Ealing Borough

NEW Northolt Community Foodbank, Viking Community Centre, Radcliffe Way, Northolt UB5 6HW every Friday 10:30-14:30. Please note that names and addresses of guests may be requested and recorded. Please bring your own carrier bags

Ealing Soup Kitchen (ESK) – see first edition of the ‘The Scoup’ Community Newsletter, EU settlement scheme event & Christmas opening times poster attached.

*As usual please refer yourself to the ESK Facebook page, give it a like and check out the posts following all services and a recent post about the local warm spaces in Ealing Borough*
You can find some leaflets here

Hounslow Borough

NEW Free Hot Meals – Cost of Living Support (from 24 November 2022) Cranford Community College, High Street, Hounslow, TW5 9PD, Tuesdays 5-6pm, Thursdays 5-6pm, Sundays 1-2pm

Cranford College is working in partnership with Hounslow Council For more information on cost-of-living support please visit www.hounslow.gov.uk/costofliving

It is no longer called the Furlough scheme.   It applies from 1^st November to all employees and agency employees.  You do not have to have been on a Furlough scheme to be eligible, but you must have been on the payroll on 23^rd September 2020.  Note it does not apply to the self employed. 

The schemes do not apply to fully publicly funded employment. 

There are two types of scheme:  one for places of work that are still open but which have much less business (Job Support Scheme Open), and one for places of work that have to close (Job Support Scheme Closed).

The Government will look carefully at whether an employer is eligible and the employer has to prove that there has been a reduction in turnover.  It is administered by HMRC which has set up a fraud helpline.

Your employer will also need to send you a new contract of employment in which you agree to these temporary measure which start on 1^st November and will end on 30^th April 2021.

The JSS Open

You will have to work at least 20% of your normal hours.  You will be paid for the hours that you work.  For those hours that you do not work, your employer will pay you 5% of these up to £125 per month and the Government will pay you 61% of these up to £1541 per month.  You should receive no less than 73% of your usual pay and possibly more, depending on how many hours you work.  Your employer will pay all of your national insurance and pension contributions.  You can attend training in working hours. 

The JSS Closed

Every employee will be paid 2/3rds of their normal pay up to a maximum of £2083 per month.  You can attend training while you are being paid.  As soon as the business is able to open again, this scheme will end, but your employer might claim for reduced hours under the JSS Open scheme.

The employer is still able to make redundancies during this time, and these will be lawful if the correct process is followed.  If the employer fails to consider the option of using either scheme, a claim for unfair dismissal might be possible.

Find out more at the Gov.uk website

By Alan Murdie, Chairman, Nucleus & Ealing Advice

The need for proper housing advice and support to stem a worsening housing crisis is demonstrated by a new report.

Rehousing individuals and families currently on the waiting list for council housing could take up to 17 years the Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accounting (Cipfa) has revealed.

The Cipfa report Housing 360  showS  there were on average more than 1.2 million households on council waiting lists nationally between 2013 and 2018.

Unfortunately,  over the same period, the number of council-owned properties dropped by 84,000 – a reduction of almost 5% across England.

The provision of housing by the not-for-profit and charitable sectors is also suffering because income is falling off – there will be fewer suitable dwellings for referral and those remaining will face higher demand.

 

This gloomy prognosis very much reflects the situation which Nucleus has been finding Councils facing in London before the covid-19 outbreak; the likely expectation is that those in need of housing will increase after the lock-down is lifted, the restriction on possession and eviction proceedings being only temporary.

The biggest reduction in council housing has been in family-sized two-and three-bedroom properties. These categories also experienced the greatest growth in demand, and currently many families in priority need end up being housed far outside London.

To help avoid such outcomes it is important to:

 

• Safeguard existing tenancies and licences;
• Ensure people get as full advice as possible if facing possession or eviction proceedings;
• promote understanding of the importance of court hearings;
• promote understanding of how disrepair issues may set-off rent arrears;
• Challenge official decisions listing single rooms as ‘flats’ by the Valuation Office Agency making occupiers liable to council tax which they often cannot afford;

 

Housing is an increasingly difficult and complex field, with new legislative provisions being added ever since  the Housing and Planning Act 2016. These include  the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018  applying to all new tenancies from  20 March 2020, and increases in council tax liabilities by way of the often random and arbitrary re-classification of certain existing Houses of Multiple Occupation as separate, multiple dwellings.

