AID MANAGEMENT OFFICE, MONTSERRAT
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR REVIEW OF SOCIAL WELFARE
SYSTEM
1. Brief Description
1.1 This consultancy will review current systems
of social welfare in Montserrat and make recommendations for reform
to meet the immediate and future needs of the population.
2. Background
2.1 Following intermittent and destructive volcanic
activity since July 1995, the people of Montserrat have experienced
a series of evacuations resulting in a situation today where all
of the remaining population is living in the northern third of
the island. During the period, the population has decreased from
around 10,000 to about 3,000 (March 1998).
2.2 Social welfare in Montserrat has traditionally
taken the form of a variety of assistance schemes, many of them
in existence prior to the volcanic emergency. The policy approach,
objectives and targeting of the pre-volcanic system have been
distorted by measures introduced to cope with the emergency conditions.
2.3 At present, social welfare includes the
following schemes:
(ii) Social security and pensions.
(vi) Housing subsidies (including shelters,
rental support, lease-purchase support, grants and loans.
(vii) Care of the elderly.
A brief description of these Schemes is included
at Annex I.
3. Overall Objective
3.1 The overall objective of the review is to
make recommendations for the reform and development of the social
welfare system in Montserrat, to address the needs of those who
would otherwise be in hardship in a manner which is cost-effective
and which avoids the creation of a long term dependency culture.
4. Scope of the Work
4.1 The consultants will:
— review the recent Social Survey and
Social Situation Analysis, and undertake any necessary additional
research to establish levels/need for income support;
— consider the priorities and options
of the local population (a local working group will be established
to assist with this task);
— set out the key principles of GoM's
current social welfare policy, identify any areas where policy
objectives have not yet been set, and facilitate GoM in their
development;
— investigate the operations of existing
social welfare schemes and consider their effectiveness for meeting
policy objectives and welfare needs, particularly for the most
vulnerable;
— consider the interactions between
existing and proposed social welfare schemes and the personal
income tax regime and the implications for future tax policy;
— consider the benefits available to
Montserratians who re-locate to elsewhere in the Caribbean through
the DFID resettlement schemes, and the results of the UNICEF rapid
assessment of the status of Montserratian families in the Caribbean,
in order to assess the relative incentives created by these schemes
and by on-island existing and proposed social welfare schemes;
— review traditional community- and
family-based support systems and consider ways of rebuilding or
sustaining those within a reformed system of state-provided social
welfare, this should include a review of remittances;
— consider need for support to the
elderly including options for residential and community care;
— review social welfare schemes in
the region which may provide useful lessons for Montserrat;
— develop argued and costed options
for future system(s) of social welfare.
5. Outcome and Deliverables
5.1 The deliverables of the study will be:
(b) a brief review of social welfare systems
in the region;
(c) options for a reformed social welfare
system including the replacement (or reform) of the food voucher
system which will;
— provide an effective social safety
net;
— provide an appropriate framework
for economic incentives;
— reduce dependency and restore traditional
family—or community-based support systems;
— be efficiently targeted at the most
poor and vulnerable groups;
— be transparent and accountable;
— be sufficiently flexible to accommodate
uncertainty in the event of on-going volcanic activity;
— be cost-effective, simple in design
and inexpensive to administer.
(d) Recommendations for a revised system
which will include:
— a statement of policy objectives;
— a statement of the groups to be
targeted by the system;
— the delivery mechanisms to be adopted;
— proposals for institutional and
administrative arrangements;
— proposals for any changes in the
income tax structure;
— cost estimates.
(e) design of transitional arrangements,
if necessary, which are: sensitive to the situation in Montserrat
and can cope with the current emergency and immediate needs.
6. Competency and Expertise Requirements
6.1 This review is likely to require the input
of specialists in social development and social security/social
welfare and economics. Familiarity with systems of social security
in the Caribbean and with the current situation in Montserrat
would be highly desirable.
6.2 It is expected that the consultants will
require a period of five weeks on Montserrat (though not all team
members may be needed for all this period).
6.3 The external consultants will work closely
with a local working group which is expected to comprise officials
from the Ministry of Health, Education and Community Services,
Ministry of Agriculture, Trade and Environment (with responsibility
for housing), Ministry of Finance, Emergency Department, DFID's
Aid Management Office, the Red Cross and Council of Churches.
6.4 It is expected that the consultants with
the working group, will undertake extensive consultations, perhaps
around a series of discussion papers. An early discussion session
may be scheduled with the Executive Council (of GoM Ministers)
(ExCo).
6.5 Towards the end of the period, it is expected
that the team will make a presentation of the options to the ExCo.
6.6 A UNICEF regional rapid assessment survey
is currently scheduled to produce preliminary results in June
and final results in July. In the event that this timetable slips,
the social welfare review consultants may need to return to the
region to discuss the implications of the results of the survey.
6.7 The social welfare review consultancy is
expected to commence in June.
7. Reporting Requirements
7.1 The consultancy team will be expected to
report as follows:
— an inception report detailing the
programme of the consultancy to be submitted to the Aid Management
Office and GoM five days after arrival in Montserrat;
— draft outline of final report before
departure;
— Final report within seven days of
departure.
8. Proposal
8.1 Consultants are required to produce a proposal
including:
— appreciation of the terms of reference;
— proposed methodology for the study;
— CVs of team with responsibilities—including
those of team leadership
— bar chart showing application of
time of team members to tasks on- and off-island;
— arrangements for administrative support
and report production;
— full costing of salary and other
costs.
8.2 Consultants should note that there is currently
no hotel accommodation on the island. Consultants will either
be accommodated in self-catering accommodation on-island or in
a hotel in Antigua (or a combination). Although some support from
the AMO will be available, consultants should be prepared to be
administratively self-sufficient.
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