Local authority crisis schemes 'failing to support families'
Neil Puffett
Friday, May 25, 2018
Crisis support schemes run by local authorities are failing to operate effectively with increasing numbers of families turning instead to food banks and other voluntary agencies for help, a report has found.
A study by The Children's Society and the Church of England found that local authority-run schemes to provide food, fuel and furniture to people in crisis, known as local welfare assistance schemes are helping relatively few people compared to the former Social Fund, leaving voluntary and other statutory agencies trying to fill the gap.
The report, Not Making Ends Meet, concludes that a lack of publicity, bureaucratic hurdles, and restrictive eligibility criteria appear to be deterring people from applying help under the schemes.
Instead, people needing help are relying on a "patchwork of local crisis support networks including food banks, with effective and consistent provision varying from one area to another".
One mother fleeing domestic violence with her children told the report's authors that she barely ate for five weeks while she waited for her new benefit claim to be processed and that if it hadn't been for financial help from friends and family she probably would have returned to her abuser.
Another mother and her three children, who were made homeless after a fire, said they endured months of bureaucracy to access the help they needed.
The number of awards under the local welfare assistance scheme in the report's seven case study areas in 2016/17 ranged between three per cent and 29 per cent of the level of equivalent awards in 2009/10 made under the Social Fund.
The report calls for stronger leadership from local authorities in developing effective crisis support for people in need. It also calls for government to provide more funding and set minimum standards for the schemes.
"Families in need of financial crisis support are often experiencing one of the hardest times of their life, such as fleeing domestic violence or experiencing a serious mental or physical health problem," Matthew Reed, chief executive of The Children's Society said.
"It's vital that when they need help to buy food or nappies, put money on the electricity meter or replace a broken fridge that they can access this help quickly and easily. Instead, families who are in desperate need may find there is nowhere to turn.
"Local charities are having to step in to provide the safety net that the government and councils used to, relying on donations and volunteers to do so.
"Sadly with more and more people facing crisis, particularly as Universal Credit rollout continues apace, it's becoming increasingly urgent for local crisis support to be coordinated and more consistent so that vulnerable people don't fall through the gaps."