Hackney Council to insource debt and employment support services

Hackney Council is set to bring debt and employment support services in-house, a move approved by the Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee on Monday, September 7, 2026. The decision aims to streamline services, reduce duplication, and create a more integrated support system for residents.

The insourcing of two key elements of the current Floating Support service – Debt Management and Financial Support (under the Here to Help service) and Employment support for people with learning disabilities (as part of Hackney Works) – will be implemented from February 1, 2027. This change will cost £0.52 million per annum.

The council stated that this decision will reduce duplication between internal and procured services, strengthen employment support for individuals with learning disabilities and autism, and establish a one-stop shop for residents to manage all aspects of Council-related debt, including rent, Council Tax, and Care Charging debts. The one-stop shop will be created by integrating debt management into the Here to Help service, which is described as the Council's primary financial resilience service. This will allow residents to manage all aspects of Council-related debt, including rent, Council Tax, and, for the first time, Care Charging debts. The service has established processes to manage the latter two areas of debt and will develop new links related to managing care charging. This proposal cuts out a significant step for individuals because the in-house Here to Help service is the only one that can directly make debt management arrangements between the council and the individual, bypassing the external provider referral process.

The £0.52 million per annum cost for the insourced services will be funded from the existing ASC Commissioning budget, as part of the existing £1,300,000 ASC Commissioning budget. The initiative is projected to yield savings against the existing baseline, with estimates of £0.10m in the second year, which will be redirected to address financial pressures within the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).

The insourcing of these services will be implemented from February 1, 2027, with a mobilisation period scheduled from November 2026 to January 2027. Measures to ensure continuity of support include TUPE protocols for staff transfer, with opportunities for current staff to move to either the in-house Here to Help service or an externally provided floating support service. The current provider has stated they will attempt to reallocate workers to other schemes and will offer a voluntary redundancy scheme. The Council will also ensure knowledge transfer through the staff transfer process and by ensuring incoming managers possess the required skills.

The report indicates that the insourcing will strengthen the Here to Help service and increase investment in Hackney Works. The decision is based on the Council's existing expertise in managing Council Tax and rent arrears, and the plan to develop new links for managing care charging debts. For employment support, the plan includes funding a new Work Placement Officer to secure structured volunteer and employment roles, directly improving performance against ASCOF Measure 1E. The report also highlights the need for managers overseeing the service to possess specific skills, including Regulatory Knowledge (FCA standards), Welfare & Debt Literacy, and Trauma-Informed Oversight.

Specific metrics will be used to measure the success of the insourced services. For the Here to Help service, key performance indicators (KPIs) include: a target of 85% for debt resolution (percentage of priority debt arrears stabilised), a target value to be set annually for income maximisation (total additional annual income claimed), a target of 75% for client outcomes (percentage of clients reporting increased financial confidence), an average time of 10 working days for service efficiency (completing a benefits check and claim), and a target of 60% for vulnerability focus (successful negotiation/resolution of Council Tax or Local Authority debt). For Hackney Works, the KPI is to increase the proportion of adults with learning disabilities in paid employment by 20%.

The duplication between internal and procured services arises because since the inception of the Council's Here to Help service, significant duplication has emerged. Specifically, Many referrals for debt management linked to the council have to be referred from the Riverside project to Here to Help to support debt management of council debt. Additionally, Neither Here to Help or Riverside have any access to debt centred around Care Charging, held by Adult Social Care.

The existing contract for Floating Support, run by Riverside since 2019, was due to expire. While specialised support for the Orthodox Jewish (Charedi) community will continue via a separate procurement process, a new, smaller scope contract for external specialist providers will be procured for floating housing support for residents with long-term enduring mental illness. The procurement of this new contract, with an annual value of a maximum of £0.24m (ex VAT), will be completed, with the intention to award a 7-year contract. This will come to Hackney Procurement Board (HPB) in November 2026.

Further details on the Cabinet Procurement and Insourcing Committee meeting can be found in the Agenda frontsheet, the Public reports pack, and the Decisions document.