Decision

As part of the shared prosperity fund money has been allocated to Adur and Worthing.  Funding needs to be defrayed by March 2025.

To award this contract as set out within the Adur and Worthing Homelessness and Debt commission to the winning organisation - Basis. The total cost of this project are £73,600

Reasons for the decision

This forms part of the overall programme for Proactive funded by the Shared Prosperity Fund.  This commission provides service and content design project work focused on three groups of residents:

·       People at risk of homelessness in Worthing

·       Adur Homes tenants who are experiencing vulnerability, struggling with the cost of living and  in early stage debt for their rent, in Adur

·       People who are in early stage debt, or at risk of debt, for Council Tax

The learning from all these will be shared across both councils.

The outcomes this will achieve are:

·       Residents can find the most appropriate help for their situation, including being able to find help themselves online and being able to contact the service where needed

·       Residents contact us as early as possible if they are facing difficulties, so we can work in a preventative way

·       Residents can understand the realistic options for their situation

·       Staff have the tools available to support residents and communicate effectively

This project includes both discovery and design, ensuring that it delivers tangible change for residents. We are not in a position to make major system changes, and so want this to focus on the areas we can impact now:

Alternative options considered

This work is externally funded through the shared propensity fund.  Other options have been considered as to where best spend funding, which needs to be defrayed by 31 March 2025.