In Response to Welfare and Legal Aid Reforms, Hackney Council Is Introducing a Specialist

SPECIALIST MONEY MANAGEMENT AND DEBT ADVICE GRANTS

Guidance & Criteria - 2015/16

The deadline for applicationsis

Monday 13 April 2015

Guidance notes last updated on 15 March 2015

In 2014 Charnwood Borough Council introduced a specialist grant scheme as part of its Charnwood Grants Programme to focus on providing social welfare advice services to Charnwoodresidents.

The advice sector was already responding to much of this change, and wewantedtobuildonthisbytargetingthe grantinvestmentin the mosteffective way - to enable greater emphasis on early resolutionofclients’problems and building the capacityof individuals who access the advice service so that they are better able to resolve their own problems in future. The scheme also encourages greater partnershipworkingwithinthesector.

Wewanttoinvestinadviceservicesthatrespondtothebreadthandcomplexity of issues that clients may have, whilst encouraging residents to build theirresilienceandabilitytocopewithfinancialandemotionalchallenges that welfare reform may bring. We recognise that client needs can often be multi- dimensional and the advice service willneed to demonstrate how the needs of clientsarebeingmetholistically.

Advice services funded via these grants will need to focus on supporting improved money management, linksto employment programmes and activities which complement the clients’ needs such as counselling services, domestic violencesupportservices,healthawarenessetc.

The Council is committed to helping residents to resolve their problems at the earliest opportunity, and hasthe same expectation of organisations in receipt of this grant. The advice provider who has supported the client atthe point of entry is expected to resolve the client’s problemas far as possible. Where this isnot possible, advice providerswill need to make sure thatthe appropriate referral or signpostingtoothersupporthastakenplace.

This grant fund of £30,000 will be allocated by the Charnwood Grants Panel and all applications will be evaluated against the criteria.

Funding for your service is subject to the following qualifying preconditions being met:

• Applications must be submitted by a properly constituted organisation.
• The organisation or project must be Charnwood based or carry out activities (other than fund-raising) within Charnwood.
• The purpose to which the grant is to be applied must not relate to promoting religious belief or party political activities.

The application form for Specialist Money Management & Debt Advice Grants can be requested using the contact details on the front page of the guidance or downloaded fromour website.

If you feel that your organisation fulfils the preconditions above and the assessment criteria as set out in section 4 you should send your application to the Charnwood Grants Administrator at . If this is not possible you can submit your application by post.

All relevant sections of the application form must be completed.

You must provide the following additional information with your application:

• The two most recent bank statements for all your organisation’s accounts.

You will also need to provide the following additional information although it is not essential to provide this at the time of application:

• Your organisation’s Equal Opportunities Policy or a statement that the organisation will abide by the key themes of the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy.
• If five or more staff are employed, your organisation’s Health and Safety Policy.
• Where relevant, your organisation’s policy statement about how it works to protect children/vulnerable adults and discharges its safeguarding responsibilities. Any grant offered will be dependent on the applicant providing evidence of such a policy or evidence that the group is actively working towards adopting a policy.

You may also wish to submit supporting information such as your annual report or equivalent.

Since autumn 2008, a range of welfare reform policies have been underway. This includes changestobothoutofwork benefits,LocalHousingAllowanceanda rangeofotherbenefits. Thespecificreformsinclude:

•The introduction of an overall benefit cap, applied to household benefit paymentsat£500perweekforcouplesandloneparentsandaround£350 perweekforsingleadults – July 2013.

•Restrictionsonhousingbenefitpaidtohouseholdsofworkingagewhichare under-occupyingtheiraccommodation.Forthosewhoareunderoccupying by one bedroom, their Housing Benefit is cut by 14%, for those who are under occupying by two bedrooms, their benefit is cut by 25% - April 2013.

• ThereplacementofDisabilityLivingAllowancewithPersonalIndependence

Payments and the reassessment of existing claimants of DLA - October 2013.

