ITT for The Provision of Universal Credit Full Support: Personal Budgeting Support

With the introduction of Universal Credit (UC) Full Service the demand for claimant support services will change. As part of this, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has made funding available to Local Authorities to assist with the delivery of 'Universal Support' consisting of Digital Support (Assisted Digital) and Personal Budgeting Support (PBS).

Southampton City Council is looking to appoint a supplier to provide a package of support for vulnerable claimants. The service will provide tailored Personal Budgeting Support (PBS) to help claimants with complex needs with their move on to UC and in particular to adapt to key changes. These include:

• a single household payment
• monies paid monthly
• Universal Credit housing element paid directly to the claimant, so the claimant will then be required to pay their rent to their landlord themselves
• replacement of Tax Credits to form part of UC switch to 'digital by default'.

The purpose of PBS is to enable access to support for claimants to be able to manage their monthly payments by, for example, being able to:

• Work out monthly income and outgoings
• Complete and maintain a household budgeting plan
• Recognise priority bills
• Identifying and cutting back on non-essentials
• Understand and access financial services such as transactional bank accounts, set up direct debits for prioritised payments.

The Department for Work and Pensions has provided SCC with estimates on volumes and demand. However, referral volumes will fluctuate and providers will be expected to manage this with the budget set.

• Lot 1: Over 25's
• Lot 2: 25 and Under