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Social Security Department Income Support 2011
Minister for Social Security
CONTENTS
Contents
Minister s Foreword 3 Introduction 4 Income Support 5
Introduction 5 Income Support: Weekly benefit 5 Who receives Income Support? 6 Overall Claim Rate 9 Total Household Income 10 Earnings 10 Pensions 11 Maintenance Payments 11 Long Term Incapacity 11 Other Income 12 Households with no income other
than Income Support 13 Capital Assets 13 Income Support: Components 14 Basic Components 14 Accommodation Components 15 Medical Components 16 Carer s Component 17 Child Care Component 17 Overall Cost of Components 18 Transition (Protected) Payments 19 Residential Care 20 Special Payments 21 Cold Weather Payments 21 Ministerial Exceptional Payments 21
MINISTER S FOREWORD
Minister s Foreword
With total expenditure of just over £90 million in 2011, the Income Support scheme represents a major area of government expenditure and I am pleased to present the first annual report on this subject.
Income Support was established in 2008, replacing 14 separate income-related benefits and creating a single, comprehensive means-tested benefit system for local residents. The new benefit rules were developed during
a time of relative prosperity in the Island and were very quickly put to the test as the initial impact of the global economic crisis was experienced in Jersey in that first year of operation.
The timely introduction of a unified benefit system has enabled the States to provide financial support to local families efficiently and with the minimum of additional administrative costs during this protracted period of economic contraction. The Council of Ministers, elected in late 2011, identified its main priority as getting people back to work. The structure of Income Support, which introduced a legal requirement for individuals to support themselves through employment whenever possible, is a key factor in achieving this strategic aim. The new benefit has also facilitated close cooperation between employment services, including the Back to Work team, and the provision of financial assistance.
This report is based on a detailed analysis of Income Support claims in payment at the end of 2011 and includes background information on the design of Income Support, including the components that are available and the way in which income is assessed.
This report will be published on an annual basis. I welcome feedback on this first version of the report and suggestions for additional analysis or information to be included in future editions.
The bedding down of Income Support during this difficult economic time has been challenging, and I am continually impressed by the professionalism and positive attitude of the departmental staff. I would like to record my gratitude to the Income Support teams and to the staff throughout the Department for their hard work and dedication over the last year.
Senator Francis Le Gresley, MBE
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
The Social Security Department is responsible for three separate funding sources which are used to provide different benefits and services to the public.
The Department delivers a range of tax-funded benefits and services that are funded directly by the States of Jersey. It also collects contributions that are paid into two ring-fenced funds the Social Security Fund and the Health Insurance Fund. A variety of contributory benefits and pensions are paid from these two funds. Surpluses from the Social Security Fund are transferred to a separate fund the Social Security (Reserve) Fund.
Table 1 summarises the funding streams for 2011:
Social Security Fund Health Insurance Fund Tax-Funded
£000 £000 £000
Income 214,632 29,915 3,244 Expenditure 190,312 32,918 167,677
Table 1: Funding stream summary for 2011
The income for the ring-fenced funds is made up of contributions, investment income, bank interest and a States Grant towards the cost of supplementation. Further details of the performance of the funds is available in a separate report.[1]
Tax-funded benefits and services cover a wide range of activities as shown in Table 2:
2011 Spend Tax-Funded Benefit / Service
£000
Income Support Introduction
With expenditure in 2011 of over £90 million, the Income Support benefit is by far the largest tax-funded benefit provided by the Social Security Department. Within that total, support is provided to households and individuals in a variety of different circumstances.
Most of the spending on Income Support is used to provide a weekly benefit to eligible local families. Funding is also available to help with one-off costs and some households continue to receive payments based on their entitlement under the previous benefit system. Income Support also provides financial assistance to people living in care homes.
An analysis of the £90 million spent in 2011 is as follows:
2011 Category
£000
Income Support: Weekly Benefit 66,940 Income Support: Transition (Protected) Payments 2,004 Income Support: Special Payments 1,430 Income Support: Cold Weather Payments 345 Income Support: Residential and Nursing Care Fees 16,613 Administration 2,735 Total 90,067
Table 3: Categorised 2011 Income Support expenditure
This report considers each of these benefit areas in turn, providing a range of facts and figures based mainly on an analysis of Income Support claims that were being paid as at 31 December 2011.
