Purpose

To determine allocations for the Household
Support Grant following its extension to the end of the financial
year, including any amends to contractual arrangements that maybe
required to deliver the allocated funds.

Decision

 

ROTHERHAM METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

RECORD OF OFFICER EXECUTIVE DECISION

 

Date of Decision:

11th October 2024
 

Title:

Household Support Fund (October
– March 2024/25)
 

Decision Maker:
(Including Job
Title)

Jo Brown, Assistant Chief
Executive
 
 

Details of Specific Cabinet
Delegation
or Delegation contained in the
relevant Sub-Scheme of Delegation.
 

Council Constitution, Appendix
9, Section 4C2: Assistant Chief Executive – Delegated
Executive Functions: The Assistant Chief Executive is authorised to
discharge executive functions in relation to:- (6) Performance,
Intelligence and Improvement, including Policy and
Partnerships.

Decision:

To allocate Rotherham
Metropolitan Borough Council’s £2.489m allocation of
the Household Support Fund Grant as follows:

·       
£1.028m for food vouchers to children eligible
for free school meals for school holidays up to and including
Easter 2024.

·       
£1.156m to support applications from
households for assistance with energy costs, through the
Council’s Energy Crisis Support Scheme.

·       
£150k towards the costs of the Council’s
Local Council Tax Support Top Up Scheme.

·       
£45k 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.

·       
£60k to local voluntary and community sector
(VCS) organisations to support vulnerable households over Christmas
/ New Year through a supplement to the Crisis Support service level
agreement.

·       
£50k to provide parcels of household items to
be distributed through VCS community support including food banks,
social supermarkets, and the Open Arms programme drop-in
sessions.
 
To enter into supplementary
provisions to the Crisis Support 2024 – 2027 Service Level
Agreement (SLA) for the provision of support over the Christmas /
New Year and household items.
 

Reasons for the
Decision:

On 2nd September
Government announced that the Household Support Fund (HSF) would be
extended for the second six months of 2024/25 (October to
March).
 
On 27th September
the Council was allocated £2.489m from this fund and received
government guidance regarding its use.
 
The first available date for
Cabinet to consider and approve allocations of the grant is the
meeting scheduled on the 18th November. This information
is being incorporated into a report that will be considered at the
meeting.
 
Established priorities from
previous rounds of HSF have included:
·       
Providing vouchers for the school holiday periods to
children in receipt of free school meals;
·       
Contributing to fund the Council’s Energy
Crisis Support Scheme;
·       
Contributing to the Council’s Local Council
Tax Support top up scheme;
·       
Providing additional support to care
leavers;
·       
Supporting vulnerable households over Christmas /
New Year; and 
·       
Provide parcels of household items to be distributed
through VCS community support including food banks, social
supermarkets, and the