COUNTY COUNCIL LOCAL COMMITTEE FOR...

COUNTY COUNCIL LOCAL COMMITTEE FOR ALLERDALE

Meeting date: 14 November 2013

From: Chief Executive

Money Advice Contract – Local Performance Reporting

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 This report provides information for Local Committee on the delivery of the 2013-15 Money Advice Contract in the Allerdale area.

2.0 STRATEGIC PLANNING AND EQUALITY IMPLICATIONS 2.1 The support, delivered through the Money Advice Contract, is in line with the

County Council’s draft priorities which are to: • To safeguard children, and ensure that Cumbria is a great place to be a

child to grow up • To enable communities to live safely and shape services locally • To promote health and wellbeing and tackle poverty • To protect and enhance Cumbria’s world class environment • To provide safe and well maintained roads and an improved transport

network • To promote sustainable economic growth, and create jobs • To support older and vulnerable people to live independent and healthy

lives • To be a modern and efficient council

2.2 The County Council seeks to support people facing financial challenges

through a range of services, of which Money Advice is one. Financial Inclusion is a pillar of the Council’s Anti Poverty Strategy 2011; Financial Inclusion is about ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to access the financial products and services they need to participate fully in modern day society. This includes taking action around:

• Access to affordable and responsible credit

• Access to an appropriate bank account

• Access to face to face debt advice

• Access to savings

2.3 Equality information is collected by the CAB which includes the age, gender and disability status of people supported by the service, as well as additional information on income and employment status. The detail of this information is explored in appendix 2. This shows that the main age group using the service is 25-49, which has increased in recent reporting quarters, and that a significantly large proportion of people using the service self-identify as disabled. More detail on the income and employment status of the users of the service is given in the main body of the report.

3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1 Members are asked to note the reporting information in this report

4.0 BACKGROUND 4.1 Cumbria County Council has supported a Money Advice Service provided by the

Citizens Advice Bureau since 1990 although the provision of Money Advice, directly or through external agencies is not a statutory duty of the County Council.

4.2 A Money Advice Service in this format has been in place since 2007 with the

contract meeting performance outputs and requirement year on year; often exceeding them. During this period approximately 9000 people across the county have received the help, advice and support they needed to deal with millions of pounds of debt.

4.3 The 2013-15 contract was awarded to Citizens’ Advice Cumbria following a tender

process in Autumn 2012. Citizens’ Advice Cumbria is a consortium of the 5 citizens’ advice bureaux in Cumbria. The contract’s value is £317,000, and commenced on 1 April 2013. Although the contract is managed centrally through the Chief Executive’s Office, the budget to support the contract sits with Local Committees. Regular reporting to Local Committee is important as it enables Members to review performance and comment on how well the service is meeting local needs.

4.4 Citizens’ Advice Cumbria’s delivery of the service relies upon highly skilled, trained volunteers who are committed to give their time to help others. Volunteers are always supported by fully qualified staff and bureaux have to meet stringent quality standards in both performance and practice to be continually accredited and recognized by Citizens Advice nationally.

4.5 The last performance report Local Committee received was in March 2013, which

covered the period October 2011 to September 2012 of the 2010-2013 Money Advice Service contract. As appendix 2 to this report, performance information for the final 6 months of that contract is included.

4.6 Money Advice Service 2013-15 in Allerdale Table 1: Case load and value of debts resolved June-September 2013

Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Cumulative

Cases Closed

101 98 199

Debts Resolved

744 573 1317

Non Priority Debt

£728,744 £705,861 £1,434,605

Priority Debt

£967,622 £476,825 £1,444,447

Total Debt £1,696,366 £1,182,686 £2,879,052

4.7 This level of performance represents solid progress in Allerdale in respect of the

delivery of the Money Advice Service. The current contract has a countywide target of 1900 cases closed per year, and on the basis of the first two quarters’ performance, it is possible that Allerdale CAB may close at least 400 Money Advice cases in the year 2013-14.