However, the considerable success in housing street homeless people in many urban districts during the pandemic shows what can be achieved when sufficient political attention is given to housing issues.

Sources: Public Finance 6 May 2020

15. Legislation to look out for in 2020 … Renters Reform Bill: Abolition of Section 21

Details and timescales are yet to be confirmed, but the big thing that will happen when Parliamentary time allows is the Renters Reform Bill, announced in the Queen’s Speech last year and expected to begin in 2020.

At issue is the Government’s commitment to abolishing Section 21, which has intensified the debate about the need to ensure that landlords have the ability to remove tenants who are not complying with their tenancy agreement or paying their rent. We are still awaiting the outcome of last year’s government consultation on a new housing court.

Many commentators are concerned about the unintended consequences of removing Section 21, and the risk to the private rented sector a ban on no fault evictions could have as landlords exit the market. Paul Shamplina, who describes the banning of Section 21 as the biggest legislative change to the private rented sector in a generation, says: “Combined with all the other changes, some landlords will feel that the length of time to gain possession of their property is too great a risk, so may decide to sell up – we have already seen this at Landlord Action. There must be a call for evidence on the implementation of a Housing Court.”

David Cox, Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark echoes this sentiment: “If Section 21 is scrapped, Section 8 (eviction due to the tenancy agreement being broken) must be reformed and a new specialist housing tribunal created. Without this, supply will almost certainly fall which will have the consequential effect of raising rents and will further discourage new landlords from investing in the sector.”

From industry events to major legislative changes such as the abolition of Section 21 and the UK’s future relationship with the EU, 2020 is set to be another big year for landlords across the UK. Which challenges are you, as a landlord, most concerned about? Let us know via Twitter – @TotalLandlord

 

Javid, who has mental health issues and was let go from his job in January.
We have been trying to help him with his employment case for several weeks.

If you’ve been affected by COVID-19, you may be able to claim benefits or increase your current benefits.

This might be because you:

• can’t work as you have COVID-19 or you’re following guidance to stay home – this is called ‘self-isolating’
• are earning less because you can’t go to work
• are self-employed and you’re earning less
• have lost your job

If your employer has told you not to work, you might be able to keep being paid. You should check if your employer can pay 80% of your wages as part of the government job retention scheme. If you are not a UK citizen, you might still be able to claim benefits – check the rules for the benefit you want to apply for. If you need further advice contact us by phone on; 020 7373 4005 or email us; advice@nucleus.org.uk

Check if you can get Statutory Sick Pay

You might be able to claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) if you have coronavirus symptoms or you’re following the government guidance to self-isolate. You are not eligible for SSP if you’re self-employed. The government guidance states you will need to have coronavirus symptoms yourself or be living with someone who does. For more information read the government guidance on GOV.UK. You are entitled to SSP from the first day you were ill, or you started to self-isolate. It will be paid in the same way as your wages.

To get SSP, you need to:

• be an employee
• earn more than £118 a week
• meet the other rules to get SSP; seek further advice by phoning Nucleus on 020 7373 4005 or complete the online enquiry form.
• If you’re an employee, you should also check your contract of employment (COE) as your contract may have a more generous sick pay scheme than SSP employer might pay you.
• If you’re self-isolating and can’t work from home, you should still claim SSP or check your COE for sick pay entitlement or contact your employer.

If you’re on a zero hours contract and you’ve already been offered work with an employer, you might still be able to get SSP. You’ll need to meet all the normal eligibility rules too. You’ll only get SSP for the work you’ve already been offered. You can also check your rights to sick pay if you are affected by COVID-19 on the ACAS website. ACAS gives free information to employees and employers.

If you’re self-employed or can’t get SSP 

You might be able to claim contribution-based or new-style Employment Support Allowance (ESA) if you have COVID-19 symptoms or you’re self-isolating. You’ll need to have paid enough National Insurance contributions for 2 tax years – in 2020 the tax years are 2017-18 and 2018-19. If you are entitled to new style ESA, you’ll be paid from the first day you were sick or self-isolating. You may also be able to get ESA if you’re caring for a child who has coronavirus or who’s been told to self-isolate. If you’re struggling to pay your bills, you might be able to get extra help from your local authority by applying to the council tax hardship fund. Visit the COVID-19 HUB website for further information on additional schemes for those particularly vulnerable due to age and/or health conditions, including the Local Support Payment scheme. RBKC Local Support Payments telephone number is 020 7745 6464. For further information check RBKC website or telephone Nucleus on 020 7373 4005.

