Agenda item

Update on Online Housing Benefit Applications

Minutes:

Sunita Ghudial, Head of Benefits – Exchequer Services presented the report which had been prepared in February 2020 prior to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. An addendum had been included in the pack which captured the impact of the pandemic from 1 March 2020 onwards.

 

Members were informed that, prior to the pandemic, the benefits online facilities had been introduced for new claims on 12 June 2017 and fully rolled out on 21 May 2018. The service enabled customers to apply and report changes for Benefits and Council Tax Reduction online 24/7 at their convenience – this was a faster and more efficient system. It had also been brought in as part of the national shift towards claiming benefits online, which included the roll out of Universal Credit (UC). The Committee heard that UC had been fully rolled out in Hillingdon on 24 October 2018 – it was a single monthly payment which had to be applied for online. It was confirmed that the majority of new claims for help with housing costs were now made through UC. Help with paying Council Tax was not included in the UC claim and was processed by the Local Authority’s Benefits team.

 

The Committee was informed that the Benefits service continued to provide support for people who did not have access to online facilities or needed assistance to make a claim. There were 11 computers available in the Benefits reception area in the Civic Centre, 4 at the One Stop Shop in Hayes and others in libraries across the Borough. Benefits staff were available within the Civic Centre and at the One Stop Shop to assist. It was confirmed that, between 1 April 2019 and 30 September 2019, an average of 130 people per week had visited the Civic Centre to make an application, report a change or submit supporting documentation.

 

It was noted that the data in the addendum covered the period from 1 March 2020 to 31 August 2020. During the pandemic, staff had been advised to work from home and the Benefits reception had closed temporarily. Customers had been advised to go online or call the contact centre. Those who were unable to complete an online form had been advised to request a paper application. Members heard that demand was being managed successfully and on only one occasion had a face-to-face meeting been necessary.

 

Councillors were informed that, between 1 March 2020 and 31 August 2020, the Benefits Service had received 10,274 emails and 22,297 telephone calls. Of the new claims received during this period, over 82% had been submitted online successfully. 453 paper applications had been received which constituted 13% of the total. During this period the Benefits Service had seen an increase in applications of 63% compared to the period from 1 April 2019 to 30 September 2019. It was confirmed that, despite the increase in the number of applications, the Benefits service had seen an improvement in processing times and home working had been a major contributing factor in this.

 

Members thanked officers for the report and noted the significant impact of Covid-19 on online benefits services. Members were very impressed with the reported outcomes and thanked staff for their professionalism and innovation in rising to the challenge presented by the pandemic. It was suggested that some of the learning in terms of efficiencies would be beneficial in the future. 

 

Members requested further clarification as to how the considerable improvements in processing times had been achieved. Tiffany Boreham, Benefits Team Manager, advised the Committee that, although it had been an extremely challenging time, the majority of staff had been successfully working from home. Members heard that the team had focussed on priority work, extra training had been provided, some staff members had been promoted as part of a re-structure and it had been possible to automate some processes to save time and work more efficiently. It was reported that here had been a huge increase in workload but fortunately no team members had been affected by Covid or taken ill. All staff were challenged, kept informed of progress and praised for the work they were doing. Members thanked Tiffany and her team for their hard work and impressive achievements to date.

 

In addition to the above, the Committee heard that teams across the Council had risen to the challenge presented by the pandemic and had worked collaboratively to ensure a joined-up response. At the onset of the pandemic, staff from the Counter Fraud team had been asked to work at office-based desktops and had handed over their laptops to benefits staff to enable them to work from home. It was confirmed that many members of the benefits team had been working extra unpaid hours to get the job done and support vulnerable people. This had contributed to the massive increase in performance levels. Members welcomed this collaborative approach across the Council and expressed gratitude to all those involved.

 

Members reiterated their gratitude to all those involved in this endeavour and commended them for their valiant efforts in working proactively to get the job done and support residents during such a difficult time.

 

 

RESOLVED: That the Social Care, Housing & Public Health Policy Overview Committee noted the contents of the report and sought clarification from officers as required.

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