Background Information
Directorate / Assistant Director Area / Service Area / Lead Officer / Person / people completing analysis / Date of workshop / meeting / Version
Title of the policy / project / service being considered / Lincolnshire Community Assistance Scheme (LCAS)
General overview and description / As of 1 April 2013 the Crisis Loan and Community Care Grant scheme provided by DWP will end and replaced with locally based assistance.
The Council Executive took the decision late in 2012 to become the accountable body for these assistance schemes rather than delegate the function to the District Councils. They decided to commission a new scheme for vulnerable people in Lincolnshire to offer assistance in a crisis, and therefore amalgamate the former schemes (the Crisis Loans and Community Care Grants) to create the Lincolnshire Community Assistance Scheme (LCAS).
LCAS will provide assistance to Lincolnshire residents to manage unexpected problems that will affect their health and wellbeing if they are not urgently addressed. It will give support to meet needs such as:
Access to food and potable water / delivered same day
Access to clothing, footwear and personal hygiene products where this has been lost / within 5 working days
Temporary support to meet household heating & lighting needs / £10 – delivered same day
Essential household items e.g. cooking and food storage equipment, beds and chairs but not entertainment or computing equipment / within 5 working days
One off payment of rent, rent deposit or lodging costs (direct to Landlord) / within 7 working
Essential travel arrangements e.g. for urgent healthcare appointments (paid via LCC matrix) / as required
This document will be reviewed to note the impact timescales may have upon the recipient.
All assistance will be offered in the form of goods (which maybe reconditioned for reuse) or services to meet the eligible needs identified. Cash payment direct to applicants will only be made in the most exceptional circumstances and likely to be within one working day.
Alongside this, the scheme will also put the individuals into contact with on-going support organisations to improve their resilience to manage future unexpected problems.
The scheme will support anyone aged 16 years or overwho are resident in the County of Lincolnshire, including those who are returning from institutional settings who were resident immediately prior to admission. Applications will however, only be accepted from people who have exhausted all other forms of assistance, for example, family and friends; benefits, pensions agencies and credit unions.
Applications will usually only be accepted from people in receipt of means tested benefits (work and unemployment, housing and disability related) or on a low income. In the utmost crisis e.g. total losses in a house fire this criterion may be waived. Repeat applications will only be accepted from people who have engaged since their last application with on-going assistance organisations that support financial resilience, employability or voluntary activities. An award of assistance from the scheme will be conditional on acceptance of referral to on-going assistance organisations.
Access to the scheme will be a single point of access via the Customer Service Centre (CSC) where a decision will be made whether the individual is eligible for the scheme. Where an individual is eligible the CSC will refer onto Learning Communities (the key partner managing the delivery of the majority of the scheme) for them to arrange receipt of goods/service and in turn will refer onto the resilience organisations and monitor outcomes. One off rent payments and access to essential transport will be managed by LCC.
Current status / New / Commissioned
Timescales for implementation / Lincolnshire Community Assistance Scheme is due to go live April 2013
Analysis
1. What is the current situation? / Historically, the Crisis Loans and Community Care Grants have been delivered by the Department of Work and Pensions and are considered to be statutory services. Due to the impending changes of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, the local authority will take responsibility to deliver the scheme.
The service has been available to all 16 year olds and over and has been accessed by couples, single males and single females regardless of disability or employment status. In 2011/12 young males were more likely to access the service. Although requested, demographics around current service users has not been received, in regards to specific groups of individuals accessing the loans and grants.
As this scheme is available to anyone aged 16 years or over who resides in Lincolnshire on a low income, the demographics of Lincolnshire should not impact against the demand for the scheme.
Having said that, the patternof the employment market haschanged with increasingly morepart-time and temporary posts. Overall levels of worklessness,as measured by the proportionof the population on out ofwork benefits, have increasedin Lincolnshire with Lincoln(15.4%) and East Lindsey(14.7%) having the highestproportions of people onout of work benefits. Rates of unemployment tend tobe highest amongst people withfew qualifications, people withdisabilities, carers, lone parents,older workers and ethnicminority groups. When in workthese groups are likely to befurther disadvantaged by beingin low paid, poor quality jobs. It is expected that these individuals are going to be more likely to need the Lincolnshire Community Assistance Scheme.
2. What are the drivers for change? / The driver to change the status quo is the Welfare Reforms Act 2012 and the preparation for the introduction of Universal Credit, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) will close two nationally run assistance schemes. As such, from April 2013 Lincolnshire County Council will take on this responsibility.
