Tender ESCC Crisis Payment Scheme East Sussex County Council

From 1 April 2026 the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) introduced the Crisis and Resilience Fund: Guidance for local authorities in England (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029) – GOV.UK, a multiyear, ring fenced grant enabling local authorities to support residents facing financial shocks and to build financial resilience.

The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) is the successor of the Household Support Fund and provides a national Crisis Payment offer (distinct from Housing Payments). National guidance requires a cash first, needs based approach, proportionate evidence, accessible routes, and robust management information.

A light touch open tender is required for a provider/s to manage the crisis payment scheme.

If funding is made available the contract can be extended for up to three years.

Bidders must be able to establish partnerships, referral pathways and collaborative working arrangements across statutory services and the voluntary and community sector in time for the contract start date.

Bidders must be have at least one of the below:

a) certification to ISO/IEC 27001:2013 and/or able to demonstrate that its policies, procedures and information risk management processes are of a standard which is equivalent to that certification; or

b) hold a ‘Cyber Essentials Plus’ certificate; or

c) able to demonstrate an equivalent commitment to cyber security, provided that the parties agree that the risks associated with the Provider’s processing of the Personal Data are low.

Bidders must, where applicable, be certified to the appropriate level of the ‘Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard’.

Bidders must commit to ensuring that all staff and contractors with access to Personal Data meet the requirements of the ‘Baseline Personnel Security Standard’.

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Any financial efficiencies gained must be reinvested into the service, for example promoting the service, improving accessibility/reducing barriers to access, increasing outreach service.

The annual budget and total contract value may be increased or decreased, and the Finance Schedule and Specification may be reasonably varied. No Variation will be implemented unless the change is in accordance with the contract Variation clause.

Conversations with known local system wide stakeholders took place in early 2026, with the purpose being to test feasibility, refine the Specification, identify where further clarity is needed, understand the market challenges in order to reduce barriers as much as possible, and boost competition by raising awareness of the procurement with the local market.

A PME Notice was not published as the national guidance for the Fund stated that “a local support network is key” and due to the engagement undertaken with known providers earlier in the year, and existing developed contacts, it was felt that a national public Notice would not be beneficial. The subsequent use of an open tender ensures transparent access to the opportunity for all interested providers. The engagement was limited to local VCSE organisations due to the place-based delivery model required by national guidance; however, no provider is excluded from bidding.

This document was the presentation at the market engagement event in March 2026. Please note that some changes have been made since this event and Bidders must review all the tender documentation carefully before submitting.

County Hall, St Anne’s Crescent

Lewes

BN7 1UE

United Kingdom

Email: amy.wilkinson@eastsussex.gov.uk

Region: UKJ22 – East Sussex CC

Organisation type: Public authority – sub-central government