Nhs redundancy terms

I work for a Primary Care Trust in the NHS. My organisation is currently taking applications for a mutual resignation scheme, a type of voluntary redundancy, specifically aimed at staff whose post is does not appear in the scaled down transition structure. I am one of those posts that is affected by this, with no other comparable posts left in the transition structure. I have 18 years reckonable service which my organisation has acknowledged and has provided me with an indicative sum that could recieve.
My dilema is, I want to start applying for a new job as i cant afford to let things drag on and lose an opportunity. I have seen a job outside of the NHS that i want to apply for, its much less than i am earning currently and at a lower level, but i need to have a job.

If i apply before i get formal confirmation from my employers of my redundancy and the process is finalised, and i get the job, would i lose my redundancy? I am only applying because my job has gone and the organisation is folding, with compulsary redundancy being the last stage when things are wound up in a years time.

Possibly, but this is a question that only the employer can answer. This is a voluntary scheme, and as such the law has no relevance to the terms. Your employers may or may not take into account your getting another job, but we can't tell you that. In a compulsory redundancy, if you had not been served notice before receiving another job offer, the answer would be yes, you would loose your redundancy rights. But as I said, this doesn't have to apply on voluntary schemes.