4.8 Money Advice and Anti Poverty. The provision of a Money Advice service in

Allerdale makes an important contribution to the County Council’s Anti Poverty Strategy 2011. The breakdown of cases and characteristics of service users provides evidence of the service supporting lower income households. Of particular note are the following statistics for April-September 2013:

• 38% of service users are unemployed • 21% of service users work part-time • 28% of service users have an income of below £600 per calendar month • 48% of service users have an income of below £1000 per calendar month

A geographical analysis of service users also demonstrates the importance of the

service in supporting households in the more deprived census wards in Allerdale. Over the first two quarters of the current contract, Moss Bay and Moorclose were the two census wards which provided the greatest number of clients; both wards provided 29 clients to the service. Both wards feature prominently in respect of data for low income households. In Moss Bay, 25% of households have an income of less than £10,000, while 21% of households in Moorclose are below this line. This compares to the Allerdale level of 15.3%, and the Cumbria wide figure of 14.8%. Similarly, lower quartile household incomes in both wards are very low; Moss Bay is £9,976 and Moorclose £10,946, in contrast to £13,369 for Allerdale, and £13,659 for Cumbria. Other low-income wards in the district such as Ewanrigg, St Michaels and Ellenborough also provide a significant number of clients to the Money Advice Service. Appendix 1 to this report provides a breakdown of clients at ward level for quarters 1 and 2, and a more detailed overview of the issues presented by clients from Moss Bay and Moorclose.

4.9 Prevention Activity. 10% of the current contract is focused upon prevention

related activities. Allerdale CAB has delivered information sessions to the front line workers from Croftlands Trust and to both the frontline workers and clients from Unity Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service. In addition, 2 volunteer trainers also deliver regular monthly Money Management Skills sessions to clients from Mind. Preparation has also taken place this quarter on Energy Best Deals sessions, ready for commencement October 2013. The bureau is also contributing to a countywide action plan for the prevention activity Citizens’ Advice Cumbria are undertaking at present.

4.10 Social Policy and Case Studies. Allerdale CAB has observed an increasing trend

of Money Advice service users who while being in employment, are also taking out multiple payday loans. In addition, service users who are Registered Social Landlord tenants are reporting that they are experiencing difficulties following the introduction of the Size Criterion/Under-Occupancy of Social Housing reform. This issue is reported to be particularly acute in Moss Bay and Moorclose. A selection of more detailed case studies is provided in appendix 4.

5.0 OPTIONS

5.1 Members may choose to request additional information

6.0 RESOURCE AND VALUE FOR MONEY IMPLICATIONS

6.1 The available budget beyond March 2014 will depend on the Council’s finalised budget plan for 2014-15 and beyond. At present there is no formal proposal other than to continue with the current level of funding.

7.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 7.1 The report is for noting and as such there are no legal implications.

8.0 CONCLUSION

8.1 The Money Advice Service gives considerable support to families and individuals

throughout Allerdale in line with the County Council’s priorities and delivering in the Anti Poverty Strategy 2011. The service is a key device in tackling levels of financial exclusion and debt, and the new 2013-15 contract has made a solid start in Allerdale, building upon the work performed by the 2010-2013 contract. In the first 6 months of the new contract, 199 cases were closed in Allerdale, totalling 1317 debts, at a value of £2,879,052.

Diane Wood Chief Executive October 2013

APPENDICES Appendix 1: Allerdale data April 2013 – September 2013 Appendix 2: Allerdale data October 2012 – March 2013 Appendix 3: longer term trends in Money Advice in Allerdale Appendix 4: Allerdale client case studies Electoral Division(s): All Allerdale

Executive Decision No

Key Decision No

If a Key Decision, is the proposal published in the current Forward Plan? N/A

Is the decision exempt from call-in on grounds of urgency? N/A

If exempt from call-in, has the agreement of the Chair of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee been sought or obtained?

N/A

Has this matter been considered by Overview and Scrutiny? If so, give details below.

No

Has an environmental or sustainability impact assessment been undertaken?

