Forum Home → Discussion → Access to justice and advice sector issues → Thread
Government commits to extra funds for advice sector with introduction of universal credit (perhaps?)
In last week’s evidence session before the Work and Pensions Select Committee, during which Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith, and Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud spoke, there appeared to be a commitment to providing extra funding for advice services as part of the introduction of Universal Credit.
Additionally, there was an announcement that there will be an MP’s telephone hotline set up, so that constituency offices can try to resolve problems speedily. This seems to indicate a wider awareness amongst those tasked with implementing the reforms that legal aid cuts, as well as other cuts from local authorities, are having seriously detrimental impacts on the ability of local frontline advice services to cope with the expected surge in demand.
The exchange went as follows (my emphasis):
Q242 Chair: I have lots more on that, but just before I leave, I am not sure I have an answer about the extra resources for local authorities. Could I try this one then: will there be extra resources for the advice sector to assist with the transition to Universal Credit?
Mr Duncan Smith: The very simple answer to that is wherever we need it, if it is needed and support is needed, the Government obviously provides that, but my point is we have to figure out whether it is needed and where that will fall.
Q243 Stephen Lloyd: Can I make a plea then that we have a parliamentary helpline? Whatever the issues, strengths and weaknesses are, we will have a lot of people coming into our constituencies.
Mr Duncan Smith: We are going to have an MPs’ hotline. Sorry, I do not know if we should have said that. We have agreed to have an MPs’ hotline, so you will be able to get straight on to them.
Lord Freud: In response to Anne’s question, we will find some funding for the advisory sector and we can commit today, I think, to have an MPs’ hotline.
I do wonder whether Lord Freud intends to try and use the £20 million fund which we expect soon to be announced by Cabinet Office as fulfilling this pledge, which would be more than slightly misleading.
For the transcript of the whole session, see Oral evidence taken before the Work and Pensions Committee Universal Credit Monday 17 September 2012
Further to today’s rightsnet news story Government must ensure that it protects vulnerable universal credit claimants, say MPs, the Committee has this to say regards “independent advice and support”:
Independent advice and support
47. Witnesses pointed out that the introduction of Universal Credit, together with other welfare reforms, would have a significant impact on the advice sector, and that this would require proper planning and funding if the necessary level of support was to be provided to ensure that Universal Credit implementation was successful. Manchester City Council said that demand was increasing in Greater Manchester for “a range of benefits advice services connected to welfare reform particularly those delivered by agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau”. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities commented that there was likely to be “substantial increased demand” for information and advice services in Scotland”. Community Housing Cymru said that there was a lack of clarity as to where independent advice on Universal Credit could be sought in Wales given that Citizens Advice Bureaux were “already inundated” and the future of independent advice was uncertain because of the planned cuts to funding for advice services. Citizens Advice told us that it was expecting “a massive increase in the demands for our service as 12 million people are moved on to the new Universal Credit system.” The organisation is conducting a “fundamental review” of how it is going to cope with the increased demand and the need to retrain all its advisers.
48. Alison Garnham, Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) highlighted that “The problem at the moment is that we are seeing a reduction in advice services because cuts in local authority services and the removal of legal aid mean that two legs of funding for many voluntary sector advice agencies have disappeared so we are seeing a reduced capacity”.
49. Shelter believed that the period of transition to Universal Credit would be particularly resource-intensive for advice providers and that claimants would need access to benefits advice on a longer term basis. It pointed out that DWP had not made any funding available to “a) plug the gap that will be created by cuts to legal aid or b) provide for the mass training that will be necessary across the advice sector in order that they are equipped to deal with the changes under Universal Credit”. AdviceUK said that it was very concerned about the absence of liaison between DWP and the advice sector and “the lack of any advice strategy to accompany the implementation plans for Universal Credit”.
50. When we asked about funding for the advice sector, the Secretary of State said that the Government would provide it “if it is needed”. Lord Freud said that “we will find some funding for the advisory sector”. However, he did not tell us how much this would be.
51. There will be a significant increase in demand for advice services for claimants during the four-year period of Universal Credit implementation. We urge DWP to work with the advice sector to quantify and provide the extra resources necessary to fund retraining of advisers and the additional advice services which will be required to ensure a successful implementation of Universal Credit.
I don’t think an MP’s hotline will benefit very many at all - unless the client’s MP happens to have good links with expert advice or is/was him/herself a welf.
On the other hand if it is going to be extemely difficult for advisers to get through to UC what better way to get the policy changed than have MPs constituency surgeries and telephone lines crammed to bursting with claimants who can’t make/access their claim online?
Remember the effect of constituents complaints about CSA - it may not have changed the policy very quickly - but there were few MPs who could claim they didn’t understand the impact of the delays, maladministration etc from the number of constituents who contacted them!
MPs are often only as effective as the information they are provided with by the claimant or adviser. Properly briefed (instructed) they can be very effective because of their dedicated access routes into DWP/HMRc etc.