Agenda item

Rose Doran (Senior Advisor) introduced the report which updated Members on the latest developments on welfare reform.  In doing so, she paid particular attention to: the roll out of Universal Credit (UC); the future role of councils in Revenue and Benefits; and the publication of a second LGA report on making the case for devolution to local areas of welfare, employment and skills. 

In the discussion that followed, Members made a number of comments, including:

·        There was a detailed discussion on the future role of councils in revenues and benefits, including the risk of new responsibilities being placed on councils without funding.  There was strong support for a more robust approach to discussions with Government, with the sector setting out its offer of support, which must be underpinned by meaningful incentivisation by Government.  The pre-election period through to the next Spending Review was highlighted as a critical opportunity in which to influence the next Government.  With this in mind, Members asked that a financial and operational model be developed prior to the next Board meeting to explore in detail what such an offer might look like.

·        With reference to the division of responsibilities for welfare benefit fraud with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) predominately inheriting the less complex cases, serious concerns were expressed regarding the impact of the Single Fraud Investigation Service (SFIS) on councils’ ability to tackle fraud and the financial risks to councils, particularly relating to overheads.  

·        With reference to the creation of a centralised Advice Centre service in Wales, concerns were expressed regarding its implementation and effectiveness.

Decisions

The Resources Board:

       i.          noted progress;

      ii.          asked that its views inform the development of the work programme; and

     iii.          commissioned the development of a financial and operational model for the transfer of certain revenue and benefit responsibilities between DWP and the sector.

Action

That a financial and operational model for the future role of councils in revenues and benefits be developed.