Commissioning debt advice in London & the North West May 2018 General enquiries: debt.commissioning@moneyadviceservice.org.uk London enquiries: Louise.Chu@moneyadviceservice.org.uk North West enquiries: Erika.Helps@moneyadviceservice.org.uk moneyadviceservice.org.uk

About Money Advice Service

Over- indebtedness map Recent evidence suggests that there are currently 8.3m people in the UK who feel their debts are a heavy burden and / or have missed more than two bill payments within a six month period. This is a slight increase from the total of 7.9m people in 2016 reflecting accelerating levels of inflation and stagnant income growth. View an interactive map of UK over- indebtedness at www.overindebtednessmap.org.uk Against a UK average of 15.9% over- indebtedness levels stand at 17.2% in London and 16.9% in the NW.  

In December 2017 the Money Advice Service launched a new five-year debt commissioning strategy that outlines a challenging and exciting plan to ensure debt advice services target those most in need. The strategy reflects extensive consultation with over 175 organisations across a range of sectors and sets out a new approach that aims to improve the quality of services delivered and consistency of client outcomes. The strategy sets out our high-level sourcing plan to cover the period 2018-2023. Download the commissioning strategy here.

Commissioning intentions The commissioning intentions aim to ensure commissioned services are ready to meet the challenges faced by over-indebted people in the UK now and in the future based on the best available evidence. 1. Align service design towards the needs of target groups within the over-indebted population 2. Deliver debt advice and money guidance services in a blended fashion, in line with need 3. Develop a clear view of the client from access through to outcome 4. Enhance the quality of debt advice provision across our funded services 5. Embed crisis debt advice within a network of holistic support 6. Develop services that make the best possible use of existing and emerging technologies

Client outcomes The commissioning intentions are designed to deliver improved outcomes for over-indebted people as follows: An increasing proportion of clients from target groups access debt advice services Everyone receives a service which is tailored to their needs and increases their financial resilience Clients receive timely and effective advice at all stages of the advice process Clients receive effective advice in line with their needs from well-trained, empathic staff Clients are able to access, or are sign-posted to, services complementary to debt advice to help them address the root causes of their debt problem Existing and emerging technologies are effectively used to meet client need

A needs based approach Our services are for over-indebted people, many of whom will share the cross-cutting characteristics of having children, be living on low incomes and having mental health issues. Following our consultation and consideration of the evidence, we, in identified six groups for specific targeting within our commissioning: Parents in rented accommodation with three or more children People with variable incomes from employment Single people with severe mental health issues People at risk of homelessness People newly diagnosed with a long-term health problem People experiencing or who have recently experienced domestic abuse

Delivery plan – revised timelines as at June 2018

Prioritising London & the North West MAS has almost completed the groundwork for two new commissioning projects in London and the North West. The project is currently in the initial analyse phase, and will move into the plan phase next. In the analyse phase we have completed a number of activities including: reviewing the market, analysing client need, Analysis of internal and external research, Alignment of the objectives of the London and North West commissioning projects with the intentions from the commissioning strategy; An equalities & impact assessment, and, Undertaken a range of stakeholder engagement activities. Our service co-design work will complete in June. The service delivery plan details the order in which regions will considered and reflects: levels of over indebtedness; our analysis of supply and need; aggregated quality information; and regional client outcomes data Based on these factors, London and the North West were identified as the priority regions where our new strategic approach to commissioning will begin in 2018 to allow for mobilisation of new service agreements from April 2019.

London The region London is comprised of thirty-two London boroughs (which make up the ceremonial county of Greater London) and the City of London (which is a separate county but still part of the region). It is the largest city in the United Kingdom (UK). Current provision in London is through Toynbee Hall and the Capitalise project delivering through28 debt advice delivery partners (CABs, Law Centre & independent advice agencies). Over 22,000 people were supported in 17/18. Current value £4.4m per annum The UK’s over-indebted population increased from 7.9m people in 2016 to 8.3m people in 2017. We have seen similar proportional growth in the over-indebted population in London, an increase from 1.14m in 2016 to 1.19 – this reflects a 4% increase. Demand analysis shows that the proportion of people that seek advice in London has also increased from 19% to 21%, an increase of around 26k additional people seeking advice in 2017 compared to the previous year. London was identified as the region with the highest level of over-indebtedness and highest level of demand.

Debt provision in London

The North West The UK’s over-indebted population increased from 7.9m people in 2016 to 8.3m people in 2017. We have seen proportional growth in the over-indebted population in the North West, an increase from 880k in 2016 to 964k – this reflects a 10% increase in the number of people that are over indebted. Demand analysis shows that the proportion of people that seek advice in the North West has also increased from 19% to 21%, an increase of around 17k additional people seeking advice in 2017 compared to the previous year. Significantly different sub-regional profiles suggest 5 lots aligned to county boundaries would be appropriate. North West England consists of the five counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. It is the third most populated region in the United Kingdom after the South East and Greater London. MAS currently funds F2F services in the North West through two lead organisations, the Greater Merseyside Money Advice Partnership (GMMAP) and Citizens Advice. 29 participants provided almost 27,000 face to face advice sessions under current agreements for 2017/18. Current value £5.4m per annum

Debt provision in the North West

Project objectives London & the North West The project objectives for April 2018 – April 2019 are: To commission the provision of free debt advice services in both regions for commencement from April 2019, using the commissioning toolkit To align the objectives of the London / NW commissioning project with the intentions from the debt advice commissioning strategy To ensure debt advice services are of the highest quality with a focus on delivering the best immediate and longer-term outcomes for clients To work in collaboration with stakeholders in each region to commission services which best meet client needs To decommission existing service provision in a timely manner with minimal risk of disruption to clients

Necessary criteria for interested parties The tender process will be managed through Bravo. An organisation that wishes to deliver debt advice needs to obtain FCA authorisation. This should be a consideration for any organisation considering bidding for MAS debt advice funding. For a Not-For-Profit organisation, the process can take up to 12 months. Some organisations are exempt from this process. MAS funded organisations should also hold a Membership Code or Quality Standard that is MAS Accredited, though this is not mandatory for interested parties at the bidding stage. Further information is available on the London and NW commissioning pages of the MAS website.

Revised June 2018

High level requirements Likely new or enhanced requirements Service promotion & access Defined referral pathways for target groups Ratios for technical debt supervision Quality as measured by Debt Advice Peer Assessment (DAPA) Baseline recruitment elements Environmental considerations Essentials for client contact as part of the debt advice process Advice support requirements Post advice follow up Use of MAS recommended materials Existing requirements Making debt advice available including through referral arrangements Quality standards and assurance including training and CPD Compliance framework Data quality Debt advice process

Networking opportunity & time for questions An FAQ document will be published and shared following these engagement events on the commissioning pages of the MAS website. https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/corporate/commissioning-in-london-and-north-west-for-april-2019 Presentation Title

Thank you May 2018 General: debt.commissioning@moneyadvice.org.uk London: Louise Chu, Commissioning Manager Email: louise.chu@moneyadviceservice.org.uk North West: Erika Helps, Commissioning Manager Email: Erika.helps@moneyadviceservice.org.uk