No

Has an equality impact assessment been undertaken? Yes

PREVIOUS RELEVANT COUNCIL OR EXECUTIVE DECISIONS [including Local Committees] Local Committee for Allerdale, March 2013 Cabinet, January 2013 CONSIDERATION BY OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY Not considered by Overview and Scrutiny BACKGROUND PAPERS None REPORT AUTHORS John Marsh, Policy Officer, Policy, Planning & Communities, [email protected] Joel Rasbash, Strategic Policy Advisor, Policy, Planning & Communities, [email protected]

Appendix 1 Money Advice Service – performance information and client characteristics April – September 2013 CASELOAD

Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Year to date

Cases Closed

101 98 199

Debts Resolved

744 573 1317

Non Priority Debt

£728,744 £705,861 £1,434,605

Priority Debt

£967,622 £476,825 £1,444,447

Total Debt £1,696,366 £1,182,686 £2,879,052

AGE PROFILE

Age of clients


Under 25 years

11% 12% 11%

25-34 years 28% 17% 23%

35-49 years 35% 36% 35%

50-64 years 21% 27% 24%

65 years + 4% 8% 6%

withheld 1% 0% 1%

GENDER


Male 39% 43% 41%

Female 61% 57% 59%

DISABILITY


Yes 20% 22% 20%

No 50% 60% 55%

withheld 30% 18% 25%

OCCUPATION


Unemployed 41% 35% 38%

Part Time Employed

19% 23% 21%

Full Time Employed

19% 15% 17%

Inactive 13% 5% 9%

Retired 5% 4% 5%

withheld 3% 17% 10%

INCOME


Below £400 21% 15% 18%

£400-£599 9% 11% 10%

£600-£999 16% 24% 20%

£1000-£1499 32% 22% 28%

£1500-£1999 7% 9% 8%

£2000+ 5% 1% 3%

withheld 9% 18% 13%

GEOGRAPHY

WARD

Percentage of services users in Q1 2013-14

Percentage of service users in Q2 2013-14

Percentage of Households with income below £10,000 (2013)

All Saints 6% 0% 14.1%

Aspatria 3% 7% 16.9%

Boltons 0% 0% 13.1%

Broughton St Bridgets 3% 0%

9.9%

Christchurch 2% 0% 15.3%

Clifton 1% 1% 16.2%

Crummock 0% 0% 8.6%

Dalton 1% 0% 8.9%

Derwent Valley 0% 1%

10.4%

Ellen 2% 1% 13.6%

Ellenborough 10% 3% 19.3%

Ewanrigg 9% 9% 22.1%

Flimby 2% 1% 18%

Harrington 2% 2% 10.4%

Holme 0% 2% 12.6%

Keswick 1% 2% 15.6%

Marsh 2% 0% 11.4%

Moorclose 11% 18% 21.7%

Moss Bay 12% 17% 25.1%

Netherhall 9% 4% 17.3% Seaton 0% 4% 12.2%

Silloth 2% 2% 17.2%

Solway 2% 0% 10.8%

St John's 6% 3% 13%

St Michael's 8% 12% 19.7%

Stainburn 0% 0% 8.7% Wampool 0% 0% 9.9%

Warnell 0% 0% 10.8%

Waver 1% 0% 10.9%

Wharrels 1% 0% 10.6%

Wigton 4% 3% 15.3% Allerdale 15.3%

Cumbria 14.8%

Key:

Wards with higher levels of low income households, and higher levels of Money Advice use in the 12 month period October 2012 – September 2013

Contract information

Contract title Cumbria County Council Money Advice

Organisation Citizens Advice Cumbria

Bureau Citizens Advice Allerdale

Basic information

Census ward: Moss Bay/Moorclose

Number of clients presenting to Money Advice this quarter: 16/17

Number of clients presenting to Money Advice this financial year: 29/29

Debt profile and need

What are the types of debt and financial issues clients are experiencing in this ward? Are these typical of the ward in a longer term context (i.e. have these issues been presented to the service in the past by other clients)? Or are they fresh and emerging debt/finance issues? If they are new issues, provide commentary on why they have occurred. To what extent are the debt/financial issues in this ward typical of the entire district?

