SPECIALIST MONEY MANAGEMENT AND DEBT ADVICE GRANTS. Guidance & Criteria /16

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1 SPECIALIST MONEY MANAGEMENT AND DEBT ADVICE GRANTS Guidance & Criteria /16 The deadline for applications is Monday 13 April 2015

2 1. INTRODUCTION 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 Charnwood residents. The advice sector was already responding to much of this change, and we wanted to build on this by targeting the grant investment in the most effective way - to enable greater emphasis on early resolution of clients problems and building the capacity of individuals who access the advice service so that they are better able to resolve their own problems in future. The scheme also encourages greater partnership working within the sector. We want to invest in advice services that respond to the breadth and complexity of issues that clients may have, whilst encouraging residents to build their resilience and ability to cope with financial and emotional challenges that welfare reform may bring. We recognise that client needs can often be multi- dimensional and the advice service will need to demonstrate how the needs of clients are being met holistically. Advice services funded via these grants will need to focus on supporting improved money management, links to employment programmes and activities which complement the clients needs such as counselling services, domestic violence support services, health awareness etc. The Council is committed to helping residents to resolve their problems at the earliest opportunity, and has the same expectation of organisations in receipt of this grant. The advice provider who has supported the client at the point of entry is expected to resolve the client s problem as far as possible. Where this is not possible, advice providers will need to make sure that the appropriate referral or signposting to other support has taken place. This grant fund of 30,000 will be allocated by the Charnwood Grants Panel and all applications will be evaluated against the criteria. 2. Grant aid provided and submitting an application 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

3 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 from our 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 grants@charnwood.gov.uk. 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. 3. Context Regarding Welfare Reform Since autumn 2008, a range of welfare reform policies have been underway. This includes changes to both out of work benefits, Local Housing Allowance and a range of other benefits. The specific reforms include: The introduction of an overall benefit cap, applied to household benefit payments at 500 per week for couples and lone parents and around 350 per week for single adults July Restrictions on housing benefit paid to households of working age which are underoccupying their accommodation. For those who are under occupying 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 The replacement of Disability Living Allowance with Personal Independence Payments and the reassessment of existing claimants of DLA - October

4 Changes to Council Tax Benefit which in Hackney means all claimants of working age have to pay at least 8.5% of their Council Tax bill. The forthcoming introduction of Universal Credit, which will combine benefits 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. Advice providers are supporting residents to respond to this changing landscape; this grant investment will support the sector to continue with this work. 4. Assessment Criteria 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 s residents. The help available should support residents (particularly those most in need) to understand their rights, manage their problems and move their situation forward

5 The general advice service will need to provide advice in the following areas, with the majority of provision focused on those highlighted in bold: Debt. Welfare Benefits. Employment. Money management including advice on prioritising bills and payments, reducing expenditure and budgeting. Family. The following aspects must be included within the Money & Debt Advice service: Diagnosing the client s problem/s and helping to decide options. Form filling, including assistance with on-line form completion. Contacting third parties, identifying next steps and taking action on behalf of the client where necessary. Casework and advocacy which supports the client to resolve or move the issue/s forward. Representation (where appropriate). Diagnosing where legal advice/representation is necessary and making the appropriate referral(s). Opportunities for residents to build their resilience and ability to help themselves more independently in future. 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 from Monday to Friday and include an outreach service to ensure that the service is geographically accessible to residents across the borough. 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

6 Applications will be assessed qualitatively against the grant 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. 5. Grant Agreements and Conditions of Funding 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 The grant must be spent by the end of March 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. Applications will also need to demonstrate how the proposed advice service responds to the diversity of Charnwood s communities and individual residents

7 QUALITY ASSURANCE The Council is committed to ensuring that residents have access to high quality advice services that delivers the best possible outcomes for local people. The process that organisations use to assess the quality of the advice service that they provide will be considered as part of the assessment process. Applications will need to provide details on the processes that will be used to assess the quality of the advice given, as well as the overall management of the organisation/s. If the advice provider holds any quality marks, such as the General Help Quality Mark (GQM) or Advice Quality Standard (AQS), details should be provided within your application. 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. 6. General Guidance 1. Document Verification You are required to have all of the relevant policy documents and must ensure that your staff are aware of the policies and are implementing them correctly. If your application is successful you will be required to submit evidence of all these policy documents before a final approval is given. 2. What the Grants Programme cannot fund Please be aware that the Specialist Money Management and Debt Advice grant scheme does not accept applications for any of the following: Political or exclusively religious activities. Overheads allocated or apportioned at rates materially in excess of those used in similar work carried out by the organisation. Costs related to capital or building projects. The cost of work or activities that any other person/organisation has a statutory duty to undertake. Activities undertaken outside of Charnwood, although there may be some exceptions. For example, residents may be accessing specialist courses, venues or trips. Previous debts, including contingent liabilities (possible charges relating to past events). Cover for something that may not occur ( contingencies )

8 Interest charges, or other costs resulting from delaying payments due to creditors. Service charges arising on leases, hire purchase and other credit arrangements. Depreciation of fixed assets, paid for by this grant. Any costs that do not represent an additional cost exclusively incurred as a result of work carried out for purposes of the funding programme. 3. Completing your application form Please note that Charnwood Borough Council usually receives more applications than they are able to fund. Projects will be assessed against the Borough s priorities and the information provided on your application form. Please ensure that you include all of the information that is relevant to your application. PDF Versions of all application forms and the accompanying guidance notes are available from the Charnwood Grants Administrator at grants@charnwood.gov.uk or on our website. Please call the Charnwood Grants Administrator on or grants@charnwood.gov.uk if you require any further assistance