THE effects of welfare reform are affecting families in the Cowdenbeath-Lochgelly area possibly more than anywhere in Fife.

Fife Council’s Scrutiny Committee has reviewed the work underway to support the most vulnerable in our communities from the worst effects of the cuts to their welfare support.

The impact of Universal Credit's introduction on people in the communities such as Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly, Benarty, Kelty and Cardenden has been of concern to councillors, MSPs and MPs.

Convener of the committee, Cllr Tim Brett, says it’s vital that the efforts of the council are monitored to ensure that help is reaching people most in need, and that it’s being delivered as efficiently as possible.

“We’re all aware of the enormous impact that welfare reform measures are having on Fife households – and by extension our local economy,” said Cllr Brett.

“The council is now spending considerable time and money, across a number of departments, to mitigate the negative impacts of national policy decisions and implementation issues. The Scrutiny Committee has a duty to make sure the actions and spend are appropriate.”

It has been estimated that welfare reform will adversely affect nearly 50,000 households in Fife and remove £153 million per year from the local economy.

Fife Council spends £4.5m a year on discretionary housing payments (DHP), £2.3m through the Scottish welfare fund, £121m on housing benefit and council tax reductions, as well as providing grants to third sector organisations working in the community.

Fife Welfare Reform and Anti-Poverty Partnership (WRAP), led by the council, brings together public and voluntary sector agencies to develop a coordinated strategy to mitigate the impacts of welfare reform in the Kingdom. WRAP’s aims include: maximise income and promote the living wage throughout Fife; develop an approach to concessions and cost reductions to ensure cost is not a barrier to participation; and provide training to Fife Partnership staff to enable them to provide accurate advice and support to people affected by poverty and fuel poverty.

Cllr Brett continued: “The council is continuing to put extra resources in place to manage the increased claims for DHP and crisis grants. We’ve also topped up the Scottish Welfare Fund given the 23% rise in claims.

“But this is not all about hand-outs. Our welfare support workers run community job clubs to try and help people into employment, and council officers visit tenants who claim Universal Credit to provide financial advice and try and help them manage any debts.

“As Universal Credit rolls out across Fife, we’re seeing more and more tenants accumulating rent arrears.

“We know that the structure of the benefits system is causing this and the council’s planning to introduce a rent allowance scheme to help people through this. However, this is balanced with our duty to protect the public purse and the “Think Rent” campaign and individual officer support encourages council tenants to prioritise rent payments".

He concluded: “Not only are Fife’s households struggling with the impact of welfare reform, it’s having a costly impact on the council and our partner organisations.

“It’s clear that we don’t have enough resource to mitigate the full impact of the welfare changes, but the Scrutiny Committee is reassured that there is a co-ordinated plan of action in Fife which is responding quickly and proportionately to the challenges facing our residents.”