The two wards typically present with the following debts: Rent arrears, High Street Hire Purchase, Doorstep Lenders, Payday Loans, Catalogue debts, Electricity and Gas arrears. The Under Occupancy Charge has had an impact on the level of rent arrears we are now seeing. The wards typically represent the areas with Housing Association properties.

Nature of intervention

How did the Money Advice Service assist clients in this ward in the past quarter? What steps were taken with clients?

All the clients were seen for an initial Face to Face appointment by an experienced Money Advice Worker, their situation was fully assessed including looking at Income Maximisation. Priority debts were assessed and the appropriate action taken. The client’s options for non-priority debts were discussed and if required, the Bureau took action on the client’s behalf.

Outcomes

Describe: What difference / change is the intended outcome? What happened? What was delivered? Please give details. Any challenges / barriers? How was the impact / outcome measured? How do you know a difference has been made through this intervention? Has the case had a lasting impact?

Policy Planning and Communities Contract Monitoring report Geographic Case Study

The intended outcome for all our Money Advice clients is to find an appropriate solution for them to manage their debts. Each Money Advice client presents with their own individual issues and they are dealt with by an experienced caseworker on a one to one basis. A number of challenges present with each client such as having to chase creditors for responses, the client not having funds for insolvency and the Bureau having to look for alternative funding. The Bureau is able to monitor outcome by assessing non-priority creditor replies, by direct responses from priority creditors, by the Bureau Satisfaction Questionnaires sent to all clients upon file closure and by confirmation letters from the Insolvency Service if applicable.

Learning for the Council

This may include policy or strategy issues, or specific gaps in provision, or stakeholders to engage.

The Under Occupancy Charge has had a severe impact on clients within the Allerdale area, particularly the Moss Bay and Moorclose Wards, as had all the changes introduced under the Welfare Reform Act.

Case Study

Author Karen Watson, Maggie Titley

Date compiled 09/10/2013

Quarter for which submitted Q2 2013

Key words

Appendix 2 Money Advice Service – performance information and client characteristics October 2012 – March 2013 CASELOAD

October-December 2012

January-March 2013

6 month total

Cases Closed

83 101 184

Debts Resolved

506 615 1121

Non Priority Debt

£967,451 £1,002,372 £1,969,823

Priority Debt

£504,413 £734,042 £1,238,455

Total Debt £1,471,864 £1,736,414 £3,208,278

AGE PROFILE

Age of clients

Oct-Dec 2012 Jan-Mar 2013

Under 25 years

6% 9%

25-34 years 22% 18%

35-49 years 37% 40%

50-64 years 21% 22%

65 years + 12% 11%

withheld 2% 0%

GENDER


Male 52% n/a

Female 48% n/a

DISABILITY


No 49% 38%

Yes 23% 25%

Unknown/withheld 28% 37%

OCCUPATION

Oct-Dec 2012

Jan-Mar 2013

Unemployed 27% 23%

Part Time Employed 27% 25%

Full Time Employed 18% 27%

Inactive 6% 5%

Retired 12% 10%

withheld 10% 10%

INCOME


Below £400 16% 10%

£400-£599 12% 15%

£600-£999 26% 21%

£1000-£1499 22% 17%

£1500-£1999 6% 17%

£2000+ 3% 6%

withheld 15% 14%

GEOGRAPHY Including performance data for the opening two quarters of the current 2013 – 2015 contract for comparison

WARD

Percentage of service users Oct-Dec 2012

Percentage of service users Jan-Mar 2013

Percentage of service users Apr-Jun 2013

Percentage of service users Jul-Sep 2013

Percentage of Households with income below £10,000 (2013)

