Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services.

Recommendation:

That Cabinet agree to:

1.    Approve the proposed use of the remainder of the Covid Recovery Fund as follows:

a.    £550k cash grant scheme to provide support for households with the rising cost of energy bills; and

b.    £50k to facilitate the administration of the energy grant proposal.

Consideration was given to the report which proposed further use of the Council’s Covid Recovery Fund reserve. Taking into account approved use for 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the Council’s previously agreed revenue investments, the reserve had a remaining balance of £0.6m. It was proposed that the remaining funding be used to help residents against the backdrop of a cost of living crisis due to inflation and significant increases in energy and fuel bills in particular. The proposal was to re-establish the cash Energy Crisis Support Scheme that the Council had previously used to provide support to households with the cost of energy bills which remained substantially higher than 2 years ago, despite energy bills starting to reduce.

The Household Support Fund April 2023 to March 2024 report to Cabinet in March 2023 approved additional funding for the Council’s Energy Crisis Support Scheme (ECSS). In 2023/24 over 2,300 grants of £250 had been paid to households who were eligible for the scheme. The funding allocated to the ECSS through the HSF had been fully spent by the end of June 2023.

To provide support to households with increased energy bills as a result of the winter it was proposed to allocate the remainder of the Covid Recovery Fund to establish a new scheme which would open to applications in January 2024.

Resolved:

That Cabinet agree to:

1.    Approve the proposed use of the remainder of the Covid Recovery Fund as follows:

a.    £550k cash grant scheme to provide support for households with the rising cost of energy bills; and

b.    £50k to facilitate the administration of the energy grant proposal.