Are administrative systems set up to cope with the increasing demand expected from households for financial help and support? Charis Grants discusses how it can help local authorities and housing associations.
The recent budget announcement has confirmed what we already knew — that household bills are going to continue to spiral, and that many millions more are going to be slipping into ‘fuel poverty’ — where a household’s monthly energy spend is more than 10% of its income.
Charis Grants, the UK’s leading administrator of hardship grants and funds, is keen to reassure local authorities, charities and social housing providers that its Charis Shop platform has the built in capacity to cope with a manifold increase in demand as an increasing proportion of the UK population seeks financial help and support.
Alongside the increase in the energy cap, fuel costs and council tax, the Government also announced a number of new support schemes. £900 is to be paid to families on means-tested benefits, £300 to pensioners and £150 to individuals on disability benefits. Additionally, a further £1bn is being given to councils as part of their Household Support Fund to help those that are going to be effectively slipping through bigger and bigger cracks.
“To give this some perspective, over the warmer summer months we distributed over 87,000 energy vouchers. We are already seeing a massive increase and expect this number to more than treble between now and the end of March,” commented Charis Business Development Director Oliver Gary. “Through our Charis Shop, Digital Payment Card and Let’s Talk Energy scheme, Charis is well placed to facilitate the entire process from the front end for charities and local authorities. We are already working with over 30 local authorities and over 100 Citizen Advice Bureaus, distributing Household Support funding.
“We also ensure that all reporting and auditing obligations are met via our established and proven Charis shop back-end reporting functionality,” continued Oliver. “In the urgency to get the funds to those who are most vulnerable, it is easy to get lost in the sheer volume of demand. Our technology enables our clients to cope with increasing volumes of demand while still improving on the speed of response and reducing the risk of fraudulent claims.”
Charis Grants Ltd is a privately owned company established in 2003 to facilitate the distribution of funds and grants by energy companies, charities, housing associations and other bodies, such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, which help and support vulnerable people in the community.
