Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Scrutiny Co-ordinator with appendices from the Welfare Reform Working Together Group

Councillor Gannon, Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources has been invited to the meeting for the consideration of this item along with the following representatives:

Martin Buxcey and Debbie Patten, Department for Work and Pensions  

Janet Gurney, Coventry Law Centre

Gavin Kibble, Coventry Food Bank

Alan Markey, Chair, Working Together on Welfare Reform Group

Tim Rees, Community Development Worker, Foleshill Baptist Church

The Committee considered a Briefing Note which provided information on Welfare Reform which had been produced by the Welfare Reform Working Together Group, made up of a number of agencies from across the City, representatives of whom attended the meeting.

Attached to the Briefing Note were information relating to:-

  ?The membership and remit of the Welfare Reform Working

  Together Group

?Welfare Reform report of the Working Group which contained

  information under each section on suggested actions to mitigate

  effects of the reform

?A Welfare Reform timeline

?Case studies on the impact of welfare reform changes on individuals,

  including the impact of those in work

?A Council Tax Support and Welfare Reform Factsheet containing data

  on the number of people who have felt the changes and hotspots of

  areas in the City most affected

?A Report of a Survey into the Impacts of Welfare Benefits Reform, November 2015 by Wendy Eades that covered upcoming challenges and changes, including information on implementation of Universal Credit

?Welfare benefit related highlights in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement November 2015.

The Committee questioned officers and representatives of the Working Together Group on aspects of the Briefing Note, particularly in relation to:-

  ?Identifying families in Coventry who will be most affected by the

 reform and providing those families with information

?Sanctions, how those sanctions are imposed and appealed

  against and information and guidance provided to people about

  sanctions

?The impact of the welfare reform measures on young people,

  particularly Care  Leavers and Looked After Children

The Chair, Councillor Duggins, on behalf of the Committee, thanked all of the representatives for their attendance at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee:-

  1)  Notes the content of the Briefing Note and presentation

2)  Supports the continued work of the Welfare Reform Working Together Group

3)  Requests that the Working Together on Welfare Reform

 Group:-

i)  Closely monitors the impact of the welfare reforms,

particularly in relation to the impact on young

people, including Looked After Children and Care

Leavers

  ii)  Produces an information leaflet on sanctions, similar

to the model produced by Newcastle

iii)  Invites representatives of MIND to join the Working

Together Group

4)  Recommends to the Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources that appropriate information and publicity in relation to Welfare Reform be sent out with all Council Tax bills