Income Support: Weekly benefit
This section covers the support provided to individuals and families living in the community who need financial assistance with basic living costs.
Income Support is a household benefit. The amount paid to an individual household depends on the number of people in the household, where they live, their specific needs, and the income and capital assets of the household.
Income Support is available to households in which at least one adult meets a residence test (of at least 5 years residence in Jersey). Income Support claimants aged 65 and above are not subject to a work test but every adult aged under 65 must meet a work test by either being in full time work or being included in an exempt category.
Who receives Income Support?
Income Support legislation includes specific rules as to who is included within an Income Support household. In general terms, an Income Support household comprises an adult claimant and, if applicable, their married or unmarried partner and dependent children.
For Income Support purposes, children are defined as those aged below compulsory school leaving age.[1]
Young adults above compulsory school leaving age continue to be included within the household of their parents if they are:
Under 19 and actively seeking work (jobseeker) Under 25 and in full-time education
There are additional rules in respect of young people with disabilities.
An extended family living together is considered as separate Income Support households. For example, a couple with two young children sharing accommodation with the wife s parents and the husband s brother and sister-in- law is treated as three separate households:
The couple and their two dependent children The wife s parents
The husband s brother and his wife
Each household must satisfy the tests for Income Support separately.
At the end of December 2011, a total of 6,387 households were receiving Income Support. These households were made up of 11,355 individuals: 8,177 adults and 3,178 children.
For this report, these household claims have been split into four groups:
65 years and above (65+): all households that include one or more adults aged 65 or above
Working age adults with no dependent children (Adult/s without Children): one or more adults all aged below
65, with no dependent children
2 or more adults with dependent children (Adults with Child/ren): 2 or more adults aged below 65 with one or
more dependent children
Single adult with dependent children (Single Adult with Child/ren): a single adult aged below 65 with one or
more dependent children
The distribution of adults and children amongst these household groups is as follows:
Average Average Total No. of (mean) No. Total No. of (mean) No. of
Household Type No. of Claims
Adults of Adults per Children Children per
Claim Claim
65+ 1,771 2,148 1.2 16 0 Adult/s without Children 2,698 3,122 1.2
Adults with Child/ren 901 1,890 2.1 1,621 1.8 Single Adult with Child/ren 1,017 1,017 1.0 1,541 1.5 Total / Overall Average 6,387 8,177 1.3 3,178 0.5
Table 4: Number and average number of adults and children on Income Support claims as at 31/12/2011
Well over half of all Income Support households consist of a single adult without children: 2,329 adults aged up to 65 (36% of all claims), and 1,396 adults aged 65 and above (22% of all claims). Table 5 provides more detail:
Number of claims that include
Total No. Household Type 1 Adult 2 Adults 3 Adults 4 or more of claims
Adults
65+ 1,396 373 2 1,771
Adult/s without Children 2,329 320 44 5 2,698
Adults with Child/ren 821 72 8 901
Single Adult with Child/ren 1,017 1,017
Total No. of claims 4,742 1,514 118 13 6,387 Table 5: Number of claims that include an adult by size and type of household as at 31/12/2011
Table 6 details the number of children on Income Support claims, by household type:
Number of claims that include
Total No. Household Type 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 4 or more of claims
Children
65+ 6 5 11 Adult/s without Children
Adults with Child/ren 407 323 124 47 901 Single Adult with Child/ren 624 291 80 22 1,017 Total No. of claims 1,037 619 204 69 1,929
Table 6: Number of claims that include children by size and household as at 31/12/2011
54% of claims with children include just a single child. There are 69 claims which include four or more children. This represents less than 4% of all claims including children, and 1% of all Income Support claims.
The Census in March 2011[1] collected information on household groups. The following charts compare the total number of households[2] in Jersey with Income Support claims by household type. This comparison is only approximate as there are some differences in the definition of Income Support households compared with the Census definition of a household.
