DF Finance, Benefits and Debt for West Midlands

Description

The Authority had Finance, Benefits and Debt services for People on Probation ensuring that People on Probation have sufficient lawfully obtained money to live on is key to their rehabilitation, but some individuals will face significant problems achieving that financial security. Previous statistics suggest over 23,000 People on Probation had financial problems linked to offending such as low incomes, debt, disrupted access to benefits advice and insufficient income on release from prison. Ensuring that these individuals have sufficient, lawfully obtained money to live on and are able to manage their debts is key to rehabilitation and some will benefit from support to overcome significant problems in achieving that financial security. Lot 1: In June 2020 the Ministry of Justice established the Probation Services Dynamic Framework (PSDF) to allow the Authority and Participating Bodies to purchase services to deliver rehabilitative and resettlement Interventions. The Dynamic Framework and subsequent Call-Off Competitions are conducted pursuant to Section 7 of the PCR 2015 (Social and Other Specific Services) the 'Light Touch Regime'. Ensuring that People on Probation are able to manage their own finance, benefits and debt needs is key to their rehabilitation. However, some People on Probation will face significant problems achieving financial security. Finance, Benefit and Debt issues are linked to offending for almost half of People on Probation. Therefore, some People on Probation will benefit from support to overcome problems in achieving financial security. One of the key priorities for the Ministry of Justice Outcome Delivery Plan 2021/22 is to ‘End rough sleeping through more effective prevention and crisis intervention services and reduce homelessness by enabling local authorities to fully meet their statutory duties’. Research has shown that being in debt makes it more difficult to obtain and sustain accommodation and employment.: “Debt and crime thus reinforce each other in a negative way” (Van Beek 2021), negatively contributing to the overall government objective to reduce reoffending. Finance, Benefit and Debt Services can be delivered as part of a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) whereby a specified number of RAR Activity Days will be allocated by the Probation Service for those subject to a Community Sentence or Suspended Sentence Order. Any Sessions delivered as part of a RAR Activity Day or as a mandated Licence or Post Sentence Supervision appointment will be Enforceable. The specific evaluation and award criteria for each competition were detailed in full in the procurement documents for the call off competition. The procurement documents are published through the Authority's esourcing portal.