25119 Data-Led system for Identifying Low Income Households

Cambridgeshire County Council is looking to procure a data-led system for identifying low-income households for all the districts within Cambridgeshire and the county for the next three years. The publication of the Cambridgeshire Poverty Strategy provided an insight into the realities of poverty locally and provided recommendations on how the County Council can support the reduction in poverty across the county. The report noted that 37,000 residents in Cambridgeshire live in a negative budget, with the number of people receiving Universal Credit increasing by 30% over the last four years. Though there are no Cambridgeshire-specific figures on the number of unclaimed support. Policy in Practise estimates that over £24 billion of support goes unclaimed, and it is reasonable to expect that there is a number of unclaimed benefits within Cambridgeshire. The report recommended 'income maximisation' to support the prevention of poverty. This includes ensuring that individuals and households are not missing any money they are entitled to. Therefore, a data led system that identifies low-income households would allow councils to proactively contact households and provide them with support as a form of preventative early intervention.