Your Housing Group increases a widower’s income by £1,320 a year

The challenge

In October 2021, the UK government removed the £20 weekly uplift to Universal Credit, reducing the incomes of six million people on Universal Credit by £1,040 per year. There were widespread campaigns highlighting the further plunge into poverty that this would cause for many families already struggling. This included our own Deven Ghelani, Founcer and CEO of Policy in Practice, outlining alternatives to the cut to Universal Credit.

Your Housing Group was facing a significantly increased workload with removal of the £20 uplift. In addition, they had difficulty in sourcing fuel vouchers to support their residents with the rising cost of living, resulting in a greater challenge to maximise their tenants’ income.

The solution

Your Housing Group uses Policy in Practice’s Better Off Calculator to support their tenants through the removal of the £20 uplift to Universal Credit. They assessed their eligibility for benefits such as Housing Benefit, Council Tax Support and Pension Credit. 

One elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his wife was only receiving his State Pension and was not in receipt of any other benefit. With the assistance of Your Housing Group and the Better Off Calculator, he went on to successfully apply for additional benefits and saw his annual income increase by around £1,320.

His testimony speaks for himself when he said, “I really wouldn’t have had a clue without your help. I am really grateful for everything you have done for me and I am over the moon.”

The impact

With the ability to conduct quick council tax support calculations, Your Housing Group has successfully completed over 100 calculations in council tax support alone, helping to strengthen the financial resilience of its residents.

The Better Off Calculator is simple to use. It helps to speed up our processes and with it being easy to amend, this helps our benefit advisors to revisit cases time and again, always looking to improve a person’s outcome.

Laura Beetham, Money Advice Triage Officer, Your Housing Group

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