•ChangestoCouncilTaxBenefitwhichinHackneymeansallclaimantsof workingagehavetopayatleast 8.5% of their Council Tax bill.

•TheforthcomingintroductionofUniversalCredit,whichwillcombinebenefits such as Income Support, Working Tax Credit, and Housing Benefit into a single benefit made direct to the claimant, on a monthly basis in arrears. It is planned to be digital by design and rollout times for Charnwood are to be confirmed.

Adviceprovidersaresupportingresidentstorespondtothischanginglandscape; thisgrantinvestmentwillsupportthe sectortocontinuewiththiswork.

Applications will be assessed against two measures of need:

• How the project/service meets the Council’s aims and objectives in delivering identified solutions to Money & Debt Advice needs.
  
• Your organisation’s ability to demonstrate financial stability, deliver the service, and provide geographic coverage.

Both measures will seek to demonstrate the value for money to be obtained in providing grant funding.

How the project meets the identified community needs:-

Twelve criteria have been identified to assess community need. All twelve criteria form a key part of the application form which asks how your project/service will meet one or more of these criteria. You can provide further information on the relevant aims/objectives by using the Word version of the form, which enables the boxes to be expanded, or by using the section at the end of the form.

The need of grant funding from the Council to enable the project to succeed:-

Four criteria will be used to assess the need for the Council to provide grant funding. Organisations should demonstrate that their services are prepared and managed well and will be encouraged to explore other funding sources where appropriate.

This grant seeks to provide a comprehensive general and specialist money management debt help and advice service which is accessible to all of Charnwood’sresidents. The help available should support residents (particularly those most in need) to understand their rights, managetheirproblemsandmovetheirsituationforward.

The general advice service will need to provide advice in the following areas, with themajorityofprovisionfocusedonthosehighlightedinbold:

•Debt.

•WelfareBenefits.

•Employment.

•Money management – including advice onprioritising bills and payments,reducingexpenditureandbudgeting.

•Family.

The following aspects must be included within the Money & Debt Advice service:

• Diagnosingtheclient’sproblem/sandhelpingtodecideoptions.
• Form filling, including assistance withon-lineformcompletion.
• Contactingthirdparties,identifyingnextstepsandtakingactiononbehalfof theclientwherenecessary.
• Caseworkandadvocacywhichsupportstheclienttoresolveormovethe issue/sforward.
• Representation(whereappropriate).
• Diagnosingwherelegaladvice/representationisnecessaryandmakingthe appropriatereferral(s).
• Opportunities for residents to build their resilience and ability to help themselvesmoreindependentlyinfuture.

We are also particularly interested in other activities on offer (such as budgeting workshops, newsletters etc.) which complement the advice service available, and maximise the opportunity for residents to access advice and support on social welfare issues which may affect them.

The service will need to include the following delivery mechanisms:

•Face-to-face appointments.

•Telephone appointments.

•Access to web-based information.

This service must be available fromMonday to Friday and include an outreach service to ensure that the service is geographically accessible to residents acrosstheborough. Providing the service outside of the traditional working day is a preference but not essential to this application.

Consideration should be given, and evidenced provided, to identify what steps you will take to ensure that the outcomes of this service will be sustained after the grant award comes to an end.

Applications will be assessed qualitatively against thegrant criteria. In the case of meeting the Council’s objectives, applicants will be expected to clearly identify how they will measure the success of the project, especially in relation to identifying its outputs and outcomes. In the case of assessing need, reference will be made to relevant guidance such as that provided by the Charity Commission.

The Council needs to ensure that the public money it spends is used effectively. This includes monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of grant funding and partnership working. Therefore, the Council needs to ensure that Specialist Money Management & Debt Advice Grants are contributing to delivering its corporate aims and are achieving value for money.

