Liverpool funded local welfare schemes evaluation 

How are the public involved in the evaluation??

Public involvement is embedded in PHIRST LiLaC’s work and activities through the PHIRST LiLaC Public Adviser Panel. This panel meets regularly and is responsible for reviewing involvement processes, and providing advice on engagement and involvement plans across the PHIRST LiLaC team and its research.  

Public advisers on the panel are contributing their expertise and experience around developing and conducting public health evaluations, rather than having direct lived experience of accessing the local welfare system to be evaluated.  

The PHIRST LiLaC Public Adviser Panel will also work closely with PHIRST researchers, advising on the recruitment and conduct of interviews with scheme service users as well as ethical and safeguarding considerations. They will also be actively involved in analysis and interpretation of data from interviews.  

We will work closely with community organisations who work with and support people who access the local welfare schemes to be evaluated. This will help us to understand the local context and to develop effective and acceptable approaches to carrying out interviews with people accessing the local welfare system.  

Lay summary of research 

Welfare schemes provide financial or in-kind support (e.g. furniture, domestic appliances, and shopping vouchers) to those most in need. This includes those who are unemployed or looking for work, those with low earnings, raising children, retried, caring for someone, or who have a long-term illness or disability. They also support those who are vulnerable due to circumstance, for example due to recently leaving prison, those experiencing domestic abuse, or those who have endured a crisis such as a fire or flood. The aim of welfare schemes is to reduce financial hardship and therefore improve health and wellbeing. Their wider objective is to reduce expenditure on public services such as the NHS, homelessness services, or social care organisations.  

We will look at three schemes:  

Benefits Maximisation Team (BMT)  

The BMT consists of specialist advisors that provide advice and support to Liverpool residents. The team helps people to claim benefits and wider support, and they also provide assistance with representation at benefit tribunals. The team receives referrals from council departments, external organisations, and residents of Liverpool. They also work with the Adult Services Department to maximise benefit to those who must pay for social care.  

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs)  

DHPs were introduced in 2001 and provide financial support to people who need extra help with rent or housing costs when their Housing Benefit or Universal Credit does not fully cover these. 

Liverpool Citizens Support Scheme (LCSS)  

LCSS was launched in 2013 and provides support to people with no immediate funds, for example when they are in the process of applying for a state benefit payment or after an unforeseen crisis event.  

The evaluation aims to understand: i) how people engage with the welfare system, ii) how equity of access to and uptake of welfare schemes may impact health inequalities, and iii) the impact that welfare provision has on service users’ health and wellbeing.  

The aims and objectives are: 

1. To examine equity of access to and uptake of welfare schemes and how this may impact health inequalities.  

2. To examine how characteristics are associated with subsequent pathways that are taken through the welfare system and the implications for inequalities in access.   

3. To assess the cost of delivering welfare schemes and examine how spending levels vary with demand for welfare provision.   

4. To understand the impact of welfare provision on service users’ health and wellbeing.