I'm trying to do some modelling on benefit changes and their effects.

My first need is to decide what have been the significant changes in benefits since 1988.

I'll start off with the introduction of WTC/CTC and the recent ESA stuff but what do other professionals think have been the significant changes and did they achieve the expected results?

Thanks in advance

Some other changes that I feel have been significant are the introduction of Pension Credit in Oct 2003. Not so much the Guarantee Credit but the Savings Credit has brought more people into benefit entitlement but not as many as it should have. Lots of people are still missing out on this because they don't realise they would be entitled to it as the calculation is pretty complicated.

Another significant change is the introduction of the Local Housing Allowance. Working for a housing association, this hasn't affected me directly so there will be lots of other advisers out there who can better comment about the impact this has had.

Supporting People was introduced in April 2003. Less said about that for older people in sheltered accommodation the better!

Hope these helps

Cheers

John

One of the major changes in my view was the introduction of the discretionary Social Fund which replaced the extra needs payments and single payments which were rights based and subject to detailed regulations brought in under The Social Security Act 1980. This did two things. First it brought back a lot of the discretion of the 1960’s and 1970’s so it was retrograde. Second, it led to more loans rather than grants so trapped people in debt and poverty.

If you're going back to 1988, the following changes have occurred:

introduction of DLA (separated off from AA and mobility allowance) in 1992.

incapacity benefit including the All Work test, later PCA, to replace sickness benefit, invalidity benefit and severe disablement allowance in 1995,

jobseeker's allowance, to replace unemployment benefits in 1996

the big changes to housing costs in 1995

the abolition of adjudication officers and replacement with decision makers, and a whole new system of decision making and appeals from 1998 under the 1998 Act

vsrious reductions in backdating rules as a result of the 1997 changes to the claims and payments regs

Do you want any more?

Do you want any more?

As many as you've got.

I'd forgotten the housing changes.

Thu 10-Sep-09 07:26 PM by Ruth_T

The following come to mind:
Introduction of Income Support (April 1988) and the end of supplementary benefit
End of Severe Disablement Allowance
End of Reduced Earnings Allowance for new claimants (Sept 1990)
End of Widows Pension and Widowed Mother's Allowance, and introduction of Widowed Parents Allowance and Bereavement Benefits
Family Credit to Working Families Tax Credit to WTC/CTC
Disability Working Allowance (1992) to DPTC (1999) to tax credits
End of Housing Benefit Review Boards
Change from Community Charge to Council Tax and consequent benefit changes

(I remember them all. I think that I've been doing welfare rights work for too long.)

there was also an earnings related supplement for SB claimants - so people would work for a while in reasonably paid work, and when they lost/left that job the income drop wasn't quite as huge as it now is. although people did take the#### out of that (one chap in particular springs to mind, that i knew in the 70's....)

As a benefit advisor and Landlord, I'm inordinately interested in Local Housing Allowance, and its impact on tenants and Landlords. In particular direct payments to tenants.
Early impressions are that it isnt going so well, more tenants are falling into arrears and facing eviction, and Landlords are becoming less likely to take Housing Benefits tenants, increasing the pressure of social housing.

Don't forget the abolition of lone parent benefits.

i think it's all had consequences, many unintended (following the law of, LOL) but modelling it all through could keep you going for many years...

1988 is a pretty good starting point as I think that the late 1980’s saw the fruition of the development of Tory social policy generally. The Fowler reviews of social security which led to the 1986 Act paving the way for the introduction of Income Support ran parallel with the long planned abolition of the household rates to be replaced by the disastrous Poll Tax and, subsequently, Council Tax, and, the passing of The Housing Act 1988 which abolished the cherished protection and fair rents of The Rent Acts for new tenants and introduced the assured shorthold tenancy and market rents instead.

