The overall aim of the service is to provide an advice and counselling service to offenders who experience serious difficulty in managing their financial affairs and where such difficulty is clearly associated with their offending behaviour.

The provider must be able to demonstrate considerable relevant experience, knowledge and expertise in delivering similar service provision and in particular must be capable of demonstrating both the capacity and commitment to service delivery within the Criminal Justice system.

The provider must be able to deliver all the following requirements:

• Carry out a pre-sentence assessment and advise relevant probation staff on the most suitable form of work to be undertaken in order to effect control, reduction or elimination of the debt, including the need for further referral;
• Advise relevant probation staff on the extent and nature of the debt and the offender’s attitude to it;
• Assess suitability for an activity requirement to be included in a Community Order;
• Advise relevant probation staff on the length that such an activity requirement needs to be based on the need of the offender and the work that will have to be undertaken;
• Advise on the Offender’s susceptibility to the intervention;
• Provide advice and counselling to individual offenders post sentence either as part of a statutory requirement of their supervision or as part of a sentence plan following referral from their offender manager;
• Support and/or represent the offender at Court or other adjudicating forums in relation to financial matters;
• Act as a consultant /advisor the relevant probation staff on general welfare rights and benefits related issues and to further advise on and to contribute to related staff training needs;
• Act as front line contact with other related service providers in the area.

The scheme will be delivered in line with:

• Criminal Justice Act (2003)
• NOMS Offender Management Principles (2005)
• NPS National Standards
• NPS Business plan
• Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements
• Current operational manual and practice guidance
• Regional Reducing Re-offending Action Plan