Wednesday 06 June 2018
General update
Sir,
I'm pleased to have the opportunity to update you and the Assembly on the Committee for Employment & Social Security's work. Like the statement I gave in March 2017, I'm intending to use this time to talk primarily about some of our workstreams that do not get discussed in the States as often as they should be.
Firstly, I'd like to talk about social housing. We reported on this part of our mandate in the Policy & Resource Plan update, which was debated earlier this week, as it forms one of the top 23 policy priorities identified by the States. As Members will be aware, one of the key work streams that will affect housing tenants during 2018 is Income Support. I will say a little more about the implementation of Income Support towards the end of this update.
A key priority for social housing is our Single Gateway project. This will amalgamate the waiting lists for States' housing and Guernsey Housing Association properties into a single list. The current points-based allocations system will be replaced with a banding system, which will be linked to need and waiting times. The outcomes of this project are that our Housing staff will be able to manage the demand for social housing more efficiently, by prioritising applications and applying a single set of eligibility criteria. It will also make it easier for potential applicants to understand whether they are eligible, how the applications are processed, and what they need to do to maintain good tenancies.
The Committee continues to work closely with the GHA on the development of affordable housing units to meet demand. To date, the GHA has developed 851 properties, which also include extra-care, key worker and partial ownership accommodation. These developments have been one of the main factors in the reduction of the waiting lists for both the States and GHA social rented accommodation. The GHA has planned developments in progress until 2020 and is now working with ESS to identify further sites for development beyond 2020, to ensure that demand for housing can be met.
We have been consulted and involved in discussions throughout the development of the Committee for theEnvironment & Infrastructure's Policy Letter on the Local Market Housing Review. E&I's Policy Letter, which is in response to the KPMG report is expected to be published later this month. ESS is keen to see the development of a new Housing Strategy, which we believe is an integral and critical work stream in delivering the housing policy outcomes identified through the Policy & Resource Plan.
I will now turn to unemployment. Members may have noticed a change in the way we have reported unemployment recently. We have moved to reporting on a quarterly basis instead of monthly. This enables us to show long-term trends better. Quarter 1 data for 2018 showed that the average number of job seekers without work was 297, which was a decrease of 22% compared with the same period in 2017. If trends continue as they are, then this year is likely to see the lowest unemployment figures since 2011, which in turn continues to give us one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world. Unfortunately, there is a long-term increase in the number of people who undertake some work, but still require additional financial support through supplementary benefit, soon to be income support. Statistics show that during 2017, median earnings increases did not match inflation. We are monitoring the figures to establish whether a trend will develop if median earnings do not exceed inflation during 2018, particularly for low earners.
This leads neatly into my next topic, minimum wage. Initial conversations with key stakeholders have started and the public consultation on the minimum wage will launch subsequently. Last year, we pushed for more engagement and received more responses than ever before., The responses last year were enlightening, and allowed us to conclude that it was appropriate to propose a significant increase. Sir, I would ask that all Members of this assembly direct concerned parishioners to take part in the consultation, whether they have an interest as an employee or employer. Of course, the consultation is open to all, so Members are also encouraged to participate. Around the time the proposals are debated each year, there tends to be some criticism, which is to be expected, as we aren't going to please everyone. But it's concerning that more often than not, criticism comes from those who did not take part in the consultation, despite being directly offered the chance to participate.. Last year, the Committee was minded to propose an adult rate of £7.50 per hour, but following the results of the consultation, we proposed a rate of £7.75 per hour. This year, public opinion will be even more important, because we will be responding to Deputy Roffey's Amendment, which requires us to indicate a direction of travel for minimum wage increases in the years to come. We also wait for the Scrutiny Committee's report on In Work Poverty which may also assist us with this work.
Another area of the Committee's mandate that I'd like to focus on is the Health and Safety Executive. The project to modernise the Bailiwick's Health and Safety legislation commenced during the last quarter of 2017. This will update the legislative framework, which dates back as far as 1905, and currently contains significant gaps. Several of the laws are now obsolete and no longer serve the purposes required by modern industry. The significance of this project became clear in recent months when it was identified that Brexit would have serious implications for Guernsey's health and safety legislative framework. The Committee is therefore keen to ensure that the project is progressed at pace to align with the gaps that will be created in Guernsey's legislative provision when the UK leaves the EU. The work required to undertake this project will not be possible without the allocation of additional staff resource from now until December 2021. The Committee is preparing a business case to request the additional resources.
Sir, the timing of this statement is very appropriate, because today the States will be asked to approve the final pieces of legislation that will introduce Income Support, which is due to launch exactly one month from today, on the 6th of July. This has been the Committee's top priority since the election, and it's a huge achievement to be able to now say that implementation is in sight. The changes are very complex, so communication has been key. In April and May, we sent over 3,000 individual letters to households, each with an individual breakdown of how they will be affected by Income Support. This gave people the chance to correct any outdated records and resolve any queries long before their entitlement changed. We've held open days, operated out-of-hours help lines, and organised user focus groups to assist people with the changes.
But I do need to say that, despite these very determined efforts, we have some concerns about some tenants of social housing that have not been in contact with us. This is despite our letters and attempts to make contact by telephone. This group of tenants, who are not currently on supplementary benefit, and have so far not taken the opportunity to update their details as invited, will have two choices from 6 July. Either they will have to pay the full, unrebated rent for their tenancy. Or they will face a delay in receiving any income support due to them. Despite all our efforts we still expect to receive lots of calls and enquiries in the first few weeks as people seek clarification as to why their benefit has increased or decreased. It will be a very busy time for the Income Support Section - and Housing- on top of what has been an exhausting lead up to the launch.
But we must not let that detract from what has been a super effort by the staff. In just one month's time we expect to have delivered one of the key projects prioritised in the Policy & Resource Plan, which is something that I think this assembly should be proud of.
I also want to take this opportunity to remind Members that from the beginning of 2020, the age at which an individual can claim their Old Age Pension will begin increasing from 65. It will rise by 2 months every 10 months, until pension age reaches 70 in 2049. The start date for this process is now fast approaching.
As a result of the pension age changes, many computer systems and communications have needed to be amended. If anyone is unsure of when they will receive their pension, they can enter their date of birth in the Pension Age Calculator on the gov.gg website.
I would also like to mention that many people are already choosing to work beyond State Pension Age. There is no requirement to stop working upon reaching pension age. Pension entitlement is not affected by your employment status upon reaching pensionable age.
This concludes my update, Sir. I now welcome any questions on work that comes under the Committee's mandate.
