The government’s overhaul of council tax administration is a clear signal: local authorities must shift to earlier, fairer, more supportive engagement with residents, especially those in vulnerable situations.

With changes to billing, enforcement, liability order costs and support pathways, councils are being asked to modernise a system that hasn’t fundamentally changed since the early 1990s.

But the message between the lines is even louder: Councils cannot do this alone. A modern system needs more than policy; it needs capacity.

To meet these new expectations – and to protect the most vulnerable households – local authorities need specialist partners who can deliver the kind of proactive, human‑centred support the reforms demand. That’s exactly where Welfare Together comes in.

The government’s announcements highlight several challenges:

• Too many residents don’t understand the support available to them.
• Vulnerable people are still slipping through the cracks.
• Escalation to enforcement happens too quickly.
• Councils need better insight into who can’t pay versus who won’t pay.

The reforms aim to fix this, but they also increase the pressure on already stretched revenues and benefits teams. More communication. More early engagement. More welfare‑led decision‑making. More scrutiny of how vulnerable households are treated.

This is specialist work. And it requires specialist capacity.

Our specialist services

Welfare Together provides independent, enhanced support for residents in financial difficulty; exactly the kind of intervention the government is pushing for:

1. Early, human‑centred engagement

We reach residents before arrears spiral, helping them understand their bill, stabilise their finances and access the right support. This reduces enforcement, court action and crisis demand.

2. Specialist vulnerability support

Our Welfare Officers work with people facing mental health challenges, disability, domestic abuse, bereavement and sudden income shocks — the very groups the reforms aim to protect.

3. Better access to reliefs and entitlements

We help residents navigate Council Tax Support, disability discounts, discretionary reductions and income‑maximisation, improving outcomes and strengthening collection rates.

4. Real insight for better decision‑making

We provide clear assessments that help councils distinguish between financial hardship and non‑engagement, supporting fair, proportionate recovery.

The Crisis & Resilience Fund: A New Opportunity to Strengthen Support

Alongside the council tax reforms, the government has launched the Crisis & Resilience Fund (2026–2029), a major investment to help local authorities support residents facing financial shocks, hardship and vulnerability.

The fund encourages councils to:

• build stronger early‑intervention models
• reduce crisis demand
• improve financial resilience in communities
• work with specialist partners to deliver targeted support

Welfare Together’s model aligns directly with these aims. We help councils maximise the impact of the fund, reduce pressure on internal teams, and deliver measurable improvements in resident wellbeing and financial stability.

A fairer system needs the right partners

The government has set a clear direction: earlier engagement, better support, fewer crises, and a more respectful approach to vulnerable households.

To deliver this, councils need partners who can:

• engage residents with empathy
• provide specialist welfare expertise
• reduce enforcement demand
• improve collection outcomes
• support the transition to a modernised system

Welfare Together is already doing this work across the country, and we’re ready to help more councils meet the expectations of this new era.

Get in touch on support@welfaretogether.co.uk or 01327 228595.

The Welfare Together team is proud to have completed the Zero Suicide Alliance‘s Awareness Training to make having these difficult conversations with the vulnerable customers they deal with a little easier.

The Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) is a UK based suicide awareness and prevention initiative hosted by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and charitably funded via Mersey Cares NHS Charity. It’s Suicide Awareness Training is a short, free, online course that can be taken by anyone who wants to learn basic suicide awareness and prevention skills.

Hello and welcome to the new quarterly update from Welfare Together, your partner for ‘last mile’ vulnerable customer support.

Partner News: Policy in Practice and Welfare Together join forces to go ‘Beyond the Benefits Calculator’

Welfare Together has forged a partnership with Policy in Practice, a social policy and analytics company, to offer creditors an end-to-end income maximisation service.

The two ‘mission-driven’ organisations have come together to address the need for ensuring that vulnerable customers are supported through the ‘last mile’ of their journey to becoming debt free.

Policy in Practice’s award winning, free and easy-to-use ‘Better Off Calculator’ enables people to check what benefits they are eligible for. It is used by over two million people a year via GOV.UK and Policy in Practice’s network of more than 300 clients, including one in three local authorities, to identify over £1.4 billion in unclaimed support.

Through its work with Welfare Together, Policy in Practice provides lenders, utility providers, local authorities, housing associations and other creditors with follow-up intervention for customers who are eligible for benefits but need help claiming them. Welfare Together supports delivery as part of Policy in Practice’s last mile network.

Read more here.

Client News: Whipps Enforcement Adopts Vulnerability‑First Model with Welfare Together

We’re very pleased to welcome Whipps Enforcement as a new Welfare Together client. Graham Whipp said:

“With the latest Enforcement Conduct Board Vulnerability-First approach coming into effect later this year, we believe that engaging an independent third-party specialist to support vulnerable customers is the right way to achieve this. By working with Welfare Together, we can detach ourselves and individuals in financial distress from the enforcement process to ensure the main focus is on delivering what is right and in their best interests.

“Welfare Together has a proven track record in this area and we are looking forward to the results of having an expert welfare partner manage these extremely challenging and complex cases for us.”

Welfare Together’s Tracey Stone added:

“We’re pleased to see that firms like Whipps are taking their responsibility to vulnerable customers seriously and recognise the need for an outsourced specialist partner that can ensure the highest standards are upheld when it comes to customer wellbeing.”

Read more here.

We are also in talks with another potential new enforcement sector client and three of our key Local Authority clients have just renewed with us for the third and fourth year in a row.

