in Practice clients including housing associations, local authorities, utility and third sector organisations. For more information contact hello@policyinpractice.co.uk, call 0330 008 9242 or visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk

1. Policy in Practice
Benefit and Budgeting Calculator
Steering Group
23 January 2020

2. Agenda
14:30 Arrival, coffee & networking
15:00 Introductions and speakers
15:15 Session 1: Updates from us, successes from you
16:05 Break
16:15 Session 2: Shaping the next phase of the Calculator
17:00 Questions and answers
17:15 Feedback and next steps
Drinks and networking to close

3. Introduction and objectives
Zoe Charlesworth, Head of Policy
George Sanderson, Policy and Operations Analyst
Dan Whitston, Chief Technical Officer
Jade Alsop, Commercial Director
The purpose of the group is to share information and learn from each other
• New developments
• How you use the calculator
• What you need from the calculator

4. 1111
Session 1
Updates from us, successes from you

5. 1111
Grant Bailey
Benefits and Money Advice Team Leader
Cheltenham Borough Homes

6. Updates over the last 6 months
Keeping up to date for all legislative changes
• Accuracy checks with the DWP and Citizens Advice
• Additional accuracy for LHA rates
• Including actual student loan in household income
• Continue to increase accuracy for Scotland and Northern Ireland
welfare systems
• Comprehensive coverage for 16-18 years

7. 16-19 year old coverage

8. Updates over the last 6 months
• Additional DHP measurement function
• Increased accuracy for owner occupier service charges
• Calculating Transitional Protection
• The calculator is more than a minute faster

9. Background improvements
• Cyber Security Essentials certification
• Improvement to the “policy tooltips” and general UI
• Huge speed-up in calculation interface speed
• Stronger protection for self-serve users
• Improved security architecture
• Faster fallback

10. 1111
Break
When we come back we’ll ask …
• What will your peers be interested to learn about how you're
using your Benefit and Budgeting Calculator?
• What development is on your wish list?
• What challenges do you expect to see in the next year?

11. 1111
Session 2
Shaping the next phase of the
Calculator

12. Expected future policy changes

13. BBC planning for policy change
• Managed Migration
• Uprating (Mostly April 2020)
• Next payment of UC
- next payment
- irregular earnings
- Transitional Protection date (maximising awards)
- Differences to actual
• Benefit run-on from July 2020
• Scottish changes (child top-up)

14. Managed migration 1/

15. Managed migration 2/

16. Managed migration 3/

17. Other calculator plans
• Costs of work
• Additional resilience measures (SFS extension, SMC)
• Legislative background (c/f from last SG)
• Actual vs calculated (c/f from last SG)

18. Forthcoming technical changes
• Up to date postcodes including Northern Ireland
• Rebuilding the user interface, redesigning the results page layout
• New login setup, with Single Sign On, Multi-Factor Authentication
• In-app notifications of calculator updates
• Saving calculation outputs and making them downloadable
• Improved logging and in-house admin tool to help with customer
support

19. Forthcoming technical changes

20. Forthcoming technical changes

21. 1616
Thank you
• Feedback form
• Date of next steering group
• Networking drinks in the pub
0330 088 9242
hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
www.policyinpractice.co.uk