Purpose

To
consider and approve distribution of the fourth tranche of
Household Support fund.

 

Content

RESOLVED
 
KEY DECISION
 

That the Executive:
 
a)   
Noted the allocated funding from the Household
Support Fund 4 in the sum of £4,930,984.

 
b)   
Acknowledged that the Household Support Fund 4 will
continue to be managed locally, with oversight through the existing
Communities and Leisure team.

 
c)   
Agreed that a temporary team is recruited to manage
the fund and provide clear distribution controls.

 
d)   
Noted that funds are
unspent from each distribution of the Free School Meals (FSM)
School Holiday Food Support will be re-issued to the local Food
Banks to provide them with an additional source of regular
income.

 
e)   
Noted that a consultation process will take place
during quarter one - 2024, to allow feedback to be gathered through
the community, users and educational
teams. This is to reflect the experience of transitioning from the
FSM School Holiday Food Support model based on a schools distribution (Phase 1) to an
application-based process (Phase 2).

 
f)     
Approved the Recommended Scope and Diversity of
Distribution as set out in Section 4 of this report.

 
g)   
Delegated authority to the Director of Public Health
to redistribute any funds that have not been assigned or committed
to by 30th September 2023, according to the distribution
methodology set out in section 4, in line with the wider Department
for Work and Pensions (DWP) Guidelines (attached as Appendix
A to the report).
 

 

Reasons for Recommendations:

 

·       
It is recommended that the HSF4 fund will primarily
be used to fund priority recipients, the lower income sector of the
working community, households in severe financial crisis, and
families with children.

 

·       
The distribution of funds must meet financial needs
of the wider communities, where other grants and funding are not
available.
 

·       
The online application process (as is required) will
be managed in-house, as this provides additional security and
confidentiality of data.
 

·       
Where possible the level of duplication of grants
for the same purpose must be minimised. This is mitigated by
oversight from the in-house team.
 

·       
The recommendations provide real benefit to underpin
the North Northamptonshire Health and Wellbeing Strategy and ensure
residents most in need receive support.
 

·       
The recommendations build on the previous successful
Household Support Fund scheme partnerships with the voluntary
sector.
 
 

 

Alternative
Options Considered – The Council could choose not to
draw down the funds. This is not recommended as many vulnerable
residents would then lose the opportunity for additional support at
a time when many residents are struggling with cost-of-living
pressures.

 
In choosing to draw down
the funds, and by applying the DWP guidelines and local insights
there are three options in terms of distribution of funding to the
community:
 
a) through a highly
distributed network
b) via simplified
segmentation
c) to the lower earned
income and benefits sector

 
For reasons set out in
section 5 of this report, ‘Issues and Choices’, Option
C is recommended.