Greetings fellow WRO's and all readers of this site;
As someone running a L.A. WRU, which is getting smaller by the day (voluntary function, old bean, NOT a statutory duty!), we are asking all other "readers" - especially other L.A. WRU's - to advise on the calculation method used to show money earned for referrals. We currently use "weekly award x78" - or year and a half - allegedly, in some dim and distant past, the average length of a claim? Clearly NOT the case frequently ...
For example - an indefinate award of DLA for a young person ? Hopefully, they will live longer than a year and a half. I could go on (and frequently do, ask the staff).
Would you use the actual length of award, if it was for, say, three years? Do you include arrears separately? Do you make an adjustment for benefit increases in future years? Does your future depend on the whim of a political party/ councillor? Do you know the way to San Jose - woe woe woe-woe .... alright, it's Friday!
In short, it is how we justify our existence, and we would like to show that we reflect "best practice" from this quick survey.
Many thanks in anticipation.

Secondly, can - and this is probably a touchy subject for some, so only answer the first part if it is, but please do answer the first part! - people give me an indicator of salary scales in Local Government WRU's. Again, I want to ensure (with my union hat on now!) that my people are getting the rate for the job.
My people are on Scale 3/6, though all are at the top of scale 6 - which for non-LA people is around £22k per annum.
The chap in the hat is on SO1/2 - which is about £25k-ish.
Again, thanks in anticipation.

Splott Paul - aka Cardiff WRU.

Hi

We use actual arrears + (amount of weekly award x 52 weeks) unless the award is for a shorter period - (I think that this is the norm that others have used)

On the justification issue:

local authorities have a statutory duty to promote council tax benefit (Section 123(3)(a) of the Social Security Contributions & Benefits Act 1992)

the Code of Guidance on Homelessness talks about provision of welfare rights to avoid repossessions

you might want to also mention the positive impact on the Formula Spending for the local authority

increased income in the local area is usually spent in the local area which leads to regeneration with the multiplier effect

a bit more difficult to prove but increased income may have a positive impact on the prescribing budget, particularly on anti-depressants


On the salary issue - Scale 6 with job evaluation currently underway.

hope this helps

Shabir

Paul

If you look at the report produced by NAWRA recently, it is an excellent tool for making the case for WR teams - there are some very good calculations in there of how additional benefits improve the local economy - I will email you the really relavant chapter seperately.....

Mike

Paul

I should have said that the full report can be found on the NAWRA Website - www.nawra.org - it also contains some detailed analysis on the Better Advice/Better Health project promoted by the Welsh Assembly .........

Hi Paul, further to what Shabir was saying about anti-depressants, there's been various stuff on the rightsnet over the years concerning the benefits of benefits relating to impact of welfs within health settings as in reduced consultations and prescriptions etc as well as local economies covering various age groups.

It's monday and i feel everso slightly not really in the land of the living, but i remember stuff like errrrr........ Bradford PCT - heart wise; another that covers a HAZ (health action zone) Southwark, Lambeth and i think Lewisham it goes on for about 250 pages (i never had time to read it properly); NACAB one similar length; an academic one covering older adults; and loads of others i think (i got some on a CD in the Belfry - i could dust it off and bring it into the light if you want any).

Also, but i might have dreamt this up, i'm sure Liverpool Age Concern did something or other that could be useful, could have sworn one of the districts was around Everton's ground.

i've probably missed the point and gone off on another completely irrelevant tangent, i think it's going to be that sort of day.


andy

Just to point out that the rightsnet policy resources area has a link to the Nawra report click here for report, as well as a variety of other reports demonstrating methods for measuring the impact of advice services policy resources area

thank you to everyone, ? everyone!, to those who responded, much apprecciated.
SP

Paul, we also use weekly gains of ongoing benefit X52 plus lump sums.

We have 2 grades of Advisers:

Welfare Rights Outreach Workers, who are required to have experience of working with members of the public and 'benefits awareness' (in reality mostly recruited from DWP/HB processing staff and customer sevices roles within the council) who normally work across a more restricted range of benefits) paid 20-23K
and

Welfare Rights Advisers who are required to have 2 years FTE experience of WR Advice, including tribunal representation and aptitude to train, produce take up material etc, paid 23-26K

We also have Welfare Rights Co-ordinators who supervise workgroups of 4-6 WROWS 26K - 29K and a manager over the whole shebang (22 Welfare Rights and Money Advice staff) on 29-32K

As to justifying our existence, a continual uphill struggle and a third of our posts are now funded by Supporting People funding, dependent upon fulfilling contracts.