Deven Ghelani, founder and director of Policy in Practice, delivered this presentation on the role data can play to help tackle consumer debt at Utility Week's Consumer Debt Conference on 28 February 2019.
Deven's talk covered case studies about how water authorities and local authorities are working together, using their data, to identify and prevent vulnerability. Specifically:
- How to optimise your data analysis to better understand the problem and create a solution
- How public sector data can be used to overcome barriers to credit
- How to identify people in danger of crisis before it hits – a strategic plan to prevent hardship
For more details visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242
The debt landscape in response to a changing policy environment
1. Deven Ghelani
Policy in Practice THE DEBT LANDSCAPE
IN RESPONSE TO A
CHANGING POLICY
ENVIRONMENT
Consumer Debt Conference, Utility
Week 2019
2. Agenda
• About Policy in Practice
• The impact of recent policy changes on low income
households
• Initiatives to help support vulnerable consumers
• A national initiative to pool data on low income families
3. A team of
professionals
with extensive
knowledge of the
welfare system
who are
passionate about
making social
policy work
We help local
authorities use
their household
level data to
identify
vulnerable
households,
target support
and track their
interventions
We develop
engaging software
that helps people
to increase their
income, reduce
their costs and
helps them to
build their
financial
resilience
4. Our analysis of Budget 2018
• £1.7 billion boost to benefit support,
benefiting 2.5 million households (1.9m
with children & 600k with limited
capability for work)
• £1.0 billion to help 1.1m people migrating
onto Universal Credit (one-third of those
left to migrate)
• Employed households gain
• Self-employed, disabled, ill or out of work
don't gain
• Download our report
5. • 1.6 million people on
Universal Credit today
• A further 1.6m people
moving onto Universal
Credit this year
• 2.0 million people moving
on through ‘managed
migration’ from 2020.
Universal Credit is rolling out fast
6. • UC work allowances: increase by £1,000 per year (from April 2019)
• Two week run-on for those on existing DWP benefits (JSA, ESA, IS) in
addition to those receiving housing benefit (from July 2020)
• Self employed: Protection extended to all; assessed on actual income (not
MIF) for 12 months (from July 2019)
• Deductions from UC: Max rate down from 40% to 30% (from Oct 2019)
• Delay in increasing the earnings limit that triggers surplus earnings
(remains the same until 2020)
• Period for recovery of advances extended from 12 to 16 months (from Oct
2021)
• Slower roll-out of Universal Credit (end now Dec 2023)
• Plus increase in minimum wage & changes in tax allowances (from April
2019)
Budget 2018: Universal Credit changes
7. Direct payments to landlord to continue under UC,
if transferring from HB
End of UClive service
DEC2017
No new claims for UClive service after 01/01/18
UCadvances repayment period increases to 12 months
UCadvances increases to 100%of UCaward
JAN 2018
All claims migrated to UC
DEC2023
National Living Wage likely to rise to £8.80 p/hr
Housing benefit to 'run-on' for the first 2 weeks of UC
Payments for temporary accommodation improved
Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) becomes a loan
National Living Wage set at £7.83 p/hr for over 25
Personal tax allowance up from £11,500 to £11,850
APRIL 2018
www.policyinpractice.co.uk
UNIVERSAL CREDIT ROADMAP
Details subject to change
Details correct at 20 Feb 2019
FEB2018
7day waiting period for UCabolished
2017
2018
2019
2020
2023
2018
2018
Mixed age couples must make new claims for UC
instead of Pension Credit
MAY2019
JULY2019
Self-employed familiies moving to UCwon’t be affected by
minimum income floor for the first 12 months of their claim.
Managed migration pilot will begin (starts in full end 2019)
2019
2019
2019
End of Full Service roll out
JAN 2019
New UCclaims for households with 2+
children
FEB2019
APRIL2019
NLW will increase to £8.21p/hr for over 25s
Personal tax allowance will increase to £12,500
Higher rate tax threshold will increase to £50,000
UCWork Allowances will increase by £1,000/year.
2019
APRIL 2020
8. Managed migration was scaled back for 2019,
although around 1.6m people will still move onto
Universal Credit this year via natural migration.
The two-child limit to benefits would not apply to
children born before April 2017.
Flexible payments, including direct payments to
landlords, split payments, and the payment of
Universal Credit going to the main carer by default.
The Secretary of State is also looking at options to
reduce the five-week wait for new claimants, and
accelerate childcare payments to providers.
The High Court found in favour of four working
mothers who challenged how the DWP took account
of monthly earnings.
New Secretary of State – new direction?
11. 111111
Initiatives to support vulnerable households
Build your social tariffs into a single assessment tool
License the tool for advisors to enable holistic support
Work with local authorities - use data to target support
tariffs to vulnerable consumers most in need
Work with central government - Learn more about
national initiatives to match data and pool enforcement
resources.
12. Build your social tariffs into a single assessment tool, used
by 10,000 people each day via GOV.UK
13. License the tool for advisors so they can give holistic
support, improving people’s ability to repay in future
14. Work with local authorities: Use their data to target support tariffs to
vulnerable people, including those less likely to ask for support
15. Cambridge councils
partnership with South
Staffs water.
Connected to DHPs:
£55k to 210 people
Removed the income
threshold.
Great partnership.
Work with local authorities
16. Reimagine Debt
A cross-departmental
initiative to improve
enforcement activity across
government and the private
sector.
Cabinet Office are pooling
data to better understand
households to improve
collection and better support
households in crisis.
Work with central government: Learn about national initiatives to match
data and pool enforcement resources
17. A new measure of poverty for the UK
Takes into account household income,
and household needs.
What is water poverty?
How can you eliminate it by 2030?
Water Poverty: A new measure
18. Summary
• People are still set to be worse off and Universal Credit is rolling out fast.
• Utility companies can help people to tackle their debts by giving people
access to social tariffs.
• You can offer them holistic support too. Your vulnerability teams can check
eligibility and increase take-up of local and national support, making it more
likely that your customers will be able to pay their bills.
• You can also work with central and local government to pool data and share
resources, helping you to target your support to reach the most vulnerable.
• What is your consumer vulnerability strategy? Have you developed specific
plans, and would you like to advance them through analytics?