3. What difference will we make? / It is envisaged that the scheme will:
- Ensure people seeking crisis help will be brought into contact with services that could help them avoid future crisis
- Engage the voluntary sector to add value by increasing sustainability of organisations in the sector
- Reduce the overhead costs of the service of the existing service, making more money available to local people
- Support people with goods and services rather than cash
4. What are the assumptions about the benefits? / The scheme will:
- Provide assistance to an individual in crisis to reduce the severity of their situation
- Refer service users to on-going assistance from organisations that will support their financial resistance, employability and voluntary activities to help avoid a repeat of the situation
5. How are you testing your assumptions about the benefits? /
- Data monitoring by the CSC regarding number of calls received and referrals made
- Grant Aid Agreement with Learning Communities to monitor quality assurance (includes monitoring data and numbers from CSC and providers of relevant goods and services. It also includes feedback from credit unions and C.A.Bs)
- Grant Aid Agreement with Learning Communities(Voluntary Sector Organisation) ensuring goods and service delivery aremonitored as agreed with LCC, including demographics on those using the service
6. The assumptions about any adverse impacts. Could it have a negative impact on anyone?
If Yes, go to 6.1 and 6.2
If No, please explain how you know this is the case / YES
6.1 Which groups / individuals could it have a negative impact on? / Gender
Pregnancy/Maternity
Age
Ethnicity
Disability
Those living in rural location to note the impact timescales may have upon the receipient.
6.2 Please state how it could have a negative impact on these groups / individuals?
Please refer to the list of protected characteristics to assist your answer. / General concern: those who previously used the scheme received cash direct, where-as the new scheme will provide goods or vouchers and so the individuals will no longer have choice to spend the money as they wish.
Gender: the scheme is open to any gender
Pregnancy/Maternity: due to the change in income expectant females/females on maternity may be more likely to access the scheme; however they would be referred to other more appropriate agencies.
Age: those under 16 years cannot access the scheme and make claims themselves; however the family can claim on their behalf.
Ethnicity: need to ensure the right message is targeted in the right places so people from all ethnic groups can receive the information to access the scheme. The information about the scheme needs to be available for those whom English is not their first language. There is the need to protect their culture and gender culture; workshops may need to be split in male and female.
Ethnicity: the methods of communication needs consideration, for example members of the gypsy and traveller communities have lower literacy levels than the general population so this needs to be considered.
Ethnicity: gypsy and traveller communities may not be able to evidence they are claiming benefits or are on a low income.
Ethnicity and disability: the information needs to be jargon-free and available in large print
Rural location: those living in rural isolation could find access to support difficult, for example if an individual is not in walking distance of a food bank. However in this situation a cash equivalent food parcel will be delivered via Lincolnshire Co-op and a voucher for perishable goods received.
7. How are you testing your assumptions about adverse impacts? / Monitoring who will be accessing and those not able to access the scheme.
7.1 What further evidence do you need to gather? / Monitor the scheme to determine whether the assumptions made are correct, this could be monitored by the number of complaints received by the CSC, CABx or DWP.
8. Who are the stakeholders and how will they be affected? / Primary (those directly affected, either positively or negatively by the organisation’s actions)
Those who are eligible to access the scheme, LCC, Learning Communities, CAB, Credit Unions, DWP.
Secondary (intermediaries, people or organisations who are indirectly affected by the organisation’s actions)
General population who may use the service and organisations and service providers including - food banks, Curry’s, Co-op, furniture recyclers, housing providers, Nacro, Sure Start, Probation, travel providers, Women's Aid, Social Services, First Contact and Addaction.
9. How are you assessing the risks and minimising the impacts? / Leaflets being available in different languages.
Expected referrals for the scheme from -DWP, CABx, District Councils, Social Services, Probation, Carers Team, Hospitals, Mental Health team and housing providers.
The scheme is based on family income and so any potential impact against those who are under 16 years will be reduced, because their families can claim on their behalf.
If an individual is not eligible for LCAS there is complaints process that can be access either via the Lincolnshire County Council website or by phoning the CSC.
Capturing good news stories as evidence of minimising risks.
10. What changes will the Council need to make as a result of introducing the policy / project / service etc? / As this is a brand new scheme the change will be the commissioning of the scheme.
11. How will you undertake evaluation once the changes have been implemented? / Monthly monitoring meetings with CSC and Learning Communities with an annual review which will include service users and providers.
Further Details
Are you handling personal data? If so, please give details. / YES
How was this analysis undertaken?
Facilitated workshop? Who attended? / Initially there was a workshop between Public Health Programme Officers and Trading Standards Officers.
This was followed by further involvement with LCC CSC, CAB, Credit Union and Learning Communities representatives, via email.
Are you confident that everyone who should have been involved in producing this version of the Impact Analysis has been?
If No, who needs to be involved? / NO
This document is to be shared with the Public Health Equality and Diversity Group followed by ratification from the Public Health DMT.
If this is new, or requires a decision by Councillors to revise, has this impact analysis been included with the committee report? / No
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Signed off by / Date
* Cells of the form with shading will help you form your consultation plan, should you need to carry out a consultation as a result of Impact Analysis discussions.
Impact AnalysisMarch 2013 v1.01