Welfare Rights Team - Annual Report 2023/2024

The Welfare Fund Team is responsible for the administration of the Scottish Welfare Fund (Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants) as well as Discretionary Housing Payments on behalf of the Scottish Government. Since the creation of the Scottish Welfare Fund in 2013, the purpose of the Fund has been to provide statutory, emergency assistance to low-income households experiencing financial crisis and to support low-income households to maintain independent living.

We have a statutory duty to deliver the service in such a way that we look beyond the presenting issues and to tackle the root cause of the crisis (finding longer-term sustainable solutions for households) whilst also meeting the short-term need. Both of these components are of equal importance for households.

The Scottish Welfare Fund was therefore strategically placed alongside the Welfare Rights Team in 2013 to ensure a seamless flow of crisis intervention and preventative work. Crisis intervention and advice wrapped around our customers should they agree to take up the offer of both.

As part of the Council's Programme of Transformation, the "Money Hub" was created from 1^st June 2023 which saw all contacts in respect of crisis caused by financial hardship transferred back to the Scottish Welfare Fund Team so that a specialist advisor is on-hand at the first point of contact. This included the transfer of the "Community Assistance" line which was created during the coronavirus pandemic to assist those that required food assistance (those shielding etc) to make seamless referrals to community groups and foodbanks.

The aim of this transformation project is to ensure that the residents of Perth and Kinross Council in financial crisis have consistent access to a specialist advisor at the first point of contact. The team takes a rights-based and cash-first approach to all customer contact ensuring that residents are aware of their statutory entitlements as opposed to being referred for in-kind food assistance as a first response to crisis. A cash-first approach is a more dignified approach to crisis intervention than in-kind food assistance and we have a statutory duty placed on us by Scottish Government to both promote the Welfare Fund and to deliver the Welfare Fund using a holistic approach ensuring that the correct financial support is provided and not simply a reactive Crisis Grant award, examples of this include, other payments delivered by the local authority that the household has not claimed or refunding a credit from a Council Tax account, there are many occasions when Crisis Grants are refused because the household can be lifted out of crisis that negates the need for a Crisis Grant. We are actively contributing to the Scottish Government's Scottish Welfare Fund 22 point Action Plan and were instrumental in contributing toward it's development as we are one of three local authorities that were selected to represent all local authorities on both the Scottish Welfare Fund Advisory Board and the subsequent Scottish Welfare Fund Statutory Guidance Committee.

In terms of the 22 Point Action Plan we:

• Actively participate in the SWF Practitioner's Forum.
• All of our decision letters signpost to tailored holistic support, however, we go further by offering seamless referral (and have done so since 2013).
• Have publicity materials in a range of languages (hard copy and social media).
• Prioritise grant applications based on vulnerability, including people being released from prison, people in homeless hostels and families with dependent children.
• Do not use the under 25 daily rate for Crisis Grants (we haven't since 2016).
• Have continued to use the covid-19 SWF daily rates rather than reduce these in-line with current benefit amounts.
• Only request evidence once all internal sources of evidence have been exhausted.

Throughout 2023/24 the Welfare Fund Team made 686 referrals to the Welfare Rights Team for benefits advice, assistance and representation. As with the overall trend of referrals, around half of the households assessed were in receipt of their full entitlements at the time of referral. Of the households where there were entitlements missing we know that a minimum of 99 households, so far, have had benefits paid (149 benefit claims) to them to the total sum of £651,136.73 in verified benefit gains. The combined effect of limited resources, household non-engagement once crisis alleviated and delays with benefit decisions means that we are confident that this figure should/will be much higher with the passage of time.

All customers are encouraged to apply for Crisis Grants as a first response to their crisis and that allows us to explore longer-term sustainable solutions for households with a view to preventing crisis at a future time as well as to prevent unnecessary demand on foodbanks and community groups. A Crisis Grant application results in a robust assessment of household need to ensure that the right advice is given at the right time using a best value approach. This rights-based and cash-first way of working seeks to achieve the following:

• To ensure access to cash as a more dignified response to crisis. Crisis Grants are a statutory cash-first approach to crisis intervention that follow a robust assessment of household circumstances.
• To ensure that households are offered referrals to the Welfare Rights Team/Citizen's Advice Bureau/Employability Service and other onward referrals to support services in order to minimise the likelihood of further crisis via longer-term sustainable solutions for households.  Last year of the 173 households we seamlessly referred to Perth CAB, 76 of them were in respect of fuelbank vouchers.
• To promote household independence by preventing unnecessary demand on foodbanks and community groups.