All Saints 1.2 3.7 6 0 14.1%

Aspatria 2.4 1.2 3 7 16.9%

Boltons 0 0 0 0 13.1% Broughton St Bridgets 1.2 2.5 3 0

9.9%

Christchurch 2.4 1.2 2 0 15.3%

Clifton 1.2 2.5 1 1 16.2%

Crummock 2.4 0 0 0 8.6%

Dalton 1.2 0 1 0 8.9% Derwent Valley 0 0 0 1

10.4%

Ellen 0 0 2 1 13.6%

Ellenborough 11 12.3 10 3 19.3%

Ewanrigg 7.3 8.7 9 9 22.1%

Flimby 3.7 3.7 2 1 18% Harrington 4.9 0 2 2 10.4%

Holme 0 1.2 0 2 12.6%

Keswick 3.7 1.2 1 2 15.6%

Marsh 0 0 2 0 11.4%

Moorclose 12.2 16 11 18 21.7%

Moss Bay 13.4 9.9 12 17 25.1% Netherhall 1.2 2.5 9 4 17.3%

Seaton 2.7 5 0 4 12.2%

Silloth 0 2.5 2 2 17.2%

Solway 1.2 2.5 2 0 10.8%

St John's 3.7 5 6 3 13%

St Michael's 8.5 16 8 12 19.7%

Stainburn 1.2 0 0 0 8.7%

Wampool 0 0 0 0 9.9%

Warnell 0 0 0 0 10.8%

Waver 0 0 1 0 10.9%

Wharrels 0 0 1 0 10.6%

Wigton 2.4 0 4 3 15.3%

Allerdale 15.3%

Cumbria 14.8%

Key:

Wards with higher levels of low income households, and higher levels of Money Advice use in the 12 month period

October 2012 – September 2013

Appendix 3 Money Advice Service – trends over the past 12 months – geography, occupation, age, income 1 Geographical origin of service users. Five wards in Allerdale stand out as being the main wards for providing clients for the Money Advice Service:

• Moss Bay • Moorclose • St Michael’s • Ellenborough • Ewanrigg.

In the past four quarters, they have provided at least 50% of service users, thus far outnumbering the 26 remaining wards of Allerdale, and the small number of “cross-border” clients who come from northern Copeland.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Q3 2012-13 Q4 2012-13 Q1 2013-14 Q2 2013-14

5 main wards

Allerdale remainder

Copeland

n/a

Percentage of client

2 Age Breakdown of service users Age breakdown of clients presenting to the service follows several clear trends. Relatively few younger adults present to the service, and this is mirrored by a small number of pensioners (aged 65+) presenting cases. Although relatively few pensioners present, they do form an element of a significant proportion of clients who are aged 50 years or more. However, the bulk of clients can be found in the 25-49 age bracket, which has consistently produced over 50% of clients in Allerdale in the past 12 months.

Age profile October 2012 - September 2013

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Q3 2012-13 Q4 2012-13 Q1 2012-14 Q2 2013-14

Quarter

Percentage of service users

aged below 25

aged 25-49

aged 50+

Aged 65+

3 Occupation of service users Service users tend to fall into three categories – unemployed, full time workers and part time workers. In each of the past 4 quarters, these categories have encompassed at least 70% of service users, rising to just under 80% in quarter 1 of the current contract. The remaining service users are either pensioners, economically inactive (disabled, long term illness, students, not-working/seeking work), or have withheld their occupation. The trend from the current contract suggests a steep increase in the number of unemployed clients accessing the service compared to the closing quarters of the previous Money Advice contract. It is not clear why this is, or whether it represents a longer term trend. Equally, the decline in the proportion of service users in full time employment will also be monitored over the lifetime of the current contract.

Occupation of Service Users

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Q3 2012-13 Q4 2012-13 Q1 2013-14 Q2 2013-14

Quarter

Percentage of service users

Part Time Employed

Full Time Employment

Unemployed

4 Income Analysis of service users To a very large extent, the Money Advice Service is used by clients who have low monthly incomes. During the past 12 months, no fewer than 25% of service users opening cases had incomes below £600 per calendar month. Some service users have incomes which are significantly below this level. In the first two quarters of the current contract, 18% of service users in Allerdale had monthly incomes below £400. Close to 50% of service users over the past 12 months have had incomes below £1000, and the bulk of service users in the past year have stated their monthly income to be below £1500 per month (as high as 78% of service users in the opening quarter of the current contract). It should be noted that income stated by service users is their individual income, and may not necessarily be their household income. But to place these figures into context, the median salary for Allerdale in 2011-12 was approximately £17,600 (Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Provisional 2012 Results), which equates to an income of £1467 per calendar month. And on this basis, the stark trend of low – and in a significant number of cases – very low – income individuals needing to access the Money Advice Service is very clear indeed.

