Highgate Newtown Social Inclusion Project
1. Introduction
Highgate Newtown Neighbourhood Renewal Area had been identified as having the highest percentage of households on the lowest income of all Camden’s 10 NRAs. Coupled with this the area also suffers from geographical isolation in terms of transport and services – impacting on people’s financial and social well-being.
There are about 1,500 households within this area, consisting of a high percentage of white working class residents, single parent families and higher than average number of dependants.
Research carried out by Camden Community Legal Services Partnership Needs Assessment highlights Highgate Newtown as one of three wards with the highest level of total need in terms of access to welfare & benefits advice.
The project was set up in partnership with Camden Welfare Rights Unit, Camden CABx Service, Community Development Officer VSU, Highgate Newtown Community Centre, and NRF projects.
The project aimed to;
· Fill a geographical service gap
· Maximise residents income/ increase benefit take up and advise on poverty related issues
· Encourage people to think about their longer term financial situation by considering different scenarios and how these may affect benefits received
· Collect Baseline data
· Collect specific reasons for financial hardship/poverty experienced and barriers to employment in the area
· Identify/ make recommendations for an appropriate way forward in addressing some of the residents social exclusion/poverty – sustainability
· Research reasons for the underachievement of white working class
· Assess the success of the pilot
· Identify current gaps that can be plugged by existing mainstream services
2. Key Out comes
At the end of the initial 6 months trial programme 82 people had sought advice and assistance. Outcomes by 9/8/05
· 60 people were given a benefit check
· 65% of those using the service were female
· 35% of the people interviewed were identified as either not in receipt of the correct amount of benefit or not having claimed benefits they would have been entitled to.
· £44,662 annual benefit gained.
· £18,464 gained in one-off payments (at 15/6/05 still awaiting decisions on 14 cases)
· £63,126 total income raised
· 34 people have been helped to claim extra income
· 21% of clients asked for detailed advice and/or “better off calculations” in terms of future employment
· 13% of clients seen were referred or signposted to another agency for specialist advice in another subject area
3. Work Undertaken – Benefit Checks and Interviews
All clients were offered a benefit check on their first visit to ensure they were in receipt of the correct amount of benefit and to discover if they were not claiming any benefits they were entitled to. 68 full benefit checks were carried out.
4. Client Profile
A. Gender
Numbers / %Male / 25 / 30
Female / 57 / 70
Total / 82 / 100
B. Ethnic Breakdown
Numbers / %White UK / 49 / 60
White Other / 20 / 25
Bangladesh / 5 / 6
Afro-Caribbean / 5 / 6
Somali / 3 / 3
C. Household Type
Household Type / Number / %Single Parent / 44 / 55
Member of a couple / 11 / 13
Single living with family / 12 / 14
Living alone / 15 / 18
Number / %
Not Working / 69 / 85
Working / 13 / 15
D. Economic Status
Number / %Not Working / 69 / 85
Working / 13 / 15
E. Tenure
Number / %Council / 55 / 68
Housing Association / 2 / 2
Private Tenants / 2 / 2
Owner occupiers / 14 / 17
Others / 9 / 11
A high proportion of clients were owner occupiers mainly due to the fact that they had exercised their right to buy when in work. However many are now out of work and finding it difficult to maintain their homes e.g. necessary repairs and service charges.
5. Welfare Benefits Outcomes
A. Maximisation of Benefit Income
Of the 60 people given a full benefit check the following actions were undertaken
Adviser Action / Number of clients / %Benefit check/advice only, no further action by caseworker / 29 / 48
Benefit check/ client assisted to claim and awarded benefits / 15 / 26
Assisted and awaiting decisions / 16 / 26
Total / 60 / 100
B. Benefits Claimed.
Total Amounts of Benefits Awarded were;
· £44,662.00 raised in annual benefit income
· £18,464.00 raised in arrears/one off payments
£63,126.00 raised in total
C. Under claiming of benefits
Particular benefits were not well understood and so under claimed
· Child tax Credit and Working Tax Credit
· Disability premiums
· Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefits.
· Community Care Grants
· Carers Allowance.
This was particularly so among people working but on low incomes
Case Study 1.
Client A, (male) single, late fifties. In receipt of Incapacity Benefit since 2000. Attended Highgate Newtown to enquire about possibility of claiming Disability Living Allowance. On completing benefit check noticed that client should have been entitled to income support by way of disability premium since 2001.client acted on advice and claimed income support and received back payments for 3 months. Client was also assisted in claiming Disability Living Allowance, result pending.
