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Crisis Resilience Fund Eligibility & Resilience Services

Hampshire County Council

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Tender

04 Aug 2026 at 12:36

UK4 - Tender Notice
Planning

04 Aug 2026 at 11:41

UK3 - Planned Procurement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Hampshire County Council is procuring services to deliver the Crisis and Resilience Fund, which supports households experiencing financial hardship or sudden financial shocks. The requirement covers crisis payments, including cash-first support for food, utilities and essential goods, delivered through multiple channels and routes; financial resilience services such as debt advice, income maximisation, savings advice and affordable credit; and community coordination to strengthen partnerships, referrals and local welfare support. A robust digital payment solution must support self-referral, trusted professional partners, internal teams and commissioned providers, while reducing administration and providing controls, accessibility and management information. The services are intended for delivery across Hampshire. This is a public-sector community, benefits and guidance services opportunity, including benefit administration and payments.

The process has reached tender: Hampshire County Council invited offers through an accelerated open procedure under the light-touch regime. It comprises one lot, with a value of £6,027,772 gross and in total. Enquiries were due by 17:00:59 on 17 August 2026, and offers by 14:00:59 on 26 August 2026. The planned award decision date is 22 September 2026. The contract is scheduled to run from 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2029, with one possible extension of up to six months, to 30 September 2029; the extension value is £1,033,333 excluding VAT. Evaluation is quality-based: eligibility assessment and decision-making 25%, financial resilience and holistic support 20%, accessibility, inclusion and equalities 15%, partnership working and referral pathways 15%, timeliness, demand management and performance 10%, mobilisation and continuity 10%, and safeguarding public funds and fraud prevention 5%.

This opportunity suits organisations able to combine welfare support expertise with a dependable digital payments platform. Strong bidders will understand eligibility assessment, needs-based and trauma-informed crisis support, benefits or guidance services, debt advice, income maximisation and wider financial resilience. They will need to manage fluctuating demand, make payments through several channels and delivery routes, and provide accurate information for local oversight and government reporting. Capability in accessibility, inclusion, equalities, safeguarding and fraud prevention is important, as is the ability to work with councils, professional partners, commissioned providers and community organisations. Suppliers should be able to establish and implement the service, maintain continuity, build referral pathways and demonstrate effective controls, service performance and partnership working at scale.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Crisis Resilience Fund Eligibility & Resilience Services

Notice Description

The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) replaces the Household Support Fund and is intended to provide timely crisis support to households experiencing financial hardship or sudden shocks. The fund helps residents meet essential living costs while also supporting longer-term financial resilience. Launched by the government on 1 April 2026, the CRF requires local authorities to deliver support rapidly and transparently, with clear accountability for the use of public funds. In line with the grant criteria, the funding should be allocated across three strands: * Crisis Payments: Cash-first approach to meet urgent needs (food, utilities, essential goods). This should be a multi-channel application-based process, allowing for individuals to self-refer. The fund should be available year-round, with flexible eligibility for low-income households and those facing a financial shock. Crisis payments should be person centred, trauma informed and needs based. * Resilience Services: Initiatives to build financial resilience for individuals and the community and includes services such as debt advice, income maximisation, savings advice and affordable credit. * Community Coordination: Investment in activities that connect and enhance the local support landscape - strengthening partnerships, referral pathways, and local welfare ecosystems. To deliver Crisis Payments and comply with the DWP guidance, there is a need for a robust digital payment solution that can deliver payments through multiple channels and support multiple delivery routes, including payments being made by trusted professional partners, internal teams and other commissioned providers. The payment system must reduce administrative burden, enable consistent controls across schemes, be accessible and provide accurate management information for local oversight and DWP reporting. The commissioning of a dedicated payment system will ensure the Council and trusted partners can deliver crisis payments at pace, scale provision to meet fluctuating demand, deliver payments in the most appropriate way for individuals and maintain strong governance and assurance throughout the life of the programme. * The CRF Programme will run initially until 31 March 2029. HCC's allocation for 26/27 is PS11.3 million. Local authorities have the discretion to use the funding in various ways to support vulnerable households, including the distribution of crisis payments. Initial estimates indicate that up to 30% of HCC's allocation will be used for this purpose.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: There is 1 contract extension with a maximum duration of 0 year and 6 months, and a value ex VAT of PS 1,033,333

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06dafd
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/073668-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

75 - Administration, defence and social security services

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

75200000 - Provision of services to the community

75310000 - Benefit services

85312310 - Guidance services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£6,027,772 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£6,027,772 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
4 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
26 Aug 20261 day to go
Future Notice Date
5 Aug 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Nov 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Active
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Hampshire County Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
WINCHESTER
Postcode
SO23 8UJ
Postcode Area
Southampton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ3 Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ36 Central Hampshire
Delivery Location
TLJ3 Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Local Authority
Winchester
Electoral Ward
St Michael
Westminster Constituency
Winchester

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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