Hampshire County Council Local Welfare Provision Dan Stoneman Commissioning Officer HCC

Local Welfare Provision: Background From April 2013 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will be abolishing Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans Money used for these purposes is now transferring to Local Authorities to design new Local Welfare Provision (LWP)

Local Welfare Provision: Expectations The DWP transferred the money to Local Authorities (LA); – with no ring fence for the funding – with no statutory duty for how the money should be spent – with no expectation that existing support is replicated – with no expectation that current users are continued to be supported under new LWP

Local Welfare Provision: Expectations LWP is; – to be implemented locally – to be used to support the most vulnerable members of communities – to be used to tackle the underlying reasons for crisis – to do this with reduced levels of funding and at a time of austerity, high unemployment and wider welfare reforms

Local Welfare Provision: Hampshire’s Vision Provide more comprehensive information and advice to enable individuals to cope and manage with challenging times and potential crisis Develop access to, and opportunities for, individuals to receive (better) practical support from existing services including the provision of expert information and advice Provide access to goods and cash to support individuals and families in exceptional circumstances through working with local services and providers

Local Welfare Provision: Hampshire is not…. Remotely processing applications for goods, cash or services Providing Loans Setting eligibility criteria in terms of specific groups of individuals Giving goods, cash or services to people without appropriate support

Local Welfare Provision: Long Term Strategy To develop sustainable responses to evidenced demand To remove the likelihood of dependency created by a system that responds with cash or goods alone To reduce the culture of expectation To better support community development to respond to local issues To make best use of a cash limited fund

Local Welfare Provision: Short Term Strategy Information and Advice Develop pages on Hants Web Support information provided by key organisations – HCC / JCP / DWP and CAB Develop relationship with Hampshire Advice Network Commission a Contact Point for telephone referrals and signposting Stand alone web based information Support professionals through guidance and information packs to know where to get help

Local Welfare Provision: Short Term Strategy Provider Network Map local provider networks – who is out there? Support appropriate referrals into the right network provider or service Enable the providers to access additional resources where necessary to support people they are working with – Memorandum of Understanding Collect data and information about levels of demand and common issues – to enable future development

Local Welfare Provision: Short Term Strategy Cash / Goods / Vouchers Targeting resources to specific departments internally that deal with most vulnerable groups Providing local provider networks with access to vouchers in extreme cases via a dedicated phone number Developing local capacity – food banks and Furniture re- use Working with external organisations to understand specific demand and appropriate responses

Local Welfare Provision: Next Steps March 2013 – Communication for public – Guidance for professionals – Local Network information – Web based information available April 2013 – Contact Point Live – Money lodged with partners – Fulfilment centre up and running – Begin collecting data for future development

Questions: Contact Details Dan Stoneman – Commissioning Officer HCC Tel: Plum Garland – Service Development Officer – LWP Tel: Hampshire County Council, E2 Court West, 3rd floor, The Castle, Winchester S023 8UQ