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Citizens Advice has been awarded 3 contracts for benefit take up across Northern Ireland. The contracts aim to help help children, pensioners and those on Incapacity Benefit.
Citizens Advice has announced the award of 3 contracts for benefit take up across Northern Ireland. The contracts, awarded by the Social Security Agency will run to January 2008, and are aimed at helping 3 important groups:
Welcoming the award of the contracts, Derek Alcorn Chief Executive of Citizens Advice said the contracts would make a significant impact on poverty in Northern Ireland.
"These contracts will offer a benefit review to 15,000 people aimed at ensuring they are receiving their full benefit entitlement. They will make a major contribution to the anti – poverty strategy in Northern Ireland, and represent a significant contract between Government and the voluntary sector.
"We warmly welcome this change in the Agency’s service delivery which combines intelligent use of the SSA’s own databases with the skills, knowledge and infrastructure that Citizens Advice brings to the table in dealing with socially vulnerable people. Similar contracts last year were highly successful with a value for money figure of £21 claimed for every £1 of expenditure by the Agency – representing an annual benefit pay out of £6.6m to people in social need.
"The partnership makes a significant contribution to the Northern Ireland Anti Poverty Strategy, with a business model which is easy to understand, capable of verification by the Social Security Agency and clearly delivering help directly to people who need it."
The value of the contracts to Citizens Advice, is dependent on the response rate of SSA customers, but based on last year’s experience should not be less than £250k.
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