DWP invites applications for Future Support Offer grant funding to extend support for people claiming universal credit to April 2026
However, Department confirms that funding to extend the ‘Help to Claim’ type service is not yet guaranteed, and the second year of funding for 2025/2026 will be subject to future spending review decisions
The DWP has issued an invitation for organisations in England, Scotland and Wales to apply for Future Support Offer (FSO) grant funding to support people to claim universal credit from 2024 to 2026.
With funding for the current service – delivered since April 2019 by Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland – having been extended for a further 12 months earlier this year, the DWP says in the latest Grant Competition document published today that –
'There is no guarantee that the {Department} will secure the requisite funding for the FSO 2024 Grant …
If funding for the FSO 2024 Grant is secured, this will initially only be for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 (i.e. the first twelve months of the Funding Period).
Funding for the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 (i.e. the second twelve months of the Funding Period) is subject to the outcome of the next Spending Review …'
The DWP also confirms that the service will be a digital and telephony-only support offer, as it has been since face-to-face support was withdrawn in April 2022.
In addition, the Department sets out some of its planning assumptions for the new service, that include –
- the length of a claimant support session will average around 40 minutes;
- after-session activity, such as recording details of the contact, follow-up contact(s) and capturing performance and management information, will average around 45 minutes;
- based on historic data, claimants accessing the support may need an average of around 1.7 support sessions per client and ask 6.7 questions;
- all eligible universal credit claimants must be supported until they reach their first correct payment; and
- an estimated 191,000 claimants will be supported to make a claim in the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, and approximately 161,000 in the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.
The deadline for submission of applications is 28 July 2023, with notification of the funding award expected in December 2023 and final signing of the funding agreement expected in January 2024. Update (30 June 2023) – the DWP has confirmed that the deadline for registering as an interested party has been extended from 30 June 2023 to 14 July 2023 while the deadline for applications remains 28 July 2023.
For more information, see Apply for Future Support Offer 2024 grant funding to support people to claim Universal Credit and Future Support Offer 2024 from the Find a Grant platform from gov.uk.