Purpose

To brief the Executive Member on the changes
proposed to the Bracknell Forest Local Welfare Scheme for adoption
and approval.

Decision

1         
That the new Local Welfare Provision (LWP) Policy is adopted from 1
May 2024.
 
2         
That the provision of LWP funding, is approved as a Cash First
model.

Reasons for the decision

The Household Support Fund (HSF) grant has
been extended for a period of 6 months but when exhausted, the
local welfare budget will reduce to £20,000, meaning a change
in process is required.  The
£20,000 is from the general fund for 2024/25.
 
The dedicated staffing resource used to assess
applications for LWP, will be lost when the grant funding ends, as
it is funded from HSF. 
 
The mechanism for energy support is via
paypoint vouchers, in a contract held by Finance, that ended on 26
March 2024.

Alternative options considered

The Council could choose not to offer any
scheme at all and refer those who approach to partners and third
sector organisations.  However, this
support is intended for those who may have exhausted other options,
or approach at a time of crisis and not having an offer to address
these, may lead to more costly service demand such as involvement
from Childrens Social Care or out of hours services. 
 
The service offer could remain unchanged, and
provision of the funding could remain via purchase of goods, or
payments to energy firms.  This option
will be challenging to deliver because the Household Support Fund,
has funded a post to complete the process, but that post will end
when the grant ceases.  A new tender
would need to be completed for energy support, which will likely
come at a cost, and may not deliver the sustainable option moving
forward, particularly when the HSF grant ends in September
2024.