Issue - decisions

Date of Decision:

7th May 2024

Title:

Household Support Fund April to September 2024 – allocation of vouchers for children in receipt of free school meals for the spring half term school holiday.

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.

Decision:

That up to £200k of Household Support Fund is allocatedto provide vouchers valued at £15 each to children in receipt of free school meals covering the spring half term school holiday.

Reasons for the Decision:

As part of the Government’s budget statement on 6th March, the Chancellor announced that Household Support Fund (HSF) would be extended for the first six months of 2024/25 (April to September).

On 26th March the Council was allocated £2.489m from this fund and received government guidance regarding its use.

The first available date for Cabinet to consider and approve allocations of the grant is the meeting scheduled to 10th June. This information is being incorporated into the financial monitoring paper that is considered at the meeting.

An established priority from previous rounds of HSF has been to provide vouchers for the school holiday periods to children in receipt of free school meals.

Owing to the spring half term holiday falling before the next Cabinet meeting and overall allocation of the fund, a

delegated decision is required to provide vouchers for that specific holiday period.

Based on an estimated number of eligible children of 13,000 receiving vouchers valued at £15 each, £195kwould be required to cover the one-week holiday. To allow for any growth in demand, it is recommended that up to £200k is allocated with the final actual figure to be determined as part of the full HSFgrant.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

The alternative would be to not issues vouchers to children in receipt of free school meals for the spring half term holiday. This would be a departure from priority use of Household Support Fund established in previous rounds of fund allocations and is not recommended.

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

None.