Government agrees to reconsider funding for local welfare assistance schemes

The Government is to re-think its ending of funding for local welfare assistance schemes after legal action supported by a charity and a London borough.

Cheshire resident Christian Jump took action against the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government over the decision to terminate government support for the funds.

They were introduced in 2012 as local versions of the discretionary parts of the Social Fund, with some £70m from the Government.

It emerged last year that the grant would end in May 2015 after neither a consultation nor consideration of the quality duty, according to the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), which was an ‘intervener’ in the case.

The Government decided not to fight the judicial review but instead accepted a consent order to reconsider its decision to cease funding for the schemes.

This requires the DWP, DCLG and the Treasury to complete their review of local welfare provision, conduct an ‘appropriate’ consultation, consider the equality duty and make a new decision by the time of the provisional local finance settlement, expected in December 2014.

CPAG chief executive Alison Garnham said: “We welcome that the Government has recognised the importance of local welfare assistance schemes and has committed to undertake a thorough review and consultation before deciding how the schemes will be funded in future.

“Local welfare assistance schemes are the final safety net in our social security system. We look forward to working with the government to help find the most effective way of protecting our poorest families.”

The London Borough of Islington supported the judicial review as an interested party, providing evidence of its local use by vulnerable people.

Executive member for finance Andy Hull said: “We made this stand on behalf of tens of thousands of people in need of support up and down the country because we believe that what remains of society’s safety net is worth fighting for.”

Mark Smulian