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Connecting support: Why your tenants are falling into arrears and what you can do about it Rising rent arrears, increasing income volatility and upcoming changes to disability benefits are creating new challenges for housing providers and local authorities across the UK.

Recent analysis by Policy in Practice highlights how built in features of the welfare system, such as real time income assessment, benefit deductions and policy reforms, are contributing to financial instability among tenants, particularly those already facing structural barriers like disability, caring responsibilities or single parenthood.

For many low income households, the issue isn’t budgeting, it’s that their income is eroded before it arrives. Over half of Universal Credit recipients are repaying debt through automatic deductions, leaving them short for essentials like rent. Others are impacted by erratic payment cycles or policy shifts, increasing the risk of arrears and even homelessness.

In response, Policy in Practice and Pocket Power have partnered to create a more joined up approach to tenant support. By integrating income maximisation tools with accessible referral routes, housing providers can now take a more holistic and proactive approach to preventing arrears and supporting tenancy sustainment.

Join this webinar to explore:

- The current policy landscape and how it impacts tenant incomes
- How integrated tools like the Better Off Calculator and Pocket Power referral service support a smoother customer journey
- Real world insights from guest housing providers who are using smart software to coordinate applications and reduce repeat data collection

If you're working to improve financial outcomes for tenants and reduce tenancy breakdowns, this session will offer timely, practical insights rooted in current data and frontline experience.

23/7/2025

10:30am BST

1.3 hours

Understanding the impact of disability benefits reforms on local authorities

27/8/2025

10:30am BST

1.3 hours

Anglian Water improves customer service and first time resolution

Anglian Water introduced LITE and Extra LITE tariffs to support customers with low disposable incomes who were struggling to pay their water bills, but many eligible customers were not accessing the tariff.

The utility integrated its processes with the GOV.UK endorsed the Better Off Calculator allowing their customers to sign up to the right social tariff with a couple of clicks, rather than having to start all over again on the Anglian Water website and complete the additional paperwork required for the old process.

£9.4 million

of additional support identified

60,000

customers that have used the calculator to assess eligibility

2,800

social tariff applications through ‘Apply Once

35% reduced to 0%

customers not attending discount eligibility appointments

If you’re struggling to pay your water bill, you’re likely to be struggling to pay other bills, too. Taking weight off our customers’ shoulders, by helping to reduce the stress of debt, is incredibly rewarding.

Challenge

Anglian Water introduced LITE and Extra LITE tariffs to support customers with low disposable incomes who were struggling to pay their water bills. Although discounts were available to reduce both water and sewerage charges, not all eligible customers were accessing the concessionary tariffs.

Historically, eligibility assessments were, after an initial customer engagement from Anglian Water, handled by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). Following referral, CAB advisors would review customers’ income and expenditure to determine eligibility for discounted tariffs and undertake a benefit maximisation.

The outsourced process was, at times, fragmented and occasionally didn’t meet the standards expected by the water company in allowing them to deliver the robust customer support they desired.Even when the process worked well, it occasionally didn’t align with Anglian Water’s customer-centric values. A time lag meant that it was impossible to quickly make and communicate decisions about discounts.

Solution

Anglian Water needed to find a solution that could be tailored to meet the specific needs of their customers and the care teams who supported them. Following a conference presentation of Policy in Practice’s Better Off Calculator, the two companies collaborated to create a bespoke solution built on the Advisor version of the tool.

The water company introduced the calculator in 2019 to promote customer service with genuine connectivity and prevent disengagement. Bringing assessments in-house meant Anglian Water was better able to control the process, giving customers the support needed on their first contact.

Guiding Anglian Water’s teams through customer telephone conversations, the Calculator can, within minutes, assess eligibility for and calculate the recommended value of social tariffs, improving the customer journey and reducing operational costs. An efficient social tariff process frees up resources to allow them to provide wider affordability support.

Behind the scenes, the Better Off Calculator calculates the customers’ eligibility and identifies the correct social tariff, displaying it only to eligible customers.

Anglian Water has adopted the calculator as its primary application form for social tariffs, meaning the customer’s data could seamlessly be ported through. Anglian Water verifies the customer’s benefit claim with DWP through an API. Legally, the data sharing was straightforward as users consented to the use of their data for the application.

Policy in Practice’s Better Off Calculator is an intuitive system with minimal training required for effective onboarding. In fact, the Calculator has even functioned as a training tool for the Anglian Water team by:

Promoting a better understanding of the benefits system and other available support
Acting as a dynamic prompt during calls, a significant improvement on a static PDF
Helping support staff to articulate responses to customer questions

Impact

With the previous system, 35% of customers did not attend their initial discount eligibility appointments with the CAB. Following the introduction of the Benefit and Budgeting Calculator, because staff can carry out speedy assessments while the customer is still on the phone, that drop-out rate has been reduced to zero.

Reducing the time and effort required to complete assessments has boosted Anglian Water’s efficiency, too. The Calculator check takes, at most, ten minutes to complete. By comparison, a CAB appointment would have taken around an hour. These efficiencies have significantly increased Anglian Water’s reach.

Over the last 12 months, over 60,000 customers have used the calculator to assess eligibility as part of Anglian’s sign up journey online, over the phone or via support services. Many first learn about Anglian’s social tariff through the Calculator and go on to apply, with over 2,800 doing so immediately through ‘Apply Once’, potentially 15-30% of applications.

Others will apply later after claiming more valuable benefits like Universal Credit. This shows the benefit of having the social tariff in a benefits calculator used by over 2 million people annually.

The Calculator has also helped people access other benefits, with nearly 12,000 customers helped to access £9.4 million of additional support.