Income analysis of service users

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Q3 2012-13 Q4 2012-13 Q1 2013-14 Q2 2013-14

Quarter

perc

entage of serv

ice users

% below £600

% below £1000

% below £1500

Appendix 4 Client Case Studies April – September 2013



Organisation Citizens Advice Allerdale

Service, Project or Activity name

Money Advice

Generic beneficiary demographic information

Outline any key factors for the case study – does it focus upon an individual, a group, a whole population or a service? Does the case study include any relevant diversity information (are any protected characteristics of the Equality Act relevant?)

Individual Case Study Age Group under 25

1. Background to the case study

Describe the context, which could include why the case study is important, or how it meets the any key criteria for the contract. For example a debt advice case study may want to start with some basic statistics on debt in Cumbria, or explain why the issue is important

This case is typical of payday loan issues, of which the bureau is seeing a higher number of clients.

2. Assessment of Need

“This is the situation so what does it tell us about the need?” Record information about what the case illustrates. This could include how many similar issues are recorded (if relevant). For example a debt case may be typical of 50 similar cases in the same quarter

We are seeing an increase in clients with payday loans who are unable to repay the debt.

3. Nature of intervention

What did the contractors do to address the issues highlighted in the case study?

The bureau gave the client options available to her and advised her regarding payments being taken from her bank.

Policy Planning and Communities Contract Monitoring report Case Study

4. Outcomes

Describe: What difference / change is the intended outcome? What happened? What was delivered? Please give details. Any challenges / barriers? How was the impact / outcome measured? How do you know a difference has been made through this intervention? Has the case had a lasting impact – say 3 months or more afterwards?

The client is now back in control of her income after cancelling the repayments. Payment offers to each creditor on her behalf and acceptance’s were received that the token offer has been accepted. The client advised that she now feels in control of her finances again and is making the token payments.

5. Learning for the Council


Case Study

Author Karen Watson

Date compiled 9th October 2013 Quarter for which submitted Q2 2013

Key words





Money Advice



Individual Case Study – Age Group – 25-49



The client had been working and was then made redundant. The client had a personal loan which was no longer affordable. The client lived with his parents and it was a single debt issue.



This is typical of many of our clients. The situation was that credit was taken and affordable but due to a change of circumstances, repayments are no longer affordable and client had no payment insurance.



We explained options available to the client regarding his debt. We completed a benefit check to ensure client was receiving everything he was entitled to.


4. Outcomes


The client applied for a Debt Relief Order (DRO) with the assistance of the bureau. His application was successful and after a 12 month moratorium period, the client will no longer be liable for the debt.



Case Study

Author Karen Watson

Date compiled 9th October 2013


Key words





Money Advice



Individual case study of client in the 49-65 age group



The client has a mortgaged property, works part time and lives alone. There were arrears on priority and non priority debts.



The client lives in a mortgaged property and did not wish to sell the property. She wanted to negotiate a repayment plan which would prevent court action for possession.



We assisted the client in negotiating with the Mortgage company, they accepted affordable repayments. We assisted the client in applying for a grant to pay her water arrears. This was successful and payment was made to clear her arrears. We negotiated affordable payments for two council tax debts. We made token payment offers to her non-priority creditors which have been accepted.


4. Outcomes


The bureau negotiated affordable payments plans for the client on her priority and non-priority debts. No court action was taken due to the payment plan being set up. A grant was given to clear arrears on the client’s water debt. The client advised us that she now felt able to make the payments to her creditors and they were affordable. The mortgage repayments were agreed for 14 months. This would clear the arrears.



Case Study

Author Karen Watson

Date compiled 9th October 2013


Key words

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