This study seeks to explore current or recent (since 2019) take-up campaigns and other initiatives aimed at tackling unclaimed benefits among severely disabled people and people who have serious long-term health conditions (including those with life-limiting (terminal) illness), their families and carers.
The overall research project (a wider study of issues around benefit take-up among these groups) is led by Dr. Joanna Davies, of King’s College London. The present survey of benefit take-up initiatives and campaigns (the subject of this questionnaire) is being undertaken by Geoff Fimister, who has over 50 years’ experience in the area of social security and related issues.
The research is funded by Marie Curie, who have a particular focus on people who are terminally ill, their families and carers. However, this questionnaire survey is concerned more widely with people who are substantially disabled or have long-term health conditions.
They are interested in benefits such as:-
Personal Independence Payment (Adult Disability Payment in Scotland)
Attendance Allowance
Universal Credit (for disabled people)
Housing Benefit (for disabled pension age claimants)
Pension Credit (where the target group is disabled pensioners)
Council Tax Support/ Reduction (formerly Council Tax Benefit)
Carers’ benefits
They would also be interested in take-up campaigns and initiatives targeting other benefits, where the main focus is on severely disabled people and people who have serious long-term health conditions.
A key aim of this survey will be to develop ideas and good practice guidance to be widely disseminated, for example, to central and local government; health service practitioners; and advice service providers.
They may, in their survey report, refer to your service by name unless you ask them not to. None of their questions requires individual claimants to be identified – please comprehensively anonymise any case illustrations.
It would be a great help if you would complete this questionnaire at https://www.irrv.net/documents/weblinks/2024/3/Benefit_take-up_questionnaire_severely_disabled_people.docx and return by 30 April 2024.
Support with Council Tax payments through the Welsh Government’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme (‘the scheme’) is an important part of welfare support for households on low incomes. The scheme, which is administered locally by councils, has historically had low take-up from potentially eligible residents and the number of households receiving a Council Tax reduction continues to fall.
This technical consultation proposes a number of changes to the scheme to make it easier to access and simpler to administer. Nothing in this consultation places new restrictions on existing eligibility for the scheme.
The consultation can be found at https://www.gov.wales/proposed-changes-council-tax-reduction-scheme.
Closing date for responses is 6 June 2024.
The consultation paper ‘Implementing increases to selected court and tribunal fees’ was published in November 2023.
The consultation invited comments on the proposal to increase a selection of court and tribunal fees by 10% to partially reflect changes in the consumer price index (CPI) since 2021, the last time that fees were increased.
This document is the post-consultation report for the consultation. It covers:
The background to the report.
A summary of the responses to the report.
A detailed response to the specific questions raised in the report.
the next steps following this consultation response.
The response document can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementing-increases-to-selected-court-and-tribunal-fees?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=8dc08db0-dd01-455f-913e-c27a2acac1f3&utm_content=daily#full-publication-update-history.
ECB’s draft Business Plan for 2024/25 was open for consultation.
This consultation paper introduced the Enforcement Conduct Board’s (ECB) draft business plan for 2024/25. The 2024/25 business plan was the second of their full business plans. A draft was presented in Annex A to this consultation, which set out their key strategic priorities and planned deliverables for the year ahead.
The consultation could be found at https://enforcementconductboard.org/our-work/#businessplan.
Closing date for responses was 4 April 2024.
The IRRV response is at https://www.irrv.net/documents/weblinks/2024/4/IRRV_response_Consultation_on_ECB_Business_Plan_030424.pdf.
This consultation sets out proposals for the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) 2024/25 work programme and associated scale of fees.
The NFI work programme includes data that we intend to collect and match as part of the NFI 2024/25 data matching exercise, to help detect and prevent fraud. The proposed fee scale sets out the cost to NFI participants for matching this data.
The purpose of this consultation is to seek views from organisations required under legislation to submit data to the NFI, and other relevant organisations, on the proposed data requirements and fees for the NFI 2024/25 exercise.
The consultation can could be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/national-fraud-initiative-2024-to-2025-work-programme-and-fees?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=773a3812-b30f-40f1-974b-2767f175376a&utm_content=daily.
Closing date for responses is 30 April 2024.
