Benefit 'shock' in draft Universal Credit regs

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Central Government, Communities, Local Government, Universal Credit

Benefit claimants absent from their home due to long-term hospital care will only be eligible for six months of housing benefit and not a year, under the draft Universal Credit regulations published earlier this month.

Universal Credit, which comes into force next October, replaces six of the main means-tested benefits and tax credits with a single monthly payment paid directly to the claimant.

Currently, under special circumstances housing benefit can be payable while you are away from home for up to 52 weeks.

Such circumstances covered include hospital admissions, staying in a care home, providing care for others or being held in custody awaiting trial.

Speaking at a fringe event at the Local Government Association conference in Birmingham this week, Helen Williams, assistant director for neighbourhoods at the National Housing Federation, said: “At the moment if you’re in long-term hospital care or prison your housing benefit rolls on for a year. The draft regulations is suggesting that would go down to six months. So there’s a lot for landlords and tenants to get their heads around.”

An explanatory note – issued alongside the draft regulations – states: “…where an adult or child is temporarily absent from their household because they are in a residential institution elsewhere (e.g. in hospital, staying in a residential care home [but excludes child or young person in Local Authority care home] or residential school) then up to 6 months temporary absence is permissible, during which Universal Credit is payable as normal as if the adult/child/non-dependent was still in the same household."

It adds: “In addition, we will protect the housing element only for up to 6 months temporary absence due to imprisonment/being taken into care.”

Benefit consultant Chris Smith said it was a "further shock". He said: “This will add to homelessness amongst people with mental health problems and other chronic conditions, even if they are likely to recover in seven months.”

The NHF, however, said it was engaged in a “positive and productive dialogue” with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) regarding the eligibility criteria around service charges covered by housing benefit.

John Bryant, policy leader at the NHF, said: “We have some concerns about whether the draft regulations meet the apparent policy intent. That’s partly an issue about whether they sufficiently capture everything that ought to be eligible, partly an issue about some of the definitions and partly about whether the regulations put forward adequately reflect the sheer range of service charge setting and collection approaches that apply in the sector.”

A DWP spokesperson said: "Service charges will continue to form part of the housing element for social sector tenants under Universal Credit. However, these are a draft of the regulations on which SSAC are undertaking an informal consultation - so it’s important that interested groups feed into that. It's also important to note that the draft regulations set out the broad parameters and that the detail will be put into future guidance." 

The Government has asked the Social Security Advisory Committee - the main UK advisory body on social security matters - to consider the principal regulations which will underpin Universal Credit and to decide which to publicly consult on.

Following the SSAC consultation, the final regulations will be laid in Parliament in autumn this year.