Income Ask 2

Review Local Welfare Assistance schemes to ensure that the funds available are adequate to meet the need in your borough. Schemes should be targeted to those in most need, not come with very limiting conditions, and where possible be made available in the form of cash grants rather than loans or vouchers.

Why?

Since 2013 when Local Welfare Assistance schemes in their current form came into existence there has been a divergence in how the schemes are delivered and funded. Research carried our by the New Policy Institute and Trust for London in 2019 shows how the generosity of schemes varies widely between London Boroughs. While additional funding was provided for emergency welfare assistance during the pandemic this is now coming to an end, leaving many schemes, where they exist at all, under resourced to meet rising needs.