4%
24%
19%
16%
28%
65+ 65+
Adult/s without Adult/s without Children Children
14%
Adults with Adults with Child/ren Child/ren
Single Adult with Single Adult with Child/ren Child/ren
53% 42%
Figure 1: Census data by household type on 27/03/2011 Figure 2: Income Support claims by household type as at
31/12/2011
The Census also collected information on nationality and Figures 3 and 4 compare the nationality of those on Income Support, where information on nationality is available,[1] with the information contained in the 2011 Census:
1% 1%
2% 3% 4% 2% 1%
3% Jersey / British Isles 10% Jersey / British Isles 7% Portugal / Madeira Portugal / Madeira
Poland Poland
Ireland (Republic) Ireland (Republic)
Other European Other European Country Country
Elsewhere in Elsewhere in
the World the World 81% 85%
Figure 3: Population by place of birth, Census 27/03/2011 Figure 4:Nationality of individuals on Income Support as at
31/12/2011
[1]Finally, we can look at the ages of people receiving Income Support compared to the age distribution of the whole population using the data from the 2011 Census. Figure 5 shows a higher percentage of children and women aged 70 and above in families receiving Income Support compared to the population as a whole. In addition, more women are in families that are in receipt of Income Support than men in comparison to Census data.[2]
95+ 90-94 Income Support Males
85-90 Census Males
80-84
75-79 Income Support Females 70-74
65-69 Census Females
60-64
55-59
50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-35 25-29 20-24
15-19 10-14 5-9 1-4
The large spike at £90 £100 per week represents the rate paid to a single adult living in a relative s home and is principally made up of unemployed claimants aged between 19 and 24 who typically still live with their parents and are only able to claim the basic adult component of £92.12 per week.
At the end of 2011 there were 17 claims with a total weekly benefit above £700. These claims represent large households, many including a child or adult with a severe disability.
Total Household Income
Income Support tops up other household income. Many Income Support households receive income through earnings, pensions, other social security benefits, maintenance agreements and other income. 80% of Income Support households have some other form of income, with the remaining 1,296 (20%) of Income Support households being totally reliant on Income Support for their weekly income.
As household income from other sources increases, the Income Support benefit decreases until the family is fully self-sufficient. Depending on the source of income, a variety of incentives and allowances are provided to encourage Income Support families to support themselves as far as possible.
Table 7 indicates the average weekly income received from Income Support and from other sources for each of the household types at the end of 2011.
Income Support Benefit Other Income Total Household Income Household Type £ £ £
65+ 158 202 360 Adult/s without Children 166 130 296 Adults with Child/ren 288 385 673 Single Adult with Child/ren 333 177 510 All Claims 208 193 401
Table 7: Total average weekly income based on claims as at 31/12/2011
Earnings
In 2011, Income Support households had total earnings of approximately £32 million. There is an earnings disregard of 20% (plus an additional 6% in respect of the cost of Social Security contributions) which is allowed against the Income Support calculation, providing a real incentive for low income families to take up and remain in work.
As at 31 December 2011, the distribution of adults with earnings amongst all claims consisting entirely of working age adults was as follows:
No. of Claims with No. of Claims with % of Households
Total No. of
Working Age Household Type no Adult with at least one Adult with no Adult with
Claims
Earnings with Earnings Earned Income
Adult/s without Children 2,012 686 2,698 75% Adults with Child/ren 189 712 901 21% Single Adult with Child/ren 550 467 1,017 54% All Working Age Households 2,751 1,865 4,616 60%
Table 8: Working age adults with and without earnings as at 31/12/2011
Pensions
The second largest source of income for Income Support households is pensions, worth a total of about £19 million in 2011. For pensioners aged 65 and above, a weekly pension allowance of £42.28 (first pensioner) and £27.23 (second pensioner) was provided as at 31 December 2011, and these amounts are exempt from the Income Support calculation. For those aged below 65 and already receiving a pension, an allowance of 6% was provided. At the end of December 2011, 93% of the 65+ households receiving Income Support had pension income at or above the level of the allowance.
2011 Annualised Average of Total Annual Pension Income
£000
65+ 17,534 Adult/s without Children 1,206 Adults with Child/ren 77 Single Adult with Child/ren 135 Total 18,952
Table 9: Annualised average total pension income in 2011 by household type as at 31/12/2011
Maintenance Payments
Following the breakdown of a relationship, maintenance may be paid for a child or ex-partner. In particular, if parents do not live together, the absent parent is expected to contribute towards the maintenance of their children. An allowance of 10% is provided against maintenance income. Just under half of claims that include a single adult and dependent children receive maintenance as part of the household income.