During 2022/23 Crisis Grant demand was as follows:

Last financial year (2023/24) Crisis Grant demand was as follows:

2023/24 saw a 13% increase in Crisis Grant demand and simultaneously there was a 29% reduction in referrals to the main foodbanks in the area. Crisis Grants tide households over until their next payment date and this can be up to 28 days, where as foodbank parcels normally only tide households over for 3 days so households are supported throughout their crisis meaning they do not have to make repeat contact for assistance which reduces referrals to foodbanks.

Welfare Fund referrals to Perth and Blairgowrie foodbanks are shown below for the past two financial years:

Perth and Blairgowrie foodbanks are reporting a 4% reduction in referrals for food overall compared to last financial year.

Minimising referrals to foodbanks and community groups and encouraging Crisis Grant applications means that we can tide households over until their next payment of income. A foodbank referral aims to tide a household over for 3 days where as a Crisis Grant award can tide a household over for up to 28 days, thus preventing repeat referrals to foodbanks and community groups for the same household within the same payment period. This approach is most likely to ensure that households have access to quality benefits advice and income maximisation that may prevent future crisis by ensuring that all entitlements are in place.

The Welfare Fund and Welfare Rights Teams work together at all times but especially at times of high demand to minimise the risk of any vulnerable households going without. We can therefore report that during 2023/24, the Welfare Rights Team made 243 FIF payments the same day that the household applied, we direct our resources during times of greatest demand to prevent delays in getting cash to vulnerable households, to alleviate pressure on the Welfare Fund Team (especially during periods of high demand e.g. August and January), to prevent demand on foodbanks and community groups and to make the best use of the resources available.

Foodbank outreach and Liaison

An integral part of our crisis intervention and prevention work is an on-site outreach at Perth and Kinross Foodbank. Since October 2023, the Welfare Rights Team has provided a weekly outreach surgery at Perth Foodbank premises, this has allowed us a fantastic opportunity for partnership working reducing barriers for customers, raising awareness and improving access to both Welfare Fund and Welfare Rights services. We extended the outreach to two days a week from March 2024 to provide an enhanced service to the Romanian community. Access to both services also ensures onward referrals to other relevant services for support and assistance. The Welfare Rights Officer acts as a liaison between the Foodbank, the Welfare Fund Team and the Welfare Rights Team to bring together all of the components parts that successfully achieve both the crisis response and the longer-term sustainable outcomes that we seek.

32 households have received welfare rights advice and access to Crisis Grants following our weekly presence at the Foodbank premises in Perth. The majority of referrals are for single households and minority ethnic family households. The most common reasons for foodbank referral and advice is benefit sanction and people not claiming the appropriate level of Universal Credit for their circumstances which means that they are more likely to be sanctioned. EEA Nationals with no settled or no pre-settled status is another group that we regularly capture during outreach and we are often able to provide a cash-first response to those households (that tend to be households with dependent children) via the FIF scheme.

Welfare Fund and Foodbank outreach case studies

Samina was referred to Welfare Rights Team by Scottish Welfare Fund Team, she is Asian and was fleeing a domestic abuse situation while pregnant.

We supported her to claim Council Tax Reduction, Single Person's Discount on her Council Tax liability, Universal Credit (UC) and Discretionary Housing Payment (the latter until her baby was born).

We also assisted with an application for the Best Start Grant.

When baby was born we claimed Child Benefit, Scottish Child Payment and added her baby onto her UC claim.

There were challenges regarding the her Child Benefit claim due to her evidence around her immigration status so this was delayed, however, we managed to overcome these issues in the end.

Samina was also awarded a Welfare Trust payment of £230, a Community Care Grant in respect of furnishings and flooring and a Financial Insecurity Fund payment of £330.

When Samina was referred to us she had no money other than a Crisis Grant that had been awarded.

Following our involvement her weekly income was as follows:

Universal Credit - £147.30 per week (£638.32 arrears)

Child Benefit - £24 per week (£528 arrears).

Scottish Child Payment - £25 per week (£250 arrears).

Best Start Grant - £707.25 one-off payment.

Best Start Foods - £34 per week during pregnancy (£340 arrears).

No rent to pay.

Patrick

Patrick presented at the foodbank from a rural location looking for a food parcel. He had hitchhiked into Perth due to not having any funds because of a Universal Credit (UC) sanction which came about, in part, due to his mobile phone being broken. He was unable to maintain contact with his UC Work Coach or to update his UC Journal. When he arrived at the foodbank it quickly became apparent that he hadn't been referred for food and so the Welfare Rights Officer offered to submit a Crisis Grant application for him, along with an application to the Welfare Trust to help him get a mobile phone and some clothes. A foodbank referral was also organised along with a bus ticket to get him back home safely.

