Purpose

To confirm the allocation and distribution of
the Household Support Fund Extension, which runs from 1 April 2025
to 31 March 2026.

Content

That the Corporate Director Residents and
Housing Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for
Customer Experience, Resident Support and Culture, approves the
proposed allocation of Household Support Fund (HSF) funding as
follows:
 

A.   
Reaffirms the decision made on 16 May 2025 relating to HSF funding
allocations for community projects:
                                              
i.    
New Horizons
                                             
ii.    
Employment Skills
                                           
iii.    
Debt Advice
                                           
iv.    
Immigration Advice
                                            
v.    
Additional Food Initiatives
                                           
vi.    
Credit Union Support
                                          
vii.    
Well and Warm Support

B.   
The decision made on 16 May 2025 in relation to food vouchers for
residents with children on free school meals confirmed the use of
HSF funding for this only until 31 October 2025. Following a
review, that the remaining HSF funding is utilised to continue to
provide Food Vouchers up to and including the Easter Holidays of
2026.

Reasons for the decision

The Cabinet delegated the decision to the
Corporate Director Residents and Housing Services, in consultation
with the Cabinet Member for Customer Experience, Resident Support
and Culture, together with any subsequent amendments. The decision
taken in May 2025 left a portion of HSF funding unallocated, so a
decision is now required to allocate remaining funding.

Alternative options considered

The options considered were to either reduce
or remove the provision of food vouchers for residents in receipt
of free school meals and instead channel funding to support crisis
claims made within the Resident Support Fund. However, the
recommended decision is to keep the food voucher provision at least
up until and including the Easter Holiday 2026 for the following
reasons:
 
i)              
Families are already assessed to be on a household income of less
than £7,400
ii)             
No further application is required
iii)           
These households struggle during the holidays when there is no
school meal provision
iv)           
The vouchers provided are an efficient and effective way to
distribute funds directly to households in most need.