% of all Claims
No. of Claims Annualised
of this type that include average of
Household Type receiving
Maintenance Maintenance
Maintenance Income Income per claim
Income
65+ 18 £3,455 1% Adult/s without Children 64 £3,075 2% Adults with Child/ren 126 £3,925 14% Single Adult with Child/ren 456 £3,258 45% Total 664 £3,372 10%
Table 10: Annualised average maintenance income by household type as at 31/12/2011
Long Term Incapacity
Long term incapacity allowance (LTIA) and invalidity benefit (INV) are contributory benefits for working age adults who have a loss of faculty. In many cases, this makes it difficult for the individual to support themselves through employment. Under the rules of invalidity benefit (which is no longer available to new claimants), individuals are not allowed to work at the same time as claiming invalidity benefit. An allowance of 6% is provided against the value of these benefits in the Income Support calculation.
An estimate of the total annual income received by Income Support households from these two contributory benefits is £9 million.
Other Income
Income Support households receive income from a variety of other sources, including short term incapacity allowance and income from lodgers. No allowance is provided against these types of income in the Income Support calculation.
An estimate of the total annual income received by Income Support households from other income is £2.2 million.
Charitable Income and Expense Payments
Income received from a charity and expenses paid in connection with voluntary work are not included in the Income Support calculation and do not affect the value of Income Support received.
Interest and Investment Income
Actual income received from capital assets is not included in the Income Support calculation. This includes bank interest, share dividends and rental income. However, the value of capital assets themselves is taken into account to produce a deemed income in some cases (see page 13).
Figures 7 10 illustrate the relative weighting of different types of income, other than Income Support, for each household type as at 31 December 2011. Each figure identifies the value of income received by the household type, e.g. 94% of all the income received by 65+ households is in the form of pension income:
0% 2% 1% 3%
94%
6%
Earnings 37% Earnings Pension Pension Maintenance Maintenance INV / LTIA INV / LTIA Other 50% Other
1%
6%
Figure 7: Type of income for 65+ households
as at 31/12/2011
Figure 8:Type of income for Adult/s without Children
households as at 31/12/2011
6% 3%
3%
1%
87%
4% 8%
Earnings Earnings Pension 16% Pension
Maintenance Maintenance INV / LTIA 1% INV / LTIA Other Other
71%
Figure 9: Type of income for Adults with Child/ren Figure 10: Type of income for Single Adult with Child/ren
households as at 31/12/2011 households as at 31/12/2011
Households with no income other than Income Support
A minority of Income Support households do not have any other income. Typically, this could be due to unemployment, a single parent with a young child with no maintenance agreement in place, or an individual with a congenital condition, who does not qualify for any contributory benefit.
No of Claims
Showing no % of all Claims of Household Type
Income on this type 31/12/2011
65+ 84 5%
Adult/s without Children 939 35%
Adults with Child/ren 62 7%
Single Adult with Child/ren 211 21%
Total 1,296 20% Table 11: Income Support households with no other income as at 31/12/2011
Capital Assets
If an Income Support claimant owns their own home, the value of the property is completely exempt from the Income Support calculation. Other capital assets such as deposit accounts, stocks and shares up to a certain level are exempt from Income Support calculations. These levels are shown in Table 12. Claimants with capital assets above these levels can still receive Income Support but at a lower rate. Benefit is withdrawn at the rate of £1 per week for every £250 of capital assets above the exemption limit. This is achieved by adding a deemed income of this amount to the claim.
Capital Exemption Type of Household
Amount
Single person aged 65 or above £13,706 Single person with personal care component £13,706 Single person other £9,137 Couple aged 65 or above £22,718 Couple at least one with personal care component £22,718 Couple other £15,145
Table 12: Capital exemption limits as at 31/12/2011
Table 13 details the number of households that have capital assets either above or below the relevant exemption limit:
% of all Claims
No. of Claims with No. of Claims with Average Value
of this type with Household Type Assets below Assets above of Capital above
Capital Assets Capital Threshold Capital Threshold Threshold
above Threshold
65+ 1,469 302 £12,093 17% Adult/s without Children 2,554 144 £10,015 5% Adults with Child/ren 854 47 £11,563 5% Single Adult with Child/ren 974 43 £14,085 4% Total 5,851 536 £11,648 8%
Table 13: Capital assets by household type as at 31/12/2011
Whereas 17% of 65+ households have some capital savings above the exemption limit, around 5% of other households have savings above this level.
