Purpose

At the meeting of 20
March 2023, Cabinet agreed to delegate authority to the Assistant
Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Social
Inclusion, to determine revised and final allocations for the
Household Support Grant to include provision for other eligible
actions within the use of Household Support Fund should it not be
possible to achieve full spend of the grant through the approved
provisional allocations.
 
Provision is made to
present revised allocations in December 2023, should it be
needed.

Decision

 

ROTHERHAM METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

RECORD OF OFFICER EXECUTIVE DECISION
 

Date of Decision:
 

13th November
2023

Decision Maker:
(Including Job
Title)
 

Jo Brown, Assistant
Chief Executive

Specific Delegation:
(If any)
 

Cabinet Minute No.
140(2) (2023/24)

Brief Description of
Decision:
 
 

To approve the variation from
approved allocations resolved by Cabinet at its meeting on
20th March 2023as follows:

1.    
£10k increase to support local VCS
organisations to support vulnerable households to over Christmas /
New year to £55k to be funded within the final allocations of
HSF.
 

Reasons for the
Decision:
 
 

At its meeting on
20th March 2023, Cabinet resolved to make provisional
allocations of Household Support Fund (HSF) April 2023 to March
2024.
 
The provisional
allocations are as follows:

a)   
£2.5m for food vouchers to children eligible
for free school meals for school holidays up to and including
Easter 2024.

b)   
£1.2m to cover the estimated costs of the
Council’s Local Council Tax Support Top Up Scheme.

c)    
£0.4m additional funding to top up the
Council’s Discretionary Housing Payments fund.

d)   
£0.563m to support applications from
households for assistance with cost-of-living increases, through
the Council’s Energy Crisis Support Scheme.

e)   
£180k to provide additional tinned food to
supplement the supplies available for crisis food parcels provided
by local food banks and Community Food Members. This sum would also
assist with supplies to social supermarkets, which is a supplement
to the Crisis Support service level agreement.

f) 
£90k allocation 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.

g)   
£45k to support local VCS organisations to
support vulnerable households over Christmas / New year through a
supplement to the Crisis Support service level
agreement.

h)   
 
 
Cabinet also resolved
to “delegate authority to the Assistant Chief Executive in
consultation with the Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion, to
determine revised and final allocations for the Household Support
Grant to include provision for other eligible actions within the
use of Household Support Fund should it not be possible to achieve
full spend of the grant through the approved provisional
allocations”.
 
The use of provisional
allocations with ability to vary by delegated decision enables the
fund to be managed to maximum benefit of achieving full spend,
targeting resources at agreed outcomes and variations between
estimates based on best knowledge and previous experience at the
time of Cabinet approval and actual demand when
implemented.
 
The allocation of
£45k to fund local VCS organisations to provide hampers to
vulnerable families over the Christmas / New Year / Winter in
2023/24 was based on the £44k that was used for this purpose
in 2022/23.
 
Following the
invitation for bids to deliver this provision in 2023/24, thirteen
compliant bids have been received. These request a total
£50,100 in grant support and in total would deliver 506
hampers to households.
 
Taking into account
administration costs and £600 from an external funding
source, the request for funding from HSF is now
£55k.
 

Details of alternative
options considered and rejected:
 

The arrangements and
scope for review of allocations are set out in Cabinet Minute No.
140(2) (2023/24)

Conflicts of interest
declared by any Executive Member consulted by the decision maker
which relates to the decision:
 

None.

Dispensations
Granted:
(If any)
 

None
 

Reports or parts of
reports considered
 

Household Support Fund
– report to Cabinet 20th March 2023.
 

 
I
certify that this is a true record of the executive
decision:
 
 
 
To
resolve the variations from approved allocations resolved by
Cabinet at its meeting on 20th 2023 are made as
follows:

1.    
£10k increase to support local VCS
organisations to support vulnerable households to over Christmas /
New Year to £55k to be funded within the final allocations of
HSF.
 
 
 
 
Signed by the Decision Maker
       
                 

Dated:      
13th November 2023
 
Name:
      
Jo Brown                             
 
Job
Title:   Assistant Chief Executive