Impacts of welfare changes in Camden 6 August 2014

2 Housing benefit overview There has been an 11% decrease in new claims since 2010/11. Housing Benefit claimants make up about a third of households in Camden. Most will be affected by Universal Credit. New Claims (monthly average) Benefit claims among council and private sector tenants are sharply declining. In the private sector, rents are higher than the LHA rates.

3 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) – An overview Kilburn has the highest number of households on LHA in Camden with 655, compared to 59 households in Bloomsbury which has the lowest number in the borough. Kilburn has seen the highest increase in households on LHA, growing from 516 in April 2011, to 655 in July The highest concentration of single adult claimants (509), including lone parents (137), are in Kilburn. Regents Park has seen the biggest drop in households claiming LHA since April Kilburn has 252 households containing 480 children, meaning it is has the most children affected by LHA in Camden. 2,707 single adult households in Camden claim LHA. This is 83% of all households 1,686 children across Camden live in households claiming LHA This table shows the number of children by household. i.e. There are 544 children in 1 child households and 300 children in 2 child households. 3,253 residents claiming LHA, on average receiving £ per week

4 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) - Ward Map

5 Social Sector Size Criteria (SSSC) – Overview Point out no’s here ,514 households in Camden are affected by SSSC and on average lose £21.97 per week St Pancras & Somers Town is one of the most affected ward, with 175 households, including 67 children impacted The least impacted ward is Frognal & Fitzjohns, with 23 households affected 282 of the households in Camden affected by SSSC have children. Overall, 466 children across Camden live in homes affected by SSSC of Camden residents affected by SSSC live in council accommodation. 444 live in housing provided by a Registered Social Landlord (RSL) 1,319 households affected by SSSC are occupied by single adults. 191 of these have children. This table shows the number of children by household. i.e. There are 160 children in 1 child households and 81 children in 2 child households.

6 Social Sector Size Criteria (SSSC) – Ward Detail The highest average losses of £24.94 per week are in Hampstead households. The lowest average losses are in Haverstock, at £20.15 per week.

7 Total Benefits Cap (TBC)- An Overview £53.89 per week average benefit loss322 households affected in July 2014, 248 of these have children. 845 children affected by TBC across Camden. Majority of these children, 114, live in Kilburn Highest concentration of households affected (51) in Kilburn Lowest concentration of households affected (5) in Bloomsbury Majority of households affected by TBC live in Private Rented Sector (153) 246 single adult households are affected. The highest concentration of single adults affected (39), including lone parents (25), live in Kilburn This table shows the number of children by household. i.e. There are 61 children in 2 child households affected by TBC and 55 children in 4 child households.

8 NOT COUNCIL POLICY Total Benefits Cap (TBC) – Continued Number of children Number of households 0 couples without children Total Households 322 Single Adults 246 TBC Household profile What happened to the October 2013 TBC cohort? Number of Claimants There are currently 313 TBC cases in Camden, with 131 new cases since October 2013 Households without children In payment October 2013 July 2014 No longer claiming housing benefit in the borough In payment - No longer affected by TBC In payment - Still affected by TBC

9 NOT COUNCIL POLICY Total Benefits Cap (TBC) - Ward Map

10 NOT COUNCIL POLICY Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) - Mitigating impact of Housing Benefit (HB) changes Discretionary Housing Payments are one of the main tools at the Council’s disposal to mitigate the impact of welfare changes and the funding allocated by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to Camden has increased accordingly. Spend has more than doubled since the Total Benefits Cap (TBC) came into effect. Number of DHP Claims Number of DHP claims have risen on average by 159% since 2010/11 The number of DHP claims have increased by three times. The above table shows how much the council has spent on DHP and how much funding it has received from the DWP. Expenditure has more than doubled since end of August due to introduction of total benefit cap. Expenditure in 2014/15 to date has been £356,738.

11 DHP - Monthly Spend The largest number of people who receive DHP are 302 council tenants impacted by the SSSC. Last month, they were paid £32,796 and have received £93,785 in the year to date. The difference in HB and rent is significant in private tenants. This is due to the LHA caps. Although new claims have fallen in Camden, claimants who are already in private properties are finding it hard to cope financially. Claimants circumstances are such that for them to sustain the tenancy we have to pay DHP to cover the difference. TypeJun-14Year to Date Local Housing Allwance (LHA) Cap inc. under 35s£10,404£45,733 Total Benefits Cap (TBC) – Council tenants£24,216£52,666 TBC - Temp Accommodation tenants£20,555£45,621 TBC – RSL tenants£4,188£13,411 TBC - Private tenants£9,642£33,008 Social Sector Size Criteria (SSSC) – Council£32,796£93,785 SSSC – RSL tenants£9,697£32,877 Total £124,601£356,738 Total Received to date = 120

12 Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) The number of non-working households in receipt of CTRS has fallen significantly since April Conversely, this has been mirrored by an increase of 148 working households on CTRS in the same timeframe. This is because the number of working age claimants has generally increased among Council and RSL tenants. This could be because of the impact of TBC and our good partnership work with JCP to find people jobs. People in work are no longer affected by TBC and can claim tax credits. Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) covers 92.5% of Council Tax liability after any discount 16,457 working age households are paying between £1.00 and £5.00 per week And of which 12,000 are paying Council Tax for the first time (i.e. they previously received 100% Council Tax Benefit) All households affected by one or more of the housing benefit changes will also be affected as nearly all households that receive Housing Benefit also receive CTRS In July 2014, 24,989 households in Camden receive CTRS. CTRS: Number of Claimants in Camden 01-Apr-1401-Jul-14Change Non-Working 11,338 11, Working 5,180 5, Pension Credit 6,182 6, Other Pensioners 2,289 2,30213 Total 24,989 24,

13 NOT COUNCIL POLICY Impacts of Housing Benefit (HB) reform: Council rent arrears Arrears rates for households who will be affected by the SSSC is higher than average suggesting they may be struggling to cope financially with the reductions to their housing benefit. Data as at beginning of July 2014 Note the arrears rates include all tenants who are in arrears no matter how small the amount. Overall only a small proportion of tenants are in significant arrears (4% owe more than £1000). The general increase in arrears may also be due to other factors, principally the council taking over the rent collection for a number of Tenant Management Organisations during 2013 many of whose accounts were in arrears The rate for SSSC-affected households was higher than for all tenants before it was introduced and has increased by 11pp since. This suggests that these households are struggling to cope with their reduced income. The average amount of arrears is also considerably higher. This makes the support (such as DHPs) offered by the council to ensure these households can maintain their tenancies all the more important. GroupNumberArrears rateAverage arrears amount All tenants (excluding TMOs)* 22, %£414 HB claimants15, %£320 Affected by SSSC1, %£579 Affected by TBC6949.3%£350 * TMOs = Tenant management organisations – see note below

14 NOT COUNCIL POLICY Impacts of HB reform: Homelessness and temporary accommodation There were 10 homelessness acceptances in June At end of June 2014, total of 527 households in temporary accommodation (TA) – 25 less than January 2014 and 103 fewer households than July Estimated additional expenditure on TA is less than originally predicted.