So I get a list that includes:

Introduction of Income Related Benefits (Income Support, Housing Benefit, Community Charge Benefit, Family Credit) together with the Social Fund
April 1988
End of Reduced Earnings Allowance *
October 1990
Disability Working Allowance, Disability Living Allowance introduced/ Attendance Allowance changes to an elderly benefit. Mobility Allowance becomes DLA Mobility Component
April 1992
Council Tax Benefit replaces Community Charge Benefits
April 1993
Incapacity Benefit replaces Sickness and Invalidity Benefit
April 1995
Housing Costs changes
October 1995
Jobseekers Allowance replaces Unemployment Benefit and Income Support for the unemployed
October 1996
End of One Parent Benefits by incorporation into Income Support and Child Benefit
April 1997
Working Families Tax Credit / Disabled Persons Tax Credit replaces Family Credit / Disability Working Allowance
October 1999
End of Severe Disablement Allowance *
April 2001
Working Tax Credit / Child Tax Credit replace Working Families Tax Credit / Disabled Persons Tax Credit and, gradually, children's amounts in means tested benefits
April 2003
Pension Credits (Guarantee and Savings elements) replace Income Support for those over 60
Oct 2003
Local Housing Allowance National Rollout
April 2008
Employment and Support Allowance replaces Incapacity Benefit and Income Support for those incapacitated *
October 2008
Housing Costs changes
April 2009


* Transitionally protected


Is that sensible?

Is that sensible? Ummm, depends on the context of 'sensible'.

I also think that all the New Deal/Pathways and other conditionality stuff ought to be included in your list. Although not specific benefits they have impacted hugely on the way claimants and benefits are dealt with.

As has the 1998 Social Security Act, the various provisions relating to the administration of benefits such as tele-claims, I.T changes, and the transfer of functions to other departments such as HMRC.

But what I'm trying to do is to compare the expected effect of changes in benefit rules with the actual effect. To that end I'm trying to look at numbers of recipients and amounts received not the processes, although that will of course be a factor in the whole calculation.

My current issue is what do I use to adjust the actual benefits spends to get comparative values; RPI, CPI, Rossi index or something else?

What about the introduction of the habitual residence test on 1.8.1994, the right to reside test on 1.5.2004 and the further changes in 31.4.2006 with the coming into force of 2004/38?

and the consequential effect that has on british subjects and their families ...

Couple of things that were lost in the 1988 changes - the inclusion of water charges as eligible for HB and also housing benefit supplement, a calculation that was done to see if income fell below supplementary benefit level when HB awarded (at that time full help was not part of the calculation). This gave entitlement to single payments via SB. I might even have a pre 1988 CPAG handbook. Can remember doing a before and after reflection some years after the changes. Memories!! One thing about welfare rights work.....it never stands still, and with the plans for the future, in particular with pensions, it has never been bleaker. All seems to be geared for loss, not enhancement.

The one thing that seems clear is that the effects of changes may not be worth measuring. By that, I mean that the transitional protections are so persistent that existing claimants don't seem to be affected, statistically, by most changes. The vast bulk of SDA claims are still in payment for example.

Determining who would have claimed in the future, but couldn't now, is beyond my extremely limited analytical skills, Yet many of these changes were presented as 'clampdowns', 'removal of scroungers' etc. They may have a major long-term effect on diminishing growth in expenditure or even, in some few cases, reducing long-term spend but that doesn't make for good spin.

I certainly think that the loss of SDA for new claimants must have had an impact. I seem to remember reading that the biggest take up was among women who had not built up NI/earnings records to get IB. With a working partner they are/were also disqualified from means-tested beneftis, so there is a net loss in family income.

The impact on claimants at the point of change who were allowed transitional protection effectively froze their benefit for a period of time and in 1988 I can recall this being up to 4 years. Still think there has been too many changes that resulted in people potentially being worse off. The change to widows benefits is a good example of a huge saving as it ended potential long term benefit entitlement for women to a year for both men and women, with the exception of claimants with dependent children.
I agree with the loss of SDA to new claimants, and regardless of how many may be protected, the fact that this is no longer available those who have been unable to build up the required NI contributions (mainly women) is going unseen by the general public, yet look at the pressure on Government to provide pensions to the same group.

The one thing that has affected my client group is that changes n the HB backdates from 12 months to 6 months. This has a great impact on my YP's lives all of them care leavers unaware of the system. Often with horrific childhood which has affected their mental health therefore not always able to follow up claims.
On of my last cases client in arrears of 8 months even though there is a 'good cause' I can only go back as far as 6months which brings the clients this 18 years old to be stuck forever with payments of the remaining arrears. Great start of their independancy.

Regards,
Antonina