Briefing note - Coventry City Council

Social Care
3.43 The main potential impact of benefit changes on Social Care services relates to
people with disabilities and the impact of them having significantly reduced
incomes. This could have a knock on effect on those able to contribute financially to
the care services they receive which could lead to reduced revenues and potentially
more service users unable to make a contribution.
3.44 This is unlikely to have major implications until 2017 as current DLA users will not
be reviewed until then. The impacts are being considered alongside A Bolder
Community Services programme.
Children’s Services
3.45 The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) process already allows Children’s
Social Care to pick up families who may be running into difficulties associated with
child poverty. Services do not, however, intervene just because families are poor.
Managers are aware that there might be an increase in referrals due to the stresses
reduced finances can place on families.
3.46 Concerns have been raised about the movement of children and families across the
City as a result of changing housing need. This could cause a possible disruption to
schooling, and create additional pressure for places at some schools. The message
from officers in Children’s Services was clear – where possible, if families have a
choice, to prioritise moving to a property where children can remain in the same
school as the outcomes will be better for the young person. School moves,
particularly mid-year have a detrimental impact on a child’s education and should
be avoided if possible. This is reflected in the DHP Policy and assessment process.
3.47 There is also pressure already on school places in some areas of the City, and
there is no guarantee that those who seek to move will be able to get their children
into the nearest school to their new homes. Schools admission criteria are fixed and
subject to nationally set rules; they are not able to be amended in response to the
current set of reforms.
3.48 Coventry City Council Benefits and Whitefriars are now sharing data with CLYP to
give an indication of the likely location of families who will be most affected by the
changes and compare where there are empty properties and available school
places.
3.49 Benefits and CLYP already share data to inform the Troubled Families programme
and are looking at likely benefit changes to individual families already supported.
3.50 CAB are running a schools project in 31 of the City’s schools and are expanding
into Children’s Centres from April. Early results suggest this has been particularly
effective in getting parents to access support and prevent debt and housing
problems escalating create significant problems.
Universal Credit
3.51 The Government has decided to phase-in the introduction of the Universal Credit
‘pathfinders’. One Job Centre is due to start taking very straightforward claims from
29 th April 2013. A further three sites are due to be ‘rolled-out’ as ‘pathfinders’ but
the actual dates have not been announced. DWP have delayed the announcement
of the programme of migration of existing claims from the legacy benefits (such as
housing benefit). Originally, the intention was for a ‘managed transition’ for existing
claims between April 2014 and October 2017.
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