Despite greater flexibility to raise income, councils still have to make savings and ensure their budgets are spent as efficiently as possible. In many councils the spotlight is on Council Tax to raise income and the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) to make savings. Council Tax Schemes have been locally designed since April 2013. While many still reflect the nationally administered Council Tax Benefit, we're starting to see greater innovation locally. The driver of this innovation is the backdrop of the cumulative impact of past and future welfare reforms, the introduction of Universal Credit and ever tighter budgets. CTRS schemes are intended to keep the most vulnerable citizens safe from poverty. Knowing who those people are is a huge challenge. We've modelled options for future CTRS schemes in detail for various councils. The impact assessments are used to make informed policy decisions by officers and members. View this webinar to learn how: 1. We accurately model the cost of CTRS schemes today 2. We accurately model the cost of CTRS schemes in the future, including under Universal Credit 3. We accurately model, compare and evaluate CTRS options under consideration 4. We provide evidenced based recommendations on which CTRS scheme best supports the strategy e. g. best fit for anti-poverty strategy while operating within financial constraints 5. What CTRS schemes we have created for North Hertfordshire, Leeds City and Newcastle City Councils

1. Policy in Practice
Webinar: How to Future
Proof Your CTRS scheme
for Universal Credit
Wednesday 9 March 2016

2. Housekeeping
• Audio check
• Please ask questions
• Polls and a survey
• Finish by 11:30

3. Daniel Cavanillas
Policy in Practice
Speakers
Paul Howarth
Welfare Reform Club

4. Agenda
• Introduction to Policy in Practice
• The challenges ahead for local authorities
• Our process
• Examples of our past work
• How we can help

5. We make the welfare system
simple to understand, so that
people can make the decisions
that are right for them

6. www.policyinpractice.co.uk
SOFTWARE
individual impact
CONSULTANC
local impact
POLICY
national impact

7. Over to Paul

8. Context for reform of CTRS
• Responsibility for policy devolved
• Part of wider local authority role in welfare
• Budgets static or cut – 10% cut at the outset
• Cash limited schemes
• Ongoing need for administrative savings
• Move towards a discount?
• Implications of Universal Credit

9. New Policy Institute – Changes made
to CTR schemes

10. Where now for local authorities?
• Understand the cumulative impact of welfare reform in their locality
(including CTRS), so they can identify possible exemptions, and target
support effectively
• Integrate services and funding streams – provide the most appropriate help,
working with partners
• Be clear about the impact of new CTR schemes e.g. on: type of household,
tenure, those in work
• Recognise that people will always turn to local authorities when in difficulty!

11. Policy in Practice’s approach
Your Housing Benefit /
Council Tax data
Our Universal Benefit
Calculator
Rich, detailed impact
assessment: who is
impacted and what are the
Council-wide effects?
1. Use local data and
insights to inform better
decision making
2. See the impact of
different models together
with ongoing welfare reforms
3. Inform Council Tax
Support decisions

12. 121212
Client examples

13. The challenge facing North Herts
• Small local authority
• Predicted underspend of £500,000
• Generally happy with the design of their scheme.
• Wanted to spend more, while making sure tax credit cuts did not drive
demand up.
• Also aware that more people would apply for support if the scheme was
more generous – this had to be modelled

14. The challenge of coming in on budget

15. Our work with North Herts
• Accurately
modelled the
Council’s scheme
• Found that effects
of cuts on scheme
were limited
• Established the
ideal level of
support

16. The challenge facing Leeds
• Welfare reform and roll-out of Universal Credit
• Wanted to ensure that their Council Tax Support scheme was fair to
everyone
• Work incentives were another area of focus
• Wanted to cut costs so that they could provide better face-to-face support for
residents instead

17. Our work with Leeds
• We modelled five
different schemes
• Graded them on
work incentives,
financial cost,
political costs, and
administrative
burden
• Financial work
incentives are
minimal in any case

18. The challenge facing Newcastle
• Want to cut expenditure on payments to be able to support residents in other
ways
• Fast roll-out of Universal Credit challenging current scheme
• Administrative complexity is another concern, as are arrears
• Wanted to model six schemes and see which covers all angles better.

19. Our work with Newcastle
• Modelled the six different schemes accounting for next year’s rate increase
• Analysed each scheme in terms of work incentives, financial cost to the
Council, administrative complexity, political risk, and arrears.

20. Our modelling for Newcastle
1: ‘No change’
2: Current scheme at higher level of support
3: Removing protections
4: Self-employed workers scheme
5: Administratively simple scheme
6: Work incentives scheme
7: Hybrid

21. Our analysis for Newcastle
NO
CHANGE
HIGHER
SUPPORT
PROTECTIONS SELF-
EMPLOYED
SIMPLE UC
WORK
INCENTIVES
− − − − − 
FINANCIAL
COST
−   − − 
ADMIN COST
− − − −  −
POLITICAL
RISK
−   −  
ARREARS
−   −  
• No scheme is
perfect –
largely a
political
decision
• Hybrids can
get around
some
weaknesses

22. 222222
Do you know how you can future-
proof your Council Tax Support
scheme?

23. How others are using their analysis
Birmingham City Council Identified households most vulnerable to welfare reforms
Mapped local support onto local needs
North Hertfordshire Council Accurately forecast cost of CTRS
Helped eliminate £500,000 underspend
Leeds City Council Developed innovative approach to local support
Introduced targeted conditionality and justified his
decision to cabinet
Melton Council Used analysis on the most heavily impacted households
Combined with strategic intervention activity
Newcastle City Council and Your Homes
Newcastle
Detailed impact assessment now
Big data hub to track the impact of reforms and
effectiveness of interventions

24. In summary
We can model CTRS schemes to help you:
• Forecast expenditure in upcoming years
• Account for UC roll-out and welfare reform
• Model higher take-up as result of changes
• Break down the effects on households
• Calculate administrative costs
• Model effect on arrears levels

25. 25
Questions?

26. Next steps
Complete the automated survey immediately after this webinar to:
1. Request existing client reports
2. Request pricing details
3. Request our Customer Testimonials eBook
We have permission from existing clients to share their reports with other local
authorities who may be similar in structure, demographics or strategic vision to
your council.

27. www.policyinpractice.co.uk
Thank you
Daniel Cavanillas
daniel@policyinpractice.co.uk
0793 066 5768
Paul Howarth
paul@welfarereformclub.co.uk
07854773164
hello@policyinpractice.co.uk

28. Leading Lights Network
March 2016
www.policyinpractice.co.uk