Income Support: Components
Income Support is designed to offer financial support for different day-to-day basic living costs. The amount of Income Support that a household receives will depend on the composition of the household and their current circumstances, such as household income and savings, ages, living arrangements, and any medical condition or care needs of a member of the household.
To provide support tailored to specific family circumstances, Income Support is made up of a number of separate components to cover basic living costs, accommodation, childcare, carer, medical and care costs.
Basic Components
Adult components
The value of the adult component at 31 December 2011 was £92.12 per week.
The adult component is available to each adult included on the claim. For Income Support purposes, an adult is someone aged above compulsory school leaving age.
Young adults above compulsory school leaving age continue to be included within the household of their parents if they are:
Under 19 and actively seeking work (jobseeker) Under 25 and in full-time education
There are additional rules for young people with disabilities.
Lone parent component
The value of the lone parent component at 31 December 2011 was £132.51 per week.
The lone parent component is available if there is a single adult on the claim and at least one child. In some circumstances the lone parent component is also paid if there is a second adult aged under 19 included on the claim. At the end of 2011 there were 241 claims in this category.[1]
Child component
The value of the child component at 31 December 2011 was £63.98 per week.
The child component is available for each child on the claim aged up to compulsory school leaving age. As of 31 December 2011 there were 184 claims that included a child born in 2011 (17% of all births in the Island[2]).
Household component
The value of the household component at 31 December 2011 was £49.56 per week.
The household component reflects the fixed costs of a household, regardless of the number of people living together. These include some specific items such as parish rates and the cost of a TV licence, together with more general costs such as energy, household maintenance etc. It is not paid to individuals who live with another household (for example, a young unemployed adult aged 19 or above who remains living with his or her parents).
At 31 December 2011, approximately 11% of Income Support claims were not receiving a household component.
Accommodation Components
Accommodation components are available to both tenants and owner occupiers. For rented properties, maximum component levels are set for each size of unit and the component is only available up to this maximum level, regardless of the actual rent paid. If the rent paid is less than the maximum available, the component is set at the actual value of the rent. Owner occupiers have a smaller component available to assist with the cost of parish foncier (owner s) rates and building insurance. An accommodation component is not usually allocated to a claimant aged below 25. However, support is available in certain circumstances.
Table 14 shows the maximum weekly component available for each type of dwelling as at 31 December 2011.
Owner
Tenant Weekly Maximum Rates Occupier
£
£
Hostel N/A 76.30 Bedsit / Lodgings 5.67 109.41 One-bed flat 5.67 156.31 One-bed house 5.67 177.59 Two-bed flat 5.67 196.63 Two-bed house 8.05 231.28 Three-bed flat 8.05 223.37 Three-bed house 11.41 258.02 Four-bed flat 11.41 236.88 Four-bed house 11.41 279.16 Five or more-bed flat 11.41 245.77 Five-bed house 11.41 303.73 Six or more-bed house 11.41 318.29
Table 14: Weekly accommodation rates as at 31/12/2011
Table 15 sets out the number of Income Support households by tenure and property type.
Owner States Housing Trust Private Rental Other [1] Grand Occupier Rental Rental Total
Hostel 0 0 0 3 54 57 Bedsit / Lodgings 1 220 9 233 155 618 One-bed flat 40 1,255 269 696 25 2,285 One-bed house 88 74 7 92 30 291 Two-bed flat 10 665 147 271 2 1,095 Two-bed house 43 226 28 147 3 447 Three-bed flat 1 59 20 25 1 106 Three-bed house 38 432 115 142 3 730 Four-bed flat 0 0 1 0 0 1 Four-bed house 9 79 19 26 0 133 Five or more-bed house 3 3 1 7 3 17 Other / none 3 0 4 7 593 607 Total 236 3,013 620 1,649 869 6,387
Table 15: Income Support claims by tenure and property types as at 31/12/2011
At the end of 2011, just over one third of all Income Support households occupied a one bedroom flat. 4% of
Income Support households were owner occupiers. 9% of Income Support claims were in respect of individuals living with other family members: these claimants do not receive an accommodation component.
