Decision details

Date of Decision:

31^st March 2023

Title:

Crisis Support 2023/24

Decision Maker:

(Including Job Title)

Jo Brown

Assistant Chief Executive

Details of Specific Cabinet Delegation

or Delegation contained in the relevant Sub-Scheme of Delegation.

Council Constitution, Appendix 9, Section 4C2: Assistant Chief Executive – Delegated Executive Functions: The Assistant Chief Executive is authorised to discharge executive functions in relation to:- (6) Performance, Intelligence and Improvement, including Policy and Partnerships.

Minute (2) of the Cabinet decision on Household Support Fund of 20^th March 2023 delegates authority to the Assistant Chief Executive in consultation with the

Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion, to determine revised and final allocations for the Household Support Grant to include provision for other eligible actions within the use of Household Support Fund should it not be possible to achieve full spend of the grant through the approved provisional allocations.

Decision:

Resolve to:

Extend the Crisis Support Service Level Agreement 2020 – 2023 with LASER Credit Union, FareShare Yorkshire and Voluntary Action Rotherham for one year to end of March 2024.

Require that the Service Level Agreement specification continues provision of the same service specification including crisis loans and provision of food. The SLA also includes the requirement to develop a new model of crisis and holistic support through the completion of co-design with partner organisations, within the required timescales for commencement from April 2024.

Continue funding for the Service Level Agreement through the £100,000 core budget allocation for this provision and £180,000 Household Support Fund agreed by Cabinet at its meeting on 20th March 2023.

Reasons for the Decision:

The current service level agreement (SLA) for crisis support runs until the end of March 2023, having commenced in April 2020. The SLA is comprised of three components, crisis loans, food supply and infrastructure support for the Food in Crisis Partnership including collation of information and data. The three components are delivered by LASER Credit Union, FareShare Yorkshire and Voluntary Action Rotherham (VAR) through a partnership arrangement. There is a core budget to support the SLA of £100k per year.

During the period covered by the SLA, significant changes in levels of demand for crisis support having impacted the provision, firstly arising from the COVID 19 pandemic and more recently from cost-of-living issues. These ongoing demands have put the provision under significant pressure, especially for food with current demand being in excess of three times that of pre COVID levels. A decline in the supply of surplus food and donations have compounded the issues facing crisis food provision to the degree that an allocation of £90k from the Household Support Fund (HSF) is already being used to supplement the supply between October 2022 to March 2023.

In accordance with the provisions of the Rotherham Compact and the Council’s standing orders, invitations were sought from VCS partners to enter into a new, three-year SLA for the continuation of crisis provision from April 2023.  Unfortunately, no bids were received.

Whilst both LASER and VAR confirmed their ability and commitment to enter into a new SLA, FareShare advised that the ongoing high level of demand for food post-COVID is unsustainable and not something they could commit to.

In order to secure future sustainable provision and continuity of service from April 2023, discussions have been held with the partners about how a sustainable model could be developed and implemented. This has included what the process would be to engage local organisations, timescales for engagement, reaching agreements and launch of the new provision and transitional arrangements. This focuses on moving to a more holistic approach including the social supermarkets model, engaging a wider range of organisations and support. Whilst maintaining crisis provision this approach would focus move away from people needing repeat crisis support.

In the interim, whilst these discussions are taking place and the approach being developed, it is proposed to enter into a one-year extension of the SLA with LASER Credit Union, FareShare Yorkshire and VAR, commencing from 1^st April 2023. As part of these arrangements and to secure an adequate supply of food for the new SLA, Cabinet resolved at its meeting on 20^th March to allocate £180k of HSF for the year 2023/24. The Cabinet decision can be actioned on 1^st April following the post decision call-in period.

 Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

Alternatives have not been provided because details of the proposed support criteria have been produced through co-design with social supermarkets being engaged in accordance with the principles of the Rotherham Compact. In addition, given the pressures arising from the rising cost of living it is important to ensure that crisis support continues to be made available for the most vulnerable residents of the borough that require this service. 

Conflicts of interest declared by any Cabinet Member consulted by the decision maker which relates to the decision:

No conflicts of interest.

Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion consulted.

Dispensations Granted:

(If any)

None.

Reports or parts of reports considered

Crisis Support – Outcome of co-design for provision of crisis support 2020-2023, Cabinet 23^rd March 2020

Household Support Fund April 2023 – March 2024, Cabinet 20^th March 2023.