Case Study 2.
Client B (female), single parent. Client in receipt of occupational maternity leave. Client contacted Highgate Newtown to check possibility of claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. Client receiving child tax credit, on completing benefit check noticed that client should have been awarded working tax credit. Telephoned tax Credit helpline, explained client’s circumstances and income. Tax credit increased by £52.15 per week and back dated to beginning of tax year. Client also awarded housing benefit and council tax benefit backdated to start of tenancy. Client used back payments to clear rent arrears.
Case Study 3.
Client C (female) married, in receipt of DLA, low rate care. Contacted Highgate Newtown regarding insurance problem. During interview with client discovered she had recently suffered a stroke and her condition had got worse. Assisted client to send supercession request. Client’s DLA increased to high rate mobility and medium rate care, also assisted husband to claim carer’s allowance. Total weekly benefit increased by £90.00 per week.
Case Study 4.
Client D (female), single. In receipt of Pension Credit and previously in receipt of income support. Received notification that she had been overpaid housing benefit of £731.36. Wrote to Housing Benefit office on client’s behalf. Mistake had been made as housing benefits had been informed that her income support had stopped but had not been told that client had automatically been transferred to Pension Credit. Client’s overpayment was written off.
Case Study 5.
Client E. (female) single. Client violent relationship with partner terminated approximately one year ago. Was taking in work at home, not regularly. Had never claimed benefits before as partner had been in work. On advice of a friend had applied for housing benefit and council tax benefit last year. Had sought advice from another agency previously and had been told they would deal with matter but they had failed to follow up. Assisted client to claim housing benefit and council tax benefit, successful . also successful in claiming 52 weeks back payments having showed good cause as client had relied on advice of someone she was entitled to rely on. Client also advised to claim working tax credit, result pending.
Case Study 6.
Client F (female) single parent. Client approached Highgate Newtown regarding housing problem. Completed benefit check, noticed client only receiving income support for herself and child benefit. Client was not aware that she was entitled to child tax credit(18 year old). Assisted client to claim child tax credit, awarded and back dated to date of birth of child.
Case Study 7
Client G (female), single parent, living with elderly mother. Client approached Highgate Newtown regarding mother. Referred to house bound as mother is unable to leave home. During initial interview noticed mother in receipt of A.A. Client advised to claim Carer’s Allowance as she was caring for mother. Claim accepted and backdated 3 months.
Conclusion
The initial take up by clients was slow at first, but steadily increased as more residents became aware of the service. It soon became obvious that many residents had very little or no previous contact with an advice agency and as a result were not aware of their entitlement to benefits. As a result of this some people were assisted in making claims ands receiving back payments, but in some of this cases this was limited to 3 months and clients, although they would have been entitled before this date, were unable to claim beyond this date and therefore have suffered due to a lack of advice.
There are numerous reasons why people in this area have not approached advice services previously. The public transport service is poor and can be expensive for people on benefits. There are a high percentage of people in this area who are either elderly, single parents, have disabilities or care for others. These people feel restricted and unable to travel out of the area for any length of time. Many have expressed concerns about the length of time spent travelling, and then the time spent waiting to be seen at advice agencies and this can mean spending a full day away from their home, which is impracticable for many.
Highgate Newtown outreach is used regularly and although the amount of new clients contacting the service has reduced, we are still interviewing new clients at the rate of approximately 7 per month. In addition to this existing clients regularly contact us with new problems.
On many occasions clients had contacted the service with one query and often we discovered clients would be entitled to other benefits and that the clients had been unaware of their entitlement. It was also noticeable that many clients were not at ease at the initial contact, but after this interview they became more open about other issues and became more relaxed at interviews.
In such a small close knit community confidentiality became a very important issue as clients were uneasy about neighbours knowing about their problems. This was highlighted at an early stage when the Highgate library was used one day per week. The room used in the library was very open and privacy was at a minimum, and the take up by local clients was poor. Once the service was moved for both days of the week the uptake rose steadily.
The outreach has been reduced to one day per week and this has proved sufficient to cope with the needs of the area. 2 days per week was necessary for the initial uptake. The service is still used steadily and is seen by local residents as an ongoing necessity for the area.