Medical Components
Income Support medical components are available to assist with costs as follows: personal care components (three levels) provide additional support for individuals who have difficulty undertaking basic daily activities; mobility components (two levels) provide support for those who have significant mobility problems outside the home; and clinical cost components (two levels) provide additional support for those who need a higher than average number of GP visits to monitor an ongoing medical condition. Individuals can be eligible for one or more components depending on their particular condition.
Table 16 gives the weekly value of these components at 31 December 2011:
Clinical Clinical Mobility Mobility Personal Personal Personal Medical
Cost Cost Non-Earner Earner Care Care Care Components
(CC1) (CC2) (MOB1) (MOB2) (PC1) (PC2) (PC3)
Weekly Value £3.01 £6.02 £22.96 £45.92 £22.96 £101.15 £145.25 Table 16: Medical component weekly rate value as at 31/12/2011
Table 17 shows the number of medical components included on claims as at 31 December 2011. Note that one claim may appear in more than one column.
Clinical Clinical Mobility Mobility
Personal Personal Personal Household Type Cost Cost Non-Earner Earner
Care (PC1) Care (PC2) Care (PC3) (CC1) (CC2) (MOB1) (MOB2)
65+ 597 484 663 2 378 172 177 Adult/s without Children 272 376 418 9 227 161 175 Adults with Child/ren 103 59 75 1 49 38 39 Single Adult with Child/ren 187 73 43 0 30 19 20 Total 1,159 992 1,199 12 684 390 411
Table 17: Medical components by household type as at 31/12/2011
In all, 4,847 medical components were included on a total of 2,381 separate claims as at 31 December 2011.
Carer s Component
The carer s component is available to the main carer of an individual who has a significant disability (i.e. meets the requirements for the highest level of personal care component: PC3). The carer s component can be claimed by
a carer of any age, and at 31 December 2011 had a value of £46.97 per week. The cared for person does not need to be living in the same household as the carer. There were 121 Income Support claims which included a carer s component as at 31 December 2011.
Child Care Component
The child care component is available to assist with the cost of registered childcare to allow a parent to return to employment. Three separate hourly rates are available depending on the age of the child.
Age of Child (years) Hourly Rate (£) 0 2 6.12
3 4 4.78
5 11 4.73
Table 18: Child care rates as at 31/12/2011
At the end of 2011, there were 100 Income Support claims which included a total of 118 child care components.
Overall Cost of Components
As the value of Income Support paid to a particular household depends not only on the mix of components that they are entitled to, but also on the other income received by the household, it is not straightforward to report on the value of each component in the total expenditure for Income Support.
However, to enable an analysis of the total cost to be undertaken, a method of allocating costs within the various components has been developed. This method divides the actual Income Support benefit received by a household in proportion to the gross value of each of the components that the household is eligible for, to allocate a specific net value to each of the components.
Whereas most of the analysis provided in this report is based on a detailed analysis of the Income Support claims in payment on the last day of 2011, in order to compare the total spend in 2011 across the range of components, it is necessary to examine expenditure throughout the year. The mix of claims changes over time and the values of some components were increased during the year. The following analysis includes data taken from each month of the year to ensure that trends in the take-up of Income Support and rate changes during the year are represented, and provides approximate net values for the cost of each component group.
Accommodation Living Other Total Household Type
£000 £000 £000 £000
65+ 5,311 6,807 1,878 13,996 Adult/s without Children 8,098 12,406 2,217 22,721 Adults with Child/ren 4,206 7,750 406 12,362 Single Adult with Child/ren 6,810 10,572 479 17,861 Total 24,425 37,535 4,980 66,940
Table 19: Analysis of net expenditure in 2011 by component and household type Throughout this section, components have been grouped as follows:
Accommodation: all accommodation components (tenants and owner occupiers) Living: adult, child, lone parent and household components
Other: all medical components, carer, and childcare
21% 27%
18%
34%
7%
65+ 37%
Adult/s without
Children Accommodation Adults with Living
Child/ren
Other
Single Adult with
Child/ren
56%
Figure 11: Distribution of 2011 net annual expenditure Figure 12: Distribution of 2011 net annual expenditure
by household type by component type
Using the same data but looking at net component costs by tenure:
Accommodation Living Other Total Tenure Type
£000 £000 £000 £000
Owner Occupier 45 958 385 1,388 States Rental 13,719 18,791 2,267 34,777 Housing Trust Rental 3,101 4,040 381 7,522 Private Rental 6,799 9,084 623 16,506 Other 761 4,662 1,324 6,747 Total 24,425 37,535 4,980 66,940
Table 20: Analysis of net expenditure in 2011 by component and tenure type
10% 2%
Owner Occupier States Rental
25% Housing Trust rental
Private Rental Other
52%
11%
Figure 13: Distribution of 2011 net annual expenditure by tenure type
Transition (Protected) Payments
In addition to weekly Income Support entitlement, some claimants continue to receive protected payments in respect of benefits that were replaced by Income Support in 2008. These payments are being phased out over a number of years.
