HB Information Flows Programme – What’s new
This page is regularly updated with the most recently added or updated items appearing at the top.
It also includes our current work programme and brief details of the pilots, projects and initiatives, which will radically improve the way we exchange data with LAs. These will fundamentally revise DWP interaction with LAs in the next few years. All of the initiatives will benefit from Government Connect (GC) solutions.
Memorandum of Understanding
We issued the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to all local authorities in week commencing 10 November 2008.
- Memorandum of Understanding (148KB)
- The MoU is supported by the revised LA CIS Guide (395KB)
Both of these documents require your immediate attention, and if you have any queries please contact Malcolm Mattack: malcolm.Mattack@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Government Connect
Representatives from the Local Authority Associations (LAAs) were joined by Practitioners Operational Group (POG) Housing Benefit representatives and corporate IT managers from individual member LAs at a workshop on 7 October 2008.
The representatives raised the following questions and concerns, mainly regarding the Government Connect Secure Extranet (GCSx) Code of Connection (CoCo).
The following questions were asked by LAs, with senior representatives from Government Connect providing the answers. It was agreed it would be useful to share the questions and answers that arose on the day. The answers will be of particular interest to LAs currently going through the GCSx approval process. If you have any questions not answered in this list, please contact Government Connect.
Background information about Government Connect:
e-Transfer
HB/CTB claim information captured at the point of claim by Jobcentre Plus is currently sent to LAs by hard copy on a Local Authority Input Document (LAID).
DWP plans to replace the clerical transfer of the LAID with an electronic transfer process. The electronic LAID will initially be provided in PDF format. Due to technical reasons the pilot exercise scheduled to start on 3 November 08 will now begin on 5 January 2009. The pilots will run throughout January 2009, and we plan to start national rollout in February and complete the bulk of installations by March 2009.
The new process will use the GCSx\GSx network to transport the data and a specific server is required to enable receipt of the files. Connectivity to GCSx and procurement of the file server is being managed by Government Connect (GC). The e-Transfer roll-out schedule aligns with LA connectivity to GCSx.
LAs that do not have a live GCSx\GSx code of connection will not be able to access DWP data from 1 April 2009 unless an exemption has been agreed with DWP.
In April 2009, the electronic exchange will be enhanced to include the HB/CTB claim information captured during the Pension Credit claims process by The Pension, Disability and Carers Service.
DWP will provide HB/CTB claim information in XML format from October 2009, implemented in LAs on a rolling basis until March 2010. This will enable the data to be directly loaded in to LAs back-office processing systems.
ESA Desk-aid 11
A new desk-aid (DA 11 – Employment and Support Allowance) has been added to the desk-aid portfolio on the CIS training and guidance page. The aid provides details on how to access CIS to view ESA details. ESA data can be viewed on CIS within 24 hours of DWP action and will appear on CIS from 27 October 2008.
Data sharing between DWP and LAs for the purpose of administering HB and CTB
Government Connect sent out a letter about data-sharing to all Leaders and Chief Executives of local authorities in England and Wales on 7 July 2008.
Further information about a number of additional HB specific business reasons for requiring live, code of connection compliant, GCSx and GSx connections to be in place prior to 31 March 2009 was also issued by letter on 5 September 2008:
Housing Benefit Data Matching Service Electronic Referral and Scan Download System (HERS) Project
DWP can no longer exchange case level information containing personal details by courier on compact disc (CD).
DWP rolled out a tactical solution in April 2008, which provided a secure two-way email solution (i.e. pgp secure email) that is being used as an interim measure until the permanent file transfer exchange is available.
This is now being used to transfer both the HBDMS and HBDSD/IAD extract and scan/referral information between DWP and LAs. This will be further enhanced later in 2008 to include the Single HB Extract.
HERS will deliver the replacement file transfer process enabling secure electronic file transfer of the Single HB Extract from the LAs to DWP, and of all fraud and error data matching referrals back to LAs.
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Both Electronic Transfer of Data (ETD) and CIS will be enhanced to capture information about ESA. The introduction of ESA will require new screens on CIS to display the awards. HB IF Programme is contributing to the design of these pages to ensure ease of use. A new business interest number for ESA will mean CIS needs to ensure the setting of the interest is continued in the same way it does currently for JSA and IS.