Emergency Welfare Scheme: Oxfordshire Crisis Fund

<p>It is well understood that the availability of emergency welfare funds, designed to support low-income households with urgent and unforeseen needs, can help prevent immediate crisis turning into long-term deprivation. Unlike the majority of upper tier authorities, Oxfordshire County Council (“the Council”) currently has no business-as-usual crisis fund. While specific funding is available in some local areas (for example from Town and Parish Councils) and for specific groups, there is no equivalent fund open to all eligible residents across the County. This leaves a gap for ‘last-resort’ support in the Oxfordshire system. The Government has increasingly adopted an expectation that local delivery capacity for emergency scheme exists and that this can address gaps in national welfare provision. Further, the Government assumes that this infrastructure is in place and can be used to spend new funding streams at short notice. Following the administration of a series of short-term interventions through the COVID-19 and subsequent cost-of-living crisis, the Council has now identified a business case for implanting a new scheme and a revenue budget has been agreed for 2023/24-2025/26 inclusive. The Council wishes to procure the capacity to deliver and provide for a new Oxfordshire Crisis Fund that will: Receive applications and / or referrals for crisis funding; determine eligibility against criteria set by the Council; issue support where an application is successful in a form agreed by the Council; communicate with unsuccessful applications; and, in all cases, offer signposting and additional support information. Issue support to individuals specifically pre-identified by the Council as in need of support, without the need for an eligibility check. Implement an appropriate level-1 complaints procedure.</p>