If you’ve not claimed benefits before 

You may be entitled to claim Universal Credit as well as SSP. You may still be entitled to Universal Credit (UC) if you’re self-employed. You can claim Universal Credit online or by telephone; the telephone number to claim Universal Credit is 0800 328 5644. You may experience delays in making a claim for UC due to the unprecedented number of people now claiming. If your UC claim is delayed as a result of problems with the UC website, you may request your claim to be backdated explaining your reasons for the delay.  Many people have reported problems uploading ID validation documents that would normally be taken to your local JCP to upload. If you are experiencing difficulties you can write a note in your UC journal, or phone DWP helpline. There should also be a button to click on if you are having problems uploading your id validation documents and DWP should respond to assist you. If you are entitled to UC, your claim will be awarded from the first day of your claim, but it will take 5 weeks to receive your first payment. You may request an advance payment, but this must be repaid and is usually deducted from your ongoing UC award. UC is generally paid monthly. UC is an income-based benefit therefore other income and capital is taken into account when assessing your claim. However, from 6/04/20 there has been an increase in the standard UC element for a single claimant aged 25 or over to £409.89 a month and for a couple/joint claim for those 25 and over is £594.04. Your housing costs are included in your claim for UC.

Remember that you need to claim Council Tax Support from your local authority if you need help to pay your Council Tax. You can also apply to RBKC Hardship Fund.

For further advice please phone us on 03000125464.

At the present time bailiff enforcement should stop to prevent spread of the virus. There has been an announcement that evictions of domestic dwellings are suspended, but this advice should apply to all other forms of civil enforcement. Creditors should also review enforcement and suspend their instructions to bailiffs and tell them to stop collection activity.

You should

• Keep the door closed in the unlikely event the bailiff calls in person;

And this time you should also complain to the Creditor if threatened or receiving a visit;

• If  receiving a letter from the bailiffs you should contact the Creditor and complain that enforcement activity is threatened and point out the objection on health grounds.

This is particularly so if  you fall into one of the following categories  below: * the elderly;  *people with a disability;  * the seriously ill;  * the recently bereaved;  * single parent families;  * pregnant women;  * unemployed people; and,  * those who have obvious difficulty in understanding, speaking or reading English.

Bailiffs should withdraw and contact the creditor

The National Guidance for enforcement agents provides for creditors to take back the debt in one of these cases; bailiffs are also supposed to use discretion

Should a debtor be identified as vulnerable, creditors should be prepared to take control of the case, at any time, if necessary, and call off the bailiffs.

There is a test of ‘appropriateness ‘

The time and situation we are in nationally is clear an occasion where ‘appropriateness’  applies – it is wholly inappropriate to use enforcement against goods at this time. Indeed, not merely inappropriate but wholly unreasonable but could even be potentially unlawful not to suspend action. Creditors remain jointly and severally liable for the actions of their enforcement agents with regard to wrongful instructions and failure to use discretion.

In summary  you

•  Consider making formal complaints, if clients are able;

• Contact the creditor and inform them of what is being done on their behalf  (it is possible some may not know)

• The creditor should be challenged as to why you are using bailiffs at this time and warned that door-to-door collection methods pose a threat to public health;

• Keep a note and list those creditors who proves difficult and do not commit to stopping enforcement activity at this time.

This is also an opportunity to deal with cases by way of full and final settlement, offering a lesser sum based on the what  you can afford at this point. This should be offered to the creditor, not the bailiff. These standards put particular emphasis on there being proper safeguards and protection for the vulnerable groups which overlap with at-risk groups for infection.

The role of creditors and authorities using bailiffs

Should a debtor be identified as vulnerable, creditors should be prepared to take control of the case, at any time, if necessary  and call off the bailiffs.

Paragraph of the National Standards state 14 states:

Creditors must consider the appropriateness of referring debtors in potentially vulnerable situations to enforcement agents and, if you choose to proceed, must alert the enforcement agent to this situation.