Making welfare work locally case study showcase - Round 2 (b)

Part b: Local social welfare schemes

In April 2013, crisis loans and community care grants were abolished and the money given on a non-ring-fenced basis to upper tier local authorities in England and to the Welsh and Scottish governments until March 2015. The rationale was that crisis loans and community care grants often failed to reach the people most in need and were open to abuse. Local authorities were arguably better placed to know the needs of their local communities and help people in crisis or to establish themselves in the community.

Here we showcase three different examples of how local authorities have designed and implemented local social welfare schemes that look beyond the claimant’s immediate needs and work to support them to access wider help from local services.