Resident Support Fund Contract

Tender description

Brent Council are looking for a credit union to administer an interest free loan, which will be made available to all Brent residents financially impacted by COVID-19. As the virus outbreak and lockdown have advanced, there has been a significant increase in the uptake of Welfare Benefits. In the first weeks following the lockdown 1.5 million claims for Universal Credit were made in a week, rather than the usual 150,000 (an increase of 1000%). The delay in the first payment of Universal Credit to new claimants, and the inability of that scheme to meet the expenditure of someone recently unemployed for the first time, are well documented. There is a risk that someone with an impaired credit history who is unable to access bank loans, may be in a position that they turn to a loan shark or pay-day lender for financial support, with repayment plans that are unrealistic and inflated interest rates.