In most cases, Grant awards will be achieved through an offer letter which includes the conditions on which the award is made and the payment arrangements for the grant. The specific conditions will be based on the provision of the measurement and monitoring information set out in the application form. Grant payment terms will be on a grant by grant basis, depending on the nature of the organisation/project and level of grant awarded. Copy invoices, or proof of project expenditure, may be requested.

A Monitoring Report form will be sent out to all successful applicants, and this must be completed and sent back to the Grants Administrator at the end of the service/project delivery, along with copies of any annual/financial reports available, and photographs or feedback from the project if required.

The following conditions apply to all approved projects:

•Any changes to the project or activity for which the funding was originally granted require further approval from the Council.

•The Charnwood Borough Council logo must be included on all publicity material relating to the project or activity. To obtain an electronic or hard copy of the logo please contact the Communications Team on 01509 634989.

•The grant must be spent by the end of March 2016.

If you do not comply with the conditions attached to a grant or do not use it for the purposes for which it was awarded the Council may seek to reclaim some of or the entire grant awarded.

EQUALITIES

As is the practice of the Charnwood Grants Programme this service must be delivered in Charnwood to the benefit of Charnwood Residents.

Applicationswillalsoneedtodemonstratehowthe proposed advice service respondstothediversityofCharnwood’scommunities and individual residents.

QUALITY ASSURANCE

The Council is committed to ensuring thatresidents have access to high quality advice services that delivers the best possible outcomes for local people. The processthatorganisationsusetoassessthequalityoftheadviceservicethat they provide will be considered aspartoftheassessmentprocess.

Applicationswillneedtoprovidedetailsontheprocesses that will be used to assess the quality of the advice given, as well as the overall management of the organisation/s. Iftheadviceproviderholdsanyqualitymarks,suchasthe General Help Quality Mark (GQM) or Advice Quality Standard (AQS), details shouldbeprovidedwithin yourapplication.

Your application will need to demonstrate the skills,experience and any relevant qualifications of those advisors involved in delivering the service. You will need to demonstrate that you have Safeguarding Policies and DBS checked advisors.

1. DocumentVerification

Youarerequiredtohavealloftherelevantpolicydocumentsand mustensure that your staff are aware of the policiesand are implementingthemcorrectly.

If your application is successful you will be required to submit evidence of all these policy documents before a final approval is given.

1. What the Grants Programme cannot fund

Please be aware that the Specialist Money Management and Debt Advice grant scheme doesnotacceptapplicationsfor any of the following:

• Politicalorexclusivelyreligiousactivities.

•Overheadsallocatedorapportionedatratesmateriallyinexcessofthose usedinsimilarworkcarriedoutbytheorganisation.

• Costsrelatedtocapitalorbuildingprojects.

•Thecostofworkoractivitiesthatanyotherperson/organisationhasa statutorydutytoundertake.

•ActivitiesundertakenoutsideofCharnwood,althoughtheremaybesome exceptions.For example, residents may be accessing specialist courses,venuesortrips.

•Previousdebts,including‘contingentliabilities’(possiblechargesrelating topastevents).

• Coverforsomethingthatmay not occur (‘contingencies’).

•Interestcharges,orothercostsresultingfromdelayingpaymentsdueto creditors.

•Service charges arising on leases, hire purchase and other credit arrangements.

• Depreciationoffixedassets, paid for by this grant.

•Anycoststhatdonotrepresentanadditionalcostexclusivelyincurredas a result of work carried out for purposes of the funding programme.

3. Completingyourapplicationform

PleasenotethatCharnwood BoroughCouncilusually receivesmoreapplications than they are able to fund. Projects will be assessed against the Borough’spriorities and theinformationprovidedonyourapplicationform.

Please ensure that you include all of the information that isrelevanttoyour application.

PDFVersionsofallapplicationformsandtheaccompanyingguidance notes are available from the Charnwood Grants Administratorat or on our website.

PleasecalltheCharnwood Grants Administrator on 01509 634730 or yourequireany furtherassistance.