Issue - decisions

Date of Decision:

11th October 2024

Title:

Household Support Fund (October – March 2024/25)

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:

To allocate Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council’s £2.489m allocation of the Household Support Fund Grant as follows:

·        £1.028m for food vouchers to children eligible for free school meals for school holidays up to and including Easter 2024.

·        £1.156m to support applications from households for assistance with energy costs, through the Council’s Energy Crisis Support Scheme.

·        £150k towards the costs of the Council’s Local Council Tax Support Top Up Scheme.

·        £45k to support care leavers, being young people leaving foster or local authority care and living independently in their own accommodation who are responsible for paying their own utility bills, providing additional financial support through the cost-of-living increases.

·        £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.

·        £50k to provide parcels of household items to be distributed through VCS community support including food banks, social supermarkets, and the Open Arms programme drop-in sessions.

To enter into supplementary provisions to the Crisis Support 2024 – 2027 Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the provision of support over the Christmas / New Year and household items.

Reasons for the Decision:

On 2^nd September Government announced that the Household Support Fund (HSF) would be extended for the second six months of 2024/25 (October to March).

On 27^th September 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 on the 18^th November. This information is being incorporated into a report that will be considered at the meeting.

Established priorities from previous rounds of HSF have included:

·        Providing vouchers for the school holiday periods to children in receipt of free school meals;

·        Contributing to fund the Council’s Energy Crisis Support Scheme;

·        Contributing to the Council’s Local Council Tax Support top up scheme;

·        Providing additional support to care leavers;

·        Supporting vulnerable households over Christmas / New Year; and 

·        Provide parcels of household items to be distributed through VCS community support including food banks, social supermarkets, and the Open Arms programme drop-in sessions.

Given these established priorities for the use of this funding the following allocations are proposed between October 2024 and March 2025:

Vouchers for free school meal children in school holidays

It is proposed to provide continued support to free school (FSM) children to cover school holidays. This has been calculated on the basis that the easter break will be eligible, as has been the case previously within a second six-months HSF allocation. This would provide for five weeks including Christmas and February half term, noting that the October half term has been covered in the HSF allocation for April – September 2024.

During the most recent school holidays over the summer period 13,273 children received these vouchers. For the allocation between October and March, it is proposed that this is calculated for 13,713 given increases seen in recent years. Vouchers continue to be £15 per child per week.

This would amount to a proposed allocation of £1,028,475.

Energy scheme

The Council’s energy scheme was extended into 2024/25 using funding carried over from 2023/24 (Covid Recovery Fund). This was supplemented again using HSF from the April – September 2024/25 allocation, utilising £174k for energy support. This was open to all households facing hardship, providing grants of £250 each.

Taking account of allocations to other recommended options, this would provide £1.156m for energy support, providing up to 4,622 grants at £250 each.

Council Tax Support

The Council has already applied a top-up to Council Tax Support for 2024/25. Many households receiving support will already have been awarded this top up for the full year.

It is proposed that a contribution from the HSF is made of £150k to support the costs of this top up for the second six months of 2024/25. It is expected that around 15,000 households are projected to benefit through this scheme.

Support for Care Leavers

Support has been provided to care leavers, being young people leaving foster or local authority care and living independently in their own accommodation who are responsible for paying their own utility bills. This has provided additional financial support through the cost-of-living increases seen in recent years.

Continuing at the same level as in 2023/24 and the first six months of 2024/25 for a further six months between October and March would amount to £45,000.

VCS support to vulnerable families over Christmas / New Year / Winter

HSF, and the Covid Winter Grant before it, has enabled local VCS organisations to provide additional support to vulnerable families that they work with, over the last three years. This primarily involved the provision of food hampers over Christmas and New Year.

£30,000 was provided in each of the first two years. However, growing needs meant this increased to £44,000 in 2022/23 and £55,000 in 2023/24. 

It is proposed that £60,000 is provided for 2024/25 to meet projected requirements.

Crisis Support – household items support

In the second quarter of 2024/25 an allocation of HSF was included to provide parcels of household items (cleaning / personal hygiene etc) to be distributed through VCS community support including food banks and social supermarkets, and as part of the Open Arms programme drop-in sessions. An allocation of £25,000 was included calculated on the basis of a £25 value for each parcel, providing support to 1,000 households.

Following positive feedback on this scheme, it is proposed to provide these parcels for six months (rather than the three in the first six months of 2024/25) this would amount to an allocation of £50,000.

Amendment to the Crisis Support SLA

The support to the VCS sector and the provision of household items will be facilitated through an amendment to the Crisis Support 2024 – 2027 Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the provision of support over the Christmas / New Year and for the provision of household items to be distributed through community organisations. Approval is sought to enter into this supplementary agreement.

Details of alternative options considered and rejected:

The alternative would be to not allocate this fund until the November Cabinet meeting. This would lead to:

·        Delays in re-establishing the energy scheme;

·        Lead to a gap in provision of essential household items through the crisis support scheme; and

·        Delays in the arrangements in support for vulnerable households over the Christmas period.

An alternative would also be to allocate a some of the HSF grant to support the Local Council Tax Support Scheme. However, as this is already funded through the Council budget so would not provide additional support for vulnerable households in 24/25. 

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.