Poole’s Story: Living with Welfare Reforms Impact of Welfare Reforms on Working Age Poole Residents by Household Group Acknowledgements The Borough of Poole would like to acknowledge that this study relied upon the willingness of participants to discuss sometimes difficult and sensitive issues. Thanks go to all those who took part. Thanks also go to those staff from the Borough who helped to recruit volunteers for the study, and to stakeholders external to the Borough who also contributed. Authors Produced by Natalie Batcock and Pete Stratford and assisted by Natasha Miles, Corporate Research, Corporate Strategy and Communications Team, Borough of Poole. 2014
Method Findings from the literature review, quantitative analysis and informal stakeholder interviews suggested that some groups will be more impacted by the changes to welfare provision than others. These groups include disabled recipients of benefits (including those with physical disability, mental disability or with a learning disability), lone parents and large families. Changes to Local Housing Allowance regulations have are also predicted to impact heavily on single young people (meaning between the ages of 17 and 34) living alone. The table below lists these groups and summarises the reasons for identifying them as target groups for qualitative interviews: Interviewees were identified and selected via advertisement within Borough of Poole public offices, and with the help of Community Outreach Workers and Social Workers. They were selected on the basis that the participant was an adult over 18 who was competent to give consent; they were deemed safe to work with by practitioners who had already worked with them and would pose no obvious risk to researchers, and they could be classified under one of the groups identified above. Semi-structured interviews were then held with participants, covering the impacts of changes to the welfare system on six key areas of their lives: health, well-being, housing, finances, employment and education. We also wanted to understand specifically participants’ experiences and opinions of the systems and processes used to administer benefits, including future processes such as direct payments and future online services by default. There is the potential for participants to have been chosen as a ‘convenience sample’ (Thomas, 2009), in that these were residents, through whatever reason, were available and able to participate fully rather than being a truly representative sample of residents in Poole from the research groups listed. There may also be sample bias, in that the practitioners within different services, whether consciously or unconsciously, chose to invite participants who would feed back about negative or positive issues experienced with welfare reform. There is little control that researchers can exert over this, apart from specifying criteria by which families needed to be chosen in the first instance, as they had limited awareness of the participants involved and a deadline for results to be shared more widely. Borough of Poole would like to follow up with participants in the future in order to understand further impacts and produce a more robust evidence base. How this will be structured at present is still unknown. Constraints and limitations It was not possible to find two participants who fit the criteria of each group identified as being impacted most heavily by changes to the welfare system. Therefore, only one participant from groups 3 and 4 were interviewed as part of this research.
Group Definition Reason Numbers Physical disability Claiming Incapacity Benefit (IB)/Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and not in the ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders’ group Large volume of long term claimants. Change from Incapacity Benefit to Employment Support Allowance via Work Capability Assessment. 2,480 claiming Incapacity Benefit/Employment Support Allowance who are not classified in the ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders’ group. [1] Poor mental health (or learning disability) Claiming IB/ESA classified by DWP as ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders’ volume of long term claimants 2,040 claiming Incapacity Benefit/Employment Support Allowance classified in the ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders’ group. [1] Large family Two adults with three or more children High costs of housing and high child costs. Child Benefit freeze from 2011. 377 claiming Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support, half were living in private rented accommodation and one third had earned income. [2] Single person - Living alone 17 - 34 years Impact of housing and changes to Housing Benefit - Local Housing Allowance 237 claiming Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support, half were in receipt of a disability benefit. [2] Lone parent – young child(ren) One adult and at least one child under 5 years of age Large number of claimants and children affected. 667 claiming Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support, seven out of ten were in private rented accommodation and more than one quarter (28%) had earned income. [2] Lone parent – child(ren) One adult and at least one child aged 5 to 16 years, no children under 5 years. Lone parents transferred from Income Support to Job Seekers Allowance when youngest reaches 5 years. 1,359 claiming Housing Benefit/Council Tax Support, half had earned income and nearly half (45%) were in private rented accommodation. [2] Research Questions
Desired aims and outcomes of interviews with participants are: To understand the impact of welfare reforms on participants in 5 key areas: health, housing, finances and employment. Understand and focus on customers’ experience and opinions of the systems and processes used to administer benefits, including direct payments and future online services by default. Ensure that participants are provided with relevant information about changes as well as signposted to relevant organisations who can advise/guide them about benefits and other help available. Questions will be structured as openly as possible to leading the responses received. Information about benefits which participants are currently in receipt of should be known before interviews take place. Researchers will ensure that information and guidance is provided about changes taking place and about organisations which may be able to help participants. References Duffy, S. for The Campaign for a Fair Society), (2013). A fair society? How the cuts target disabled people. The Centre for Welfare Reform. Web links used in this report were last accessed on 22nd May 2014. Glossary CAB Citizens Advice Bureau CAP Christians Against Poverty CMHT Community Mental Health Team COAST Community Outreach and Support Team DLA Disability Living Allowance DWP Department for Work and Pensions ESA (WRAG) Employment and Support Allowance – Work Related Activity ESA (Support) Employment and Support Allowance –Support Group HMCTS Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service HMRC Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs IB Incapacity Benefit JSA Job Seeker’s Allowance LHA Local Housing Allowance ME Myalgic Encephalomyelitis PAYE Pay As You Earn PIP Personal Independence Payment SDP Severe Disability Premium TUC Trades Union Congress