Welfare Benefits

This page covers the issue of welfare benefits, particularly as it affects homeless people. Many homeless people need access to support from welfare benefits as poverty is a major cause and effect of homelessness. The government's welfare reforms are aimed at enabling people who have been excluded from the workforce to work. Benefits are an important safety net enabling people to address these issues.

POLICY CONTEXT

Welfare benefits are a form of redistribution of resources within society; public expenditure on benefits has been steadily rising. Entitlement to welfare benefits varies for different groups including pensioners, the unemployed, those who are sick or disabled and those on low wages.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is the government department with overall responsibility for welfare benefits. Jobcentre Plus is the agency responsible for administering benefits for people of working age and for providing personal advisers to help get people into work.

The Welfare Reform Act 2012 ushers in significant changes to housing benefit and the implementation of a system called Universal Credit. These changes signal a radical shift in the Government's approach to welfare benefits.

The DWP website provides details of Welfare Reform on their website.

A Homeless Link Briefing on the White Paper, which was published ahead of the Bill, summarised the main changes and the impact they will have on homeless people is available here.

ISSUES

Homeless people may need access to benefits as a result of being unemployed, unable to work due to illness or disability, and may be reliant on housing benefit or local housing allowance for rent if they are housed in rented accommodation.

Housing Benefit is a key benefit for people in private or social rented accommodation who are on low income or rely on benefits. Housing benefit pays for housing related costs included in rents, but doesn’t include payments for water, heating, hot water, lighting, or cooking or payments for food or fuel in board and lodgings or hostels. The amount of benefit paid depends on household size and income. Young people under 25 currently have their entitlement to housing benefit restricted to the rent for a single room however, it is important to note that as of April 2012 this restriction is being extended to claimants up to the age of 35.

There have also been changes to the administration of the Housing Benefit, with the national roll-out of Local Housing Allowance to the private rented sector. The payment of Local Housing Allowance direct to tenants, and changes resulting in landlords finding it difficult to have Local Housing Allowance paid directly to them, have been highlighted as major problems with Local Housing Allowance.

The Housing Benefit system can create barriers to people wanting to move from benefits into work and for people on low incomes who want to increase their earnings.

In terms of the reforms proposed in the Universal Credit White Paper there are a number of implications for homeless people. For more information see Homeless Link’s response to the consultation on 21st Century Welfare.

Non-take up of benefits is a significant problem for homeless people. Furthermore the 2010 Survey of Needs and Provision found that 88% of services have some clients who are experiencing problems with their benefits. A significant minority of migrants have no or limited access to public funds – visit our Migration pages for more information.

SOLUTIONS

Finding a route out of homelessness and into rented accommodation, together with support around housing benefits can be a major challenge for homeless people. A number of agencies are pioneering innovative ways to tackle this issue.

The Survey of Needs and Provision has found that benefits advice is provided in 99% of homelessness projects. This includes inhouse provision, delivery in partnership with another agency or external referrals. Support to access the correct entitlements gives people the opportunity to stabilise other support issues.

A national network of Citizen’s Advice Bureaux, and independent advice agencies provide benefits advice to people in need. See our Advice Page. There are a number of benefits an individual can claim if they are on a low income, including income support, or a community care grant, find out more here. In addition to our guidance pages AdviceNow provides on-line information about benefits.

The Valuation Office has launched a website providing tenants with information on Local Housing Allowance.

There is also financial help to pay Council Tax bills.

Homeless Link provides a Welfare Benefits Overview training course.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Our Homeless Pages website provides information on benefits.

The LHA-Direct website has been developed to enable tenants renting accommodation from a private landlord to calculate the possible amount of Housing Benefit available to them from their Local Authority, and includes an on-line calculator so that people can work out the amount of help they will be likely to receive towards their rent.

The DWP website contains a leaflet on discretionary housing benefit payments which can be made in cases of hardship.

The Direct Gov website contains information on housing benefit entitlement.

Some people from abroad are not allowed to claim benefits. The UK Border Agency‘s website sets out who is entitled to claim.