Welfare BenefitsRevenues, Benefits and Customer Services

Helen Bilham – Business Support and Improvement Manager

Leigh Noall – Business Development Officer

Introduction

• Our Service• Overview of Cornwall’s demographics• Welfare Team:

• Resources• Activity• Results

• Mapping of welfare provision• The future• Questions/contact details

Our Service

• £250,000,000 Council Tax collected• £132,000,000 Business Rates collected• £196,000,000 Benefits paid out• Increase in benefits caseload• Shrinking resource• Coalition gov’t proposals for benefits

Cornwall’s demographics

Source: Department for Communities and Local Government (2007)

The English Indices of Deprivation 2007

Resources

• Six Welfare Visiting Officers (5.6 FTE)

• One Admin Support Officer (0.5 FTE)

Welfare Team activity•Maximisation of all welfare benefits

•Take-up activity targeted in partnership with Community Intelligence

•Advocacy and representation at tribunals

•Assistance and advice – signposting to other specialist advisors

•Partnerships – e.g. Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service

Results

2009/10 - £2,203,084

Cost £122k – a positive gain of 18:1

2010/11 - £2,217,328 (January)

77 pence in the pound is spent in the local economy (£1.7m last year).

Examples of Data CapturedData Detail Use

Customer age group Under 16/16-24/25-59/over 60 Demographic analysis

Number of school age children in household

To measure effectiveness of activity against Council’s aim to reduce child poverty

Source of referral Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service, Age UK, Mental Health Team, NHS, Adult Social Care and many others

To measure effectiveness of joint working with partners

‘Other’ welfare work Such as attendance at public meetings and those arranged by partners

Time input ratio to results

Take-up activity Data to capture activity such as targeted mail shots and community based activity

To measure results of take-up activities and learn from each in order to improve the next

Inter-agency work Meetings/liaison with DWP agencies to build develop joint strategies and take-up campaigns

Building/strengthening partnerships to improve service to our customers and communities

Referral successful Yes/No To measure percentage of cases where benefit gained (that would not have otherwise have been claimed)

Financial information Broken down into benefit types How much of a real difference is the Welfare Team making to individuals, communities and the County in financial terms

Benefit types All welfare benefits To identify market trends and inform forward planning

Mapping of welfare provision

• Who exactly does what, where?

• Synergies, efficiencies, simplification for customers

Contacts

Helen Bilham – Business Support and Improvement Manager

01736 336545 helen.bilham@cornwall.gov.uk

Leigh Noall – Business Development Officer

01736 336532 leigh.noall@cornwall.gov.uk

Cornwall CouncilCounty HallTruro TR1 3AY

Tel: 0300 1234 100www.cornwall.gov.uk