07: ESA or city pilots
• Additional topics: Changes to the CSA and the impact of these changes (for sometime in the future); someone from HMRC to answer a list of technical questions

AOB
Lindsay reported that she had now been permanently appointed as Social Policy Officer at CAS.

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For more information contact:
Judith Paterson
Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland,
Unit 9, Ladywell
94 Duke Street,
Glasgow G4 0UW
0141 552 3303
email jpaterson@cpagscotland.org.uk

Abigail Bremner
Citizens Advice Scotland
Spectrum House
2 Powderhall Road
Edinburgh EH7 4GB
0131 550 1000
email bremnera@cas.org.uk