The phasing depends on the type of claim as follows:
Protection January Protection July to June 2011 to December 2011
Household includes adult previously receiving attendance allowance
or adult disablement allowance or child previously receiving child 100% 80% disability allowance
Household has high legacy entitlement 12 80% 60% Household includes adult over 65 or individual previously receiving
75% 50% disability transport allowance
Other households 66% 33% Table 21: Transition (protected) payment phasing
12. This group is made up of households in which the difference between the value of the previous benefits received and the Income Support payable on 28/01/2008 was more than 25% of the total of the calculated income of the household and their Income Support benefit on that day.
[1]Households that include a child previously receiving attendance allowance are not subject to any reduction in transition (protected) payments and these payments will continue until the child reaches compulsory school leaving age. At that point, the young adult is able to make a claim for Income Support in their own right.
On 31 December 2011, transition (protected) payments were being paid to 645 households:
Household Type No. of Claims
65+ 299 Adult/s without Children 279 Adults with Child/ren 47 Single Adult with Child/ren 20 Total 645
Table 22: Transition (protected) payments at 31/12/2011
The total cost in 2011 of transition (protected) payments was £2 million.
Residential Care
The Income Support system also supports individuals living in care homes who are unable to meet the full cost of their own care. During 2011, these costs were supported up to the value of:
2011 Maximum Weekly Fee Available £
Standard Residential care 614 High Dependency Residential care 785 Nursing care 456 [2]
Table 23: Maximum weekly fee for care homes
In addition to assistance with the care home fees, claimants also received a personal allowance of £31.36 per week. At the end of 2011, 556 individuals were receiving financial assistance with the cost of care.
Standard High Dependency Nursing Age
Residential care Residential care care
Under 65 19 86 16 65 and above 160 166 109
Special Payments
The weekly Income Support benefit is designed to meet daily living costs. Income Support legislation also allows for larger one off costs to be met through special payment grants or loans. These cover a number of areas as shown in Table 25:
No. of Value Description
Payments £000
Essential Household Equipment 531 181 Rental Deposit 202 187 Removal Expenses 49 8 Employment Related Expenses 20 10 Medical Expenses 1,623 991 Health & Safety 1 ~ Funerals 34 53 Total 2,460 1,430
Table 25: Special payments in 2011 (~ non zero value less than £1,000)
Cold Weather Payments
Cold weather payments are made to selected Income Support households during the winter months. Cold
weather payments are calculated for the months of October to April if the temperature drops below a certain level. Payments are made in arrears, i.e. October s payment is made in the first week of November.
The cold weather payment for a month is made to any household receiving Income Support that, for the whole of the month, includes one of the following:
someone over 65 years old;
a child under the age of 3; or
someone receiving personal care level 3 component
In 2011, the following cold weather payments were made:
Total Month Jan Feb Mar Apr Oct Nov Dec 2011 Value
Value (£) £53.17 £30.24 £32.17 £0 £0 £1.77 £34.74 £152.09 Table 26: Monthly cold weather payment values in 2011
In 2011, the total value of cold weather payments was £345,000 with an average (mean) of 2,271 households
receiving a payment each month.
Ministerial Exceptional Payments
The Income Support law provides a set of rules against which benefit decisions are made. Inevitably, from time to time an unusual situation will arise that is not covered by the legal framework. This is provided for as the Minister has the power to make payments outside the Income Support rules, in the event of an exceptional circumstance. Payments authorised under these powers in 2011 totalled £68,000; however, some payments may run across more than one calendar year. The cost of these payments is reported within the weekly Income Support costs.
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Social Security Department PO Box 55
Philip Le Feuvre House
La Motte Street
St Helier, JE4 8PE
Telephone: +44 (0)1534 445505 Fax: +44 (0)1534 445525 www.gov.je