|
Further to the representations made under Minute No. 21 above, the Cabinet considered the report of the Cabinet Members Welfare Reform Reference Group which provided an update on the impact of the implementation of Welfare Reform legislation so far; work that partners and the Council were doing collectively, around the mitigation of impact where possible; and the preparatory work for further Welfare Reform legislation impacts.
Members of the Cabinet referred to the assistance given to Sefton residents as detailed in the report and to the additional financial support given to Sefton Citizens Advice Bureau to enable them to fund the recruitment of additional volunteers, to enable more assessments to be undertaken during extended opening hours.
The Chair commented that the Government would amend the regulations, if it was seen that local authorities were using ‘loop holes’ to provide discretionary housing payments to local residents and he indicated that the Council would continue to work with partners to try and mitigate the impact of the Governments welfare reform legislation as far as possible.
This was a Key Decision and was included in the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions.
|
Decision Made:
That:
(1) the incredible energy and commitment from partners and within the Council to mitigate the impact wherever possible be noted and encouraged;
(2) the timeline for the implementation of Welfare Reform legislation as set out in Appendix A of the report be noted;
(3) the progress to date on the Partnership Action Plan themes as set out in Section 2 of the report be noted;
(4) the update on the Emergency Limited Assistance Scheme as set out in Section 3 of the report be noted;
(5) the emerging issues and proposed mitigation measures as set out in Section 4 of the report be noted and endorsed; and
(6) Priority short term support wherever possible, be offered to families most affected by the Benefits Cap and that the Discretionary Housing Payments Policy be amended to include this priority as set out in paragraph 4.2 (d) of the report.
Reasons for Decision:
To ensure that the Cabinet was fully informed of the emerging impact of Welfare Reform; enable the Council to focus efforts and capacity in the most appropriate ways in order to mitigate the impact of Welfare Reform wherever possible; and to put into place any mitigating actions if possible and work with partners to do so
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
The proposed mitigation measures had been developed in partnership with key organisations such as JobCentre Plus, Citizens Advice Bureau, One Vision Housing and the voluntary, community and faith sector. Various options had been discussed and suggested at the vibrant and well attended partner workshops as well as internal workshops. All of these had been considered for deliverability and viability. The options put forward were those that were considered to have a practical and realistic outcome