Crisis Resilience Fund Eligibility & Resilience Services

Opportunity overview

The service will provide an independent, third‑party eligibility checking function for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF). The Provider will assess applications for Crisis Payments against national DWP guidance and locally agreed criteria, verify evidence proportionately, apply discretionary judgement where appropriate, and provide auditable eligibility decisions to support lawful, timely, and dignified crisis support. Alongside this the provider will be responsible for the delivery of financial resilience and capability services in line with DWP criteria. Hampshire County Council is therefore commissioning a specialist third-party organisation to carry out eligibility checking on its behalf, ensuring: • Compliance with DWP guidance • Fair, consistent decision-making • Proportionate checks that do not delay crisis support • Robust audit and assurance arrangements Alongside this the specialist third-party organisation will be required to deliver: • Deliver financial resilience/capability and wellbeing support • Build individual, and community, skills and confidence in financial resilience • Support vulnerable people early to reduce the need for further crisis support • Strengthen links to wider community resilience services • Work with partners to report outcomes for DWP monitoring

Lot 1 — Contract lot

Estimated lot value including VAT: £4.3m

Participation condition: This tender has the following Conditions of Participation. Further supplementary information on each of the requirements is contained within the tender documents. • Corporate Social Responsibility – Suppliers are asked to confirm they meet their legal obligations and expectations of the Council regarding their approach to equalities and sustainability. • Data Protection & ICO Registration – Suppliers are required to meet stated Data Protection standards and be registered with the Information Commissioners Office. • Insurance – As a minimum, suppliers are required to hold, or commit to obtain prior to contract award, Public and Employer's Liability insurance. Minimum cover levels for these and any other additional insurance requirements relevant to this requirement, are detailed in the tender documents. • Financial Standing & Business Risk – The Council uses Creditsafe and requires all suppliers to achieve a minimum Business Risk score of 30/100. For scores between 30 and 50, a Parent Company Guarantee or Performance Bond may be deemed required as appropriate. Suppliers must also be able to evidence at least 12 months of trading.

Participation condition: The Supplier must have experience (and would be able to evidence if requested) in triaging and assessing individuals financial situation The Supplier must have experience in delivering the following support and interventions; 1. Money advice and financial capability 2. Debt Advice and Debt Reduction, 3. Income Maximisation 4. Energy and Cost of Living Support 5. Food and Essential Living Support 6. Early Intervention and Crisis Prevention 7. Community and Partnership Working

Award criterion: Quality criterion 1 (Lot 0)

Award criterion: Quality criterion 2 (Lot 0)

Award criterion: Quality criterion 3 (Lot 0)

Award criterion: Quality criterion 4 (Lot 0)

Contract starts: 1 March 2027

Initial contract ends: 31 March 2029

Contracting authority

Hampshire County Council High St, The Castle, Winchester, SO23 8UJ, UKJ36, United Kingdom Contact: Strategic Procurement Email: strategic.procurement@hants.gov.uk Website: https://www.hants.gov.uk

Procurement timetable and procedure

Procedure: Open procedure

Special regime: Light Touch Regime

Clarification deadline: 26 November 2026 at 05:00 pm

Submission deadline: 8 December 2026 at 02:00 pm

Award decision expected by: 21 January 2027 at 11:59 pm

Electronic submissions: allowed

Submission language: EN

Financial terms: The Council shall pay the Agreement Price quarterly in advance, such payments commencing on 1st March 2027 (for one month to cover the end of the financial year 26/27), and subsequently on 1st April, 1st July, 1st October and 1st January of each year (or the next Working Day after such date). The supplier should submit a valid invoice 30 days before the start of the relevant quarter. Details for what to include on valid invoices can be found here - Getting paid on time | Business and economy | Hampshire County Council

CPV Classification

85312310 — Guidance services; 75310000 — Benefit services; 75200000 — Provision of services to the community

How to submit

The official Find a Tender notice directs suppliers to the buyer’s electronic tendering system. The procurement documents, clarifications and response area are managed there.

Open the buyer’s electronic tendering system ↗

TenderLab qualification first

Before we write, we establish whether the opportunity fits.

We examine the published participation conditions, service scope, geography, regulatory position, available evidence, mobilisation demands and commercial exposure with your team. We only confirm a full tender-writing engagement when the available information supports a responsible view that the provider meets the tender requirements.

If Crisis Resilience Fund Eligibility & Resilience Services is a credible fit, we can map the scored requirements, gather operational evidence and build the response around the buyer documents. The qualification check and any writing support do not guarantee an award; the contracting authority makes the final decision.