Benefit changes

The UK benefits system is changing / Child benefit / Council tax benefit / Disability living allowance (DLA) / Employment and support allowance / Housing benefit – for council or housing association tenants / Housing benefit – for tenants in private sector rented accommodation / Modified pension credit / Changes in social fund benefits from 1 April 2013 / Tax credits / Total benefit cap / Universal credit / The impact on residents / Timeline / Glossary of terms

The UK benefits system is changing

Through the Welfare Reform Act, the Government is making significant changes to the benefits system. This means that if you receive benefits the amount you get and how you get it may change.

We have a range of fact sheets about the different benefit changes that provide more information.

You can find out more by viewing the pages above and the documents on the right hand side of this page.

Welfare reform - a brief guide to benefit changes

download: Welfare reform - a brief guide to benefit changes (PDF 266KB)

There are three benefit changes that may affect you which started on 1 April 2013.

Social sector size criteria (known as the bedroom tax)

Council and housing association tenants who are of working age with one or more ‘spare’ bedrooms will have their housing benefit reduced:

We have written to all council tenants affected and a dedicated team has been visiting people to offer support and advice
For council tenants with spare rooms, you can attend a drop-in session to get advice on changes to housing benefit and the effect this may have on you
You can register to downsize and find out more about the schemes available to help you find the right move
Find out more about the changes to housing benefit

Changes to council tax benefit

Council tax benefit has been replaced by a local scheme. The amount of money the Government gives Camden to help residents pay their council tax bill has been reduced by 10%.

In Camden, this means benefit recipients of working age will now be expected to pay at least 8.5% of their council tax bill themselves, between £1 and £4 per week depending on the property.

We have written to everyone who will be affected. We have sent out details on how much they will need to pay from April 2013
find out more about council tax reduction

Replacing the Social Fund in Camden

The Social Fund has been abolished by central government, with some funding allocated to us. We have put in place an interim Local Social Fund.

The local fund is available to local people in financial difficulties or in a crisis and provide help to purchase things such as white goods (for example a washing machine):