The Welsh Government welcomes views on proposals to abolish land transaction tax (LTT) multiple-dwellings relief, and to extend an existing LTT relief to Welsh local authorities when purchasing property for social housing purposes. The Welsh Government is also interested in views on the option of amending the rules related to the purchase of 6 or more dwellings in a single transaction, and options to review or amend other LTT reliefs. The Welsh Government will make a statement regarding the next steps once the consultation has closed and the responses have been considered.
The consultation can be found at Proposed changes to land transaction tax reliefs | GOV.WALES.
Closing date for responses is 19 May 2024.
The government has committed to ensuring that the local government capital system is sufficiently robust at constraining risk while still supporting local investment.
As part of its broader strategy to strengthen the capital system, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities conducted a series of consultations on amendments to the Local Authorities (Capital Finance and Accounting) (England) Regulations 2003 and the statutory guidance that sets out local authorities’ statutory duty to set aside money each year for the repayment of debt, known as Minimum Revenue Provision (“MRP”).
This document sets out the government’s response to the third and final consultation, and details the amendments made to the regulations and guidance.
The document can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-the-capital-framework-minimum-revenue-provision?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=2099fef2-ebd9-4558-887d-bede6cb10f4c&utm_content=daily#full-publication-update-history.
The government has responded to the Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities Select Committee’s inquiry on financial distress in local authorities published on 1 February 2024.
The response can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-distress-in-local-authorities-government-response-to-the-select-committee-report/financial-distress-in-local-authorities-government-response-to-the-select-committee-report.
The Summary of Responses to the Business Rates Avoidance and Evasion Consultation sets out the views expressed to the government during the consultation and outlines reforms to combat abuse of the system.
The government is extending the Empty Property Relief “reset period”, from six weeks to three months (13 weeks) from 1 April 2024 in England. This will reduce the financial incentive to avoid business rates on empty properties through “box shifting”. The government is also announcing a consultation on a “General Anti-Avoidance Rule” for business rates in England, and committing to improved communications for ratepayers to help combat “rogue” business rates agents.
The summary of responses can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/business-rates-avoidance-and-evasion-consultation?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=232bea13-c5fe-4a10-9fbd-f8571056d2c5&utm_content=daily.
The IRRV’s response to the original consultation can be found at https://www.irrv.net/documents/weblinks/2023/9/IRRV-Response-Consultation-Rates-Avoidance-and-Evasion-Final.pdf.
Local authorities have the legal responsibility to provide social care and support to their respective assessed citizens, either within their own home, or in a residential care setting, and have the discretion to charge for those services.
Noting the increasing extreme financial pressures on local authorities, this consultation document seeks views on amending the regulations and code of practice governing local authority charging for social care and support services under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. The consultation specifically seeks views on a proposed increase to the non-residential maximum weekly charge, currently set at £100.
The proposed change would ensure only individuals who have the financial means to pay an increased maximum weekly charge would do so. This would be determined by the usual process, as part of the financial means test carried out by an individual’s local authority. Therefore, not everyone currently paying the maximum weekly amount of £100 would be required to pay an increased amount.
The consultation can be found at https://www.gov.wales/raising-weekly-maximum-charge-adult-non-residential-care-and-support.
Closing date for responses is 13 May 2024.
Internal drainage boards (IDBs), which are locally funded and operated statutory public bodies, are responsible in their area of operation, for water level management and managing flood risk. There are 112 independent IDBs in England and they are mainly funded by the beneficiaries of their work, through drainage rates on agricultural landowners and special levies on local authorities.
IDBs use a land valuation calculation to apportion their expenses between landowners and local authorities. This is based on historic ratings data which is missing or incomplete and is preventing new IDBs from being created and existing IDBs from expanding their boundaries.
To address this, the government has made a technical change to the Land Drainage Act 1991, via the Environment Act 2021, setting out a new valuation calculation which enables the use of more up-to-date data from the Valuation Office Agency. This approach will apply to drainage rates and special levies, to ensure consistency in the apportionment of expenses.
The consultation started on 7 March 2024 and closed on 19 April 2024.
The consultation could be found at https://consult.defra.gov.uk/flooding/consultation-on-draft-statutory-instrument/.
The IRRV response can be found at IRRV_response_Consultation_on_IDB-regs.pdf.
A library containing Institute responses to Consultations, Inquiries, Surveys etc. can be found at https://www.irrv.net/homenew/item.php?wid=20&iid=27496.
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