Purpose

To approve the long-term
approach to the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which will
include accepting the grant of up to £1.5 million from the
Department for Education (DfE) across the next 3 years, and
undertaking a grants process to secure provision for 3 years from 1
April 2026 to 31 March 2029.

Decision

Lead
Member for Family and Children’s Services

 
1              
Accepted the HAF grant,
from the Department of Education (DfE) for an estimated value
£500,000 annually, which over the 3-year programme is an
estimated total of £1.5 million (from 1 April 2026 to 31
March 2029).

2              
Approved the approach
set out in this report for the development and running of a
longer-term grants process, in early 2026, to secure provision for
the next 3 financial years on a 1 year + 1 year + 1 year
basis.

3              
Approved the use of the
existing network of HAF providers to deliver Easter 2026 HAF
provision as there is not sufficient time to complete the longer
term HAF grants process before the Easter holiday begins.

4              
Approved delegated
authority to the Director of Operations and Programmes to

a.   
approve individual
provider awards for Easter 2026 to the existing network of HAF
providers once the Council’s yearly allocation is released
from the DfE, expected in early January 2026.

b.   
approve the final
design of the grants process and framework to secure the HAF
provider network from Summer 2026 to March 2029.

c.    
approve individual
provider awards for each holiday period from Summer 2026 to March
2029 for the new HAF provider network, based on the annual
allocations released by the DfE. 

d.   
approve the Council
entering into grant agreements with providers to give effect to the
awards set out in 4a and 4b.