Category

• Promising Local Practice

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Poverty impact

• Mitigation

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Poverty driver

• Provide benefit in-kind (material)
• Increase income from benefits

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Keywords

• No recourse to public funds
• Debt
• Financial Assistance
• Housing Costs
• Fuel poverty

Aim

The Financial Insecurity Fund aims:

-To ensure those with no recourse to public funds have the same access to crisis payments as those who have recourse to public funds.

-To mitigate the impacts of the covid-19 pandemic (and latterly the cost-of living crisis and the roll out of Universal Credit) on those experiencing financial hardship.

Summary

The Financial Insecurity Fund is a local fund which provides assistance to those on low incomes in the Perth and Kinross area. If a household is struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis and has no recourse to public funds, they can apply for financial assistance through the fund to pay back debts. The debts, for which the fund provides assistance include for example gas, electricity, broadband and Council Tax debts, as well as rent arrears. The Fund also makes one-off payments to those experiencing rural hardship and can contribute towards the cost of oil/gas and solid fuel. A comprehensive welfare benefit check is an integral part of the assessment criteria for the Fund ensuring that longer-term assistance is provided where possible from existing statutory provision.

Key take-aways

• The demand for the Financial Insecurity Fund is created by the gaps which exist in the benefits system
• those with little to no financial assistance are directed to them including people with no recourse to public funds.
• Adjusting the criteria for claiming funds annually is required due to the changing socioeconomic conditions that affect the groups of people in receipt of the fund to ensure the areas with the biggest demand receive the most support.
• Those with no recourse to public funds have an array of needs for financial assistance. This ranges from rural hardship to child payments and paying off debts.

 

Organisations

Perth & Kinross Council Welfare Rights Team

Location

Perth & Kinross Local Authority Area

Contact