Universal Credit claims flood in due to pandemic
SIX TIMES MORE APPLICATIONS THAN USUAL FROM COUNCIL TENANTS IN HILLINGDON
THE number of council tenants in Hillingdon applying for Universal Credit hiked by nearly six times last month due to the impact of coronavirus.
A special report discussed by borough bosses on Thursday May 22, into the council’s coronavirus response, revealed a weekly average of 237 Universal Credit requests being reviewed in the first three weeks of April. The council’s team usually deals with 120 claims a month, but in the last week of March alone, 248 requests were received.
The report read: “The council has seen a significant uplift in the number of tenants applying for the national Universal Credit scheme [UC] due to a fall in household income/loss of employment.
“Processing these verification requests swiftly is crucial in enabling tenants to access UC in order to meet their rent and other household liabilities. In order to accommodate this significant uplift in workflow, staffing arrangements have been reprioritised and extended successfully without any backlogs or delays presenting.”
During Hillingdon cabinet’s first virtual meeting, praise was given to all council staff in adapting to meet the challenge of coronavirus.
Cllr Jane Palmer, the borough’s health and social care boss, paid tribute to library staff for switching to welfare calls for vulnerable residents. Meanwhile, in the executive scrutiny committee meeting, leader of the Labour group Cllr Peter Curling highlighted work done to protect victims of domestic abuse.
“It’s been an absolute sterling effort by our staff and particularly with the increase in domestic abuse which is something I know we all care so much about. There’s been some real tragic cases in the last few weeks and the council really pulled out all the stops to help and assist people,” he said.
According to the report, the council was working on 20 cases by the end of April 2020, an increase from 14 in February. Across the borough thousands of people have been contacted or received support to help them through the lockdown.
On the council’s finances it was reportedly “difficult to estimate” the hit taken due to coronavirus, but £30 million is the figure expected for a local authority the size of Hillingdon, assuming three months of lockdown and a three-month recovery period.
The impact of a struggling aviation sector on Heathrow, income losses such as council tax and parking fees, rising costs for waste collection and PPE costs of £534,000 in April alone were also cited among the financial hits taken by the borough from the crisis.
Government support of £17.3m has been allocated to the borough, short of the £30m expected costs, but borough chiefs gave assurances there was still time to agree funding with government ministers.
The report added: “The task of trying to balance the budget in 2020/21 will probably be greater than in any year. However, significant work has already been undertaken on this front.”
It said unallocated reserves of £37.5m are going into this current financial year through these efforts, which is “significantly higher” than neighbouring boroughs.
Commenting on the council’s coronavirus response, leader Ray Puddifoot said: “At this time of national emergency, we have continued to put our residents first by ensuring the delivery of key services.
“The local response has been unparalleled, with a range of new services created from scratch or adapted to meet the needs of residents and businesses.
“I would like to thank employees right across the council, many of whom are currently working remotely, and our community partners for their tremendous drive and energy in rising to this unprecedented challenge.
“I have no doubt that we will continue to adapt as we move to safely reopen some of our services. In the meantime, I would also like to thank residents for the many words of appreciation we have received.”