Crisis Resilience Fund Eligibility & Resilience Services

The service will provide an independent, third‑party eligibility checking function for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). The Provider will assess applications for Crisis Payments against national DWP guidance and locally agreed criteria, verify evidence proportionately, apply discretionary judgement where appropriate, and provide auditable eligibility decisions to support lawful, timely, and dignified crisis support. Alongside this the provider will be responsible for the delivery of financial resilience and capability services in line with DWP criteria.

Hampshire County Council is therefore commissioning a specialist third-party organisation to carry out eligibility checking on its behalf, ensuring:

• Compliance with DWP guidance

• Fair, consistent decision-making

• Proportionate checks that do not delay crisis support

• Robust audit and assurance arrangements

Alongside this the specialist third-party organisation will be required to deliver:

• Deliver financial resilience/capability and wellbeing support

• Build individual, and community, skills and confidence in financial resilience

• Support vulnerable people early to reduce the need for further crisis support

• Strengthen links to wider community resilience services

• Work with partners to report outcomes for DWP monitoring