Agenda item

Report from the Assistant Chief Executive.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet agree:

1. That provisional allocations of the Household Support Fund Grant of £4.387m be made as follows:
   1. £2.687m for food vouchers to children eligible for free school meals for school holidays up to and including Easter 2026.
   2. £950k towards the estimated costs of the Council’s Local Council Tax Support Top Up Scheme.
   3. £500k to support applications from households for assistance with energy costs, through the Council’s Energy Crisis Support Scheme.
   4. £90k to provide additional financial support to care leavers.
   5. £60k to local voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations to support vulnerable households over Christmas / New Year through a supplement to the Crisis Support service level agreement.
   6. £100k to provide parcels of household items to be distributed through VCS support.

2. Delegate authority to the Assistant Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader, to determine revised and final allocations for the Household Support Grant. This will 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 options.

Consideration was given to the report which detailed that the Household Support Fund (HSF) had been extended by Government from April 2025 to March 2026, with £742m of funding available in England. Government had also produced accompanying detailed guidance setting out how the resource could be used. As with previous allocations, the guidance set out the expectation that the fund should be used to support vulnerable households.

Rotherham had been awarded £4.387m for the Borough for the 2025/26 financial year. The report provided recommendations for a provisional allocation of that funding, and noted that any variations arising from actual spend under each of the provisional allocations would be managed through adjusting the allocation made towards the Energy Crisis Support Scheme.

The Chair outlined the local welfare arrangements associated with what was expected to be the final year of the Household Support Fund allocation. This included familiar schemes such as food vouchers for children who received free school meals during the school holidays, contributions towards Council Tax support, energy crisis support schemes and support for care leavers amongst others.

The report was welcomed by Deputy Leader, Councillor Cusworth who noted the peace of mind offered to parents and carers in low-income families through the Council’s continued school holidays food voucher offer, particularly given the increased uptake that resulted from auto-enrolment which alongside the support over Christmas and New Year made a big difference to Rotherham families.

The report was considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board (OSMB), who advised that the recommendations be supported. Councillor Steele, OSMB Chair outlined that discussion points during consideration of the report included how the value of the food voucher was arrived at and considered how support for care leavers linked to employment opportunities.  It was noted that reassurances were received from Officers and the report was welcomed as it offered support to those most vulnerable in the Borough.

Resolved:

That Cabinet agreed:

1.    That provisional allocations of the Household Support Fund Grant of £4.387m were made as follows:

a. £2.687m for food vouchers to children eligible for free school meals for school holidays up to and including Easter 2026.

b. £950k towards the estimated costs of the Council’s Local Council Tax Support Top Up Scheme.

c. £500k to support applications from households for assistance with energy costs, through the Council’s Energy Crisis Support Scheme.

d. £90k to provide additional financial support to care leavers.

e. £60k to local voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations to support vulnerable households over Christmas / New Year through a supplement to the Crisis Support service level agreement.

f. £100k to provide parcels of household items to be distributed through VCS support.

2.    Delegated authority to the Assistant Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader, to determine revised and final allocations for the Household Support Grant. This included 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 options.