Developing an Online Tool to Assess the Eligibility of Destitute Families

Grant: £58,000
November 10, 2015

A project to develop an interactive online tool which would allow advisors and service-providers in the voluntary and public sectors to assess the eligibility of destitute migrant children and families for local authority support under s17 Children Act, where they lack expert knowledge on that area of law.

The accessibility of the tool, housed on the NRPF Network site and tailored to take account of minor variations in law in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, will empower voluntary sector agencies to advocate on behalf of eligible families. It will also ensure that local authority staff have an authoritative tool that enables them to make an informed initial response, reducing the likelihood of rejection of applications prior to formal assessment.

The tool will provide a printout the advisor can use when approaching a local authority. Inserting a post-code will provide relevant contact details.

The project will increase the prospect of eligible families securing s17 support while reducing potential for ill-advised applications. Further, it will serve as a pilot for establishing the potential for a technological solution of this kind to enhance access to rights in geographical areas and sectors where specialist legal knowledge is not readily available.