Company News: Welfare Together reaches £825k milestone and is shortlisted for Awards

We are incredibly proud to have saved customers over £825,000 through access to benefits, exemptions, discounts and financial relief since we launched in 2022. Our approach to understanding unique circumstances and providing holistic guidance is proven to work – and we’d love to work with more creditors to support their most vulnerable customers, so please do recommend us.

We’re also very proud to have been shortlisted in two categories of the Credit & Collections Industry Awards 2026 – Customer Vulnerability & Support Initiative and Innovator of the Year (Person) – and to have renewed our Good Business Charter accreditation for another year.

In other Welfare Together news, we’re exploring a new initiative to offer employers (initially in our home region of Northamptonshire but with potential for roll-out) debt advice and welfare support for their staff. Watch this space for more on this soon.

Team Member Spotlight: Our Debt Adviser Fiona

Our very own in-house Debt Adviser Fiona Monk joined us in September 2025 to offer more hands-on support for customers who need guiding through the process of accessing the help they need. She has worked in various senior advice roles at both Citizens Advice and Shelter over the last 20 years and brings a wealth of experience and specialist expertise to our team.

Case Study: Targeted Cost of Living Support

We were commissioned by Rugby Council to deliver a targeted cost-of-living programme to identify residents experiencing financial vulnerability and provide early intervention before issues escalated.

Using a data-led approach, the project focused on increasing benefit take-up, reducing financial pressure, and supporting long-term household stability.

The results were fantastic:

• 2,431 households reviewed – 101 received benefit checks, 49 eligible for potential benefit application support, 101 supported with social tariffs, 6 received direct hardship support.
• £159,236.50 identified for residents.
• £15.92 return for every £1 of grant funding invested.

Training Opportunity: Vulnerability & Debt Advice Training Workshop

We’re running a Vulnerability & Debt Advice Training Workshop on Tuesday 19 May 2026, 9.30am-3.15pm, at Rugby Town Hall, Evreux Way, Rugby, CV21 2RR for frontline staff working in Local Authorities, Housing and Utilities.

The session will enable participants to:

• Understand vulnerability – how to identify it, prevent harm and properly support vulnerable customers on their end-to-end journey.
• Challenge assumptions and spot barriers to support.
• Learn how to help debt advisers with the difficult customer conversations.
• Work out what to do when bankruptcy is the only option.

The cost is £99+VAT/person and every attendee gets a certificate of attendance. Email tracey.stone@welfaretogether.co.uk to register.

Upcoming Events Spring-Summer 2026

• 7 April, London Revenues Group (LRG) Court Enforcement Sub-Group Meeting: Welfare Together’s Tracey Stone is speaking at this event.
• 14 April, Affordability Summit: Tracey will be on a panel alongside Rob Johnson of Policy in Practice at this conference in Manchester – find out more and register here.
• 16 April, Innovations in Revenues Conference South: We’re working in partnership with Ascendant Solutions and Telsolutions to deliver this event at Toynbee Hall in London for Housing & Rents managers, Revenue Managers, Heads of Service and Digital Transformation Officers. Tracey and Natasha will be speaking on behalf of Welfare Together. It is free to attend and you can register by emailing gardner@telsolutions.co.ukor tracey.stone@welfaretogether.co.uk.
• 21 April, Data, Engagement and Resident Support in Action Workshop: We’re jointly running this Healthy Homes webinar which will be a more interactive version of the one held on 10 March – find out more and book your place here.
• 23 April, CIVEA Conference and Awards: Tracey is on a panel, exhibiting and judging the awards.
• 7 May, Vulnerability Registration Service Conference: Welfare Together is proud to be exhibiting at the inaugural VRS Conference in Nottingham – find out more and book your place here. 
• 21 May, Credit & Collections Technology Think Tank and Industry Awards: We’re delighted to be shortlisted in two award categories. Find out more and book your place here.
• 4 June, Innovations in Revenues Conference North: There will be a follow-up to the Southern version of this event above at Leeds Civic Hall which Natasha will be speaking at. It is free to attend and you can register by emailing gardner@telsolutions.co.ukor tracey.stone@welfaretogether.co.uk.
• 4 June, Rundles Resolve & Reflect Conference: Tracey is on a panel entitled ‘From Standard to Support: Implementing the ECB’s Vulnerability Standards in Practice.’
• 25 June 2026, LACEF Conference: Connect, share, and lead at the UK’s key forum for local authorities on debt recovery, revenues, and best practice – find out more and book your place here.

Fundraising News: Welfare Together CIC Mount Snowdon Climb

At Welfare Together, we see every day just how many people are struggling financially. Families with no food in the cupboard, people forced to choose between heating and eating, and individuals with nowhere left to turn for support.

We see first-hand how much even a small amount of additional help – a warm meal, a working fridge, heating in winter – can change someone’s situation, and mean that they are less likely to fall into debt again in future.

Right now, demand for this additional support is growing, and we don’t want to turn anyone away. That’s why we set up our Welfare Together Community Interest Company (CIC) to raise money so we can help and support more people with the basics many of us take for granted, like:

• Food parcels
• Heating vouchers
• Essential household items like fridges and cookers
• Everyday support when there’s simply nowhere else to go

To help raise these vital funds, our team is taking on the challenge of climbing Mount Snowdon in October 2026! Every single penny raised will go directly to the people we support—not towards our running costs.

If you’re able to donate, no matter how small, you’ll be helping a real person in a difficult moment – see our GoFundMe page here. And if you can’t donate, sharing the page would mean just as much.