Delivering Welfare Assistance Schemes in the North East

1. Delivering Welfare Assistance Schemes in the North East Nicola Hall Director of Communication & Performance - Five Lamps

2. Five Lamps • 28 years of Making People Matter • Mission: To transform lives, raise aspirations, remove barriers and offer choice • Values: Making People Matter; Service Matters; Performance Matters; Informed Choices; Share Success; Make Communities Matter • Vision: Creating Possibilities: Improving Lives • Strapline: Making People Matter • Awards: Investors in People: Gold; Investors in People: Champion; Matrix; Customer First; RBS SE100 ‘Impact Champion’ Award 2012

3. Integrated Service Portfolio Youth Services To provide NEET young people with skills and qualifications to prepare them for employment. To provide a range of evening and weekend activities for young people to raise their confidence and aspiration. Economic Development Employability To have a positive impact and increase employment figures in Stockton- on- Tees, by supporting people to access training and sustainable job opportunities Enterprise To have a positive impact and increase employment figures within the Tees Valley, by supporting people to start their own businesses. Financial Inclusion & Housing To provide affordable credit and financial support to financially excluded individuals across the North East, enabling them to move away from their reliance on unaffordable or illegal credit. To reduce the number of long term empty properties

4. Back on Track – Stockton Borough Council Five Lamps (end to end provision) Northumberland Emergency Transition Support (NETs) – Northumberland County Council DAWN Advice (lead organisation; call handling) Five Lamps (system; assessment; fulfilment of awards) VOICES (third sector engagement) Welfare Assistance Help Advice Network Durham (HAND) – Durham County Council Civica (lead; system; review) Family Fund (provider of goods and services) Five Lamps (call handling; assessment; fulfilment of awards; third sector engagement)

5. DWP – Social Fund Key differences • Awards will be made in the form of goods and services NOT cash (only in exceptional circumstances) • Awards are dependent on funds available at the time of the application • Repayment of loans will no longer be deducted from the customers benefit payment • Awards will be made in the form of a loan or a grant (or combination of both) depending on affordability at the time of application (grant only in Durham) Support still available from DWP • Short Term Benefit Advance • Budgeting Loans (or Budgeting Advances for Universal Credit recipients) • Hardship Fund

6. Welfare Assistance

7. Eligibility • Applicants must be aged 16 years or over and be a resident of Stockton-On-Tees/ Durham/ Northumberland, or in exceptional circumstances be in the process of moving into the area to flee domestic violence, hate crime, forced marriage or honour based violence • The applicant has no other form of immediate financial assistance (eg. family, friends, employer, own resources or other available funding streams) • Even if the applicant qualifies to make an application there is no guarantee that any support will be provided, although Five Lamps would wish to be able to provide names of other services that may be able to offer support depending on the applicant’s own personal circumstances.

8. Eligibility - Daily Living/ Emergency Support 1. An immediate need for items or services has arisen following an exceptional event or unforeseen circumstances involving the destruction or loss of property or possessions (for example the applicant has suffered a disaster to their home such as major flooding, gas explosion or house fire; death of a family member) OR 2. As a direct result of the inability to afford the goods or services requested either the health of the applicant or their partner will immediately deteriorate and they must also meet at least one of the following: Note: Durham recently changed their policy from needing to meet BOTH elements of 1 and 2 above to now either point 1 or point 2

9. Fulfillment - Daily Living/ Emergency Support

10. Eligibility – Settlement / Transition Support 1. Be in receipt of a qualifying benefit AND 2. Must (if eligible) have applied for a budgeting loan or advance from the DWP and have been declined before their application will be considered (recently removed from Durham’s policy) AND 3. The applicant requires support for at least one of the following: AND 4. Health needs (outlined in Daily Living/ Emergency Support)

11. Fulfillment - Settlement / Transition Support

12. Trusted Partners • An organisation that can make direct referrals on behalf of applicants • Take responsibility for ensuring that all required forms of evidence of need and identification are gathered at the stage of application • Required to provide verbal or written confirmation at the time of application that they can verify that they have had sight of all required forms of evidence of need and identification • Sign a Trusted Partner Agreement

13. Levels of demand Data up to end of August 2013*

14. Levels of demand Data up to end of August 2013

15. Common themes of need Crisis • Lost/ stolen wallet/ purse • Poor budgeting skills • Benefit issues Settlement • Released from short/ long term hospital care/ prison • Fleeing domestic violence • Issues with private landlords • Family breakdown

16. Emerging themes and challenges • The anticipated floodgates did not open on 1 April 2013 • “Social Fund” culture • Benefit sanctions • Changing political landscape • Impact of Universal Credit • Partnership working • Engaging the third sector in fulfillment options • Creating an unintended demand on other service areas? • Data collection

17. Welfare assistance: a crutch in a crisis but not a walking stick for life • Challenge to respond to applicants immediate crisis needs whilst also having an opportunity to potentially address their longer-term needs • Partnership working is key • Difference between ‘referral’ and ‘signposting’ • Customer feedback and follow up

18. Questions? nicolahall@fivelamps.org.uk (01642) 608316