Communities and Local Government Committee to hold inquiry on the on the implementation of welfare reform by local authorities

• Communities and Local Government Committee

Those making submissions may wish to consider the following issues, though the list is not exhaustive and respondents can select which issues they wish to cover.

• How effectively are the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government working together to implement Welfare Reform?
• Is the guidance available to local authorities from central government on implementing welfare reform adequate? Are there areas where more or better guidance is required?
• Is the Government’s timetable for implementing Welfare Reform achievable?
• Are local authorities being allocated sufficient resources to deliver services such as localised Council Tax Support and advice to claimants on Universal Credit?
• Are there financial risks to local authorities from Welfare Reform changes? Are such risks being adequately addressed?
• What impact have Welfare to Work schemes had, or are likely to have, on the numbers of benefit claimants?
• What evidence is there that local authorities are able to use effectively existing services or contracts for the delivery of new local Social Fund schemes?
• How will the separation of the administration of Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit affect claimants?
• How significant an issue is housing benefit fraud under the proposed new system and what measures are being taken to address it?
• Are there sufficient safeguards to protect social landlords from financial harm resulting from the payment of housing benefit direct to claimants?

Notes for Editors:

Submissions of no more than 3,000 words are invited until 14 December 2012 at 11am. 

Each submission should be labelled with the subject ‘Welfare Reform’, sent to clgev@parliament.uk, attached in Word format (with as little use of colour or logos as possible) and be accompanied by a covering email containing the name and contact details of the individual submitting evidence. A detailed guide for written submissions to Select Committees may be found on the parliamentary website; it should be noted that written evidence is often published and made available in a report and on the internet.