The Welfare Rights Officer requested a fast-track of his Crisis Grant application so that he would not have to come into Perth from his rural location without any funds again (Patrick's bank account was overdrawn so he could not be paid by electronic bank transfer). He was awarded a Crisis Grant to tide him over the next 14 days and this was paid via PayPoint voucher which he could redeem at any PayPoint outlet. He was also awarded £200 from the Welfare Trust within a few days of his first contact with us, allowing him to buy a phone and some new clothes. The phone allows him to keep his UC Journal up-to-date and gives him more freedom and the ability to stay connected from his rural location.

He was also awarded a £100 one-off payment from the Financial Insecurity Fund to help with the additional costs associated with living rurally. The Welfare Rights Team helped Patrick to challenge his UC sanction decision which was over-turned and we also advised him to submit a fit note to DWP because of his health conditions. He was also assisted to make a claim for Adult Disability Payment. Following our advice, Patrick had gone from having no income due to sanction, no mobile phone and one change of outdoor clothes to his UC being reinstated with additional income following our involvement as below:

Universal Credit was was reinstated following a favourable sanction decision and increased the amount he was paid from £393.45/month to £747.73/month due to his health condition and UC awarding him the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) element which reduced the conditions on his UC claim and means that he will be less likely to be sanctioned in the future. This is likely to mean less chance of financial crisis in the future too for Patrick and less reliance on Crisis Grants and foodbanks/community groups as a result.

Adult Disability Payment was awarded at :£24.45/week with back-dated benefit of £562.35 paid.

Lila

Lila presented at the foodbank following referral from the JobCentre Plus, the Welfare Rights Officer helped her to apply for a Crisis Grant and an award was made for 9 days until her next benefit payment, she'd fallen into crisis because she'd be trying to make payments towards her rent to prevent her landlord taking steps to evict her. He also helped her to apply for a Financial Insecurity Fund payment to help with her rent arrears. It was identified that she was not getting the housing element within her Universal Credit, leading to her arrears. It was quickly apparent that this should not have been the case and she was missing out on hundreds of pounds a month.

English is not Lila's first language so it was important to make sure she was understanding everything that was going on so all communication with Lila was undertaken via Language Line. In the beginning, DWP stated that Lila was at fault for not reporting her housing costs correctly. After months of back and forth with Universal Credit, Lila was found to have done everything correctly. She was therefore awarded over £4000 in backdated UC Housing Costs that had been unpaid for over a year. She now receives the correct benefits and has paid her rent arrears that were not her fault. No Financial Insecurity Fund payment was required because Lila's rent arrears were paid in full by UC once we challenged the DWP decision on Lila's UC entitlement.

Testimonial from Perth and Kinross Foodbank Manager

"Perth and Kinross Foodbanks are facing unprecedented levels of demand - both in terms of client numbers and the complexity of presentations.  Having a member of the Welfare Rights Team conducting outreach at our premises has been invaluable; facilitating direct access between worried and distressed clients experiencing food and financial insecurity, with empathetic and knowledgeable advisors who put them at ease and highlight opportunities/means of mitigating their stresses and pressures.  Knowing an advisor is present gives our team the confidence to instigate exploratory conversations, directly linking our clients to a source of support in a timely manner.  We have had clients report a sense of relief and huge appreciation for the non-judgemental and assets based approach they have experienced.  

A huge thank you, on behalf of the Foodbank team, for the time and dedication you demonstrate week on week to aid not only our clients, but our team and broader organisation, as we actively promote a cash first approach and the need to the end reliance on Foodbanks"

Lori Hughes, Foodbank Manager

Transformation

Consolidating all things financially-related into one area allows us to make the best use of public money and reduces the scope for replication and duplication of services. It also means direct access to a specialist advisor who will undertake a robust assessment of household circumstances before making a decision or giving advice. This change has been achieved despite no additional resources and despite an increase in workload however improved partnership working with foodbanks and community groups and our Partners, generally, including schools, prisons, Community Justice, Housing Support, Social Work teams, Aberlour, Perth CAB and Health has allowed us to take a much more preventative approach.

We will continue to work with foodbank and community group referral agents, as we have during 2023/24, to divert referrals away from foodbanks and community groups to the Welfare Fund to ensure that robust assessment takes place, so that households are offered and provided with the right advice at the right time and to ensure that those in greatest need are provided with a dignified and rights-based approach to crisis support.

So what next?

Our Scottish Welfare Fund Team will be delivering outreach sessions at Perth and Glenochil in the coming year and this will be a first in Scotland, having a decision maker on hand to assist people in prison with all things Welfare Fund-related as an early intervention and prevention mechanism.

We will also be referral agents for the Babybank from May 2024.