By Louise Dunne, CIPFA Housing Network.
Notwithstanding the Chancellor’s announcement at the recent Conservative Party Conference that the Government will be looking for an additional £10 billion out of the Welfare Budget in future years, many in the housing sector are far more concerned with the prosaic issue of the day – namely how to operationalise and implement ‘Universal Credit’ from April 2013.
Despite the 12 pilot projects for Universal Credit having kicked off in the last few weeks, the introduction of a system that relies upon the sole use of new technology for its management and administration has generated a plethora of dramatic and forceful debate about a system that requires some of the poorest in our country to be ICT-savvy.
So, is Universal Credit unachievable, as some MP’s claim? We will be exploring this issue at ourNational Housing Conference on the 30 November 2012. Delivered in partnership with the CIH, this Conference will seek to tackle, head-on, the practicalities for Housing Providers and their tenants, in preparing for the roll-out of Universal Credit from 2013. Hear from Pilot project managers, as well as DWP representatives, the CIH, and companies offering new technologies to support implementation.
Members of CIPFA Housing Network can also download our Managers’ Guide to Welfare Reform and Universal Credit at guide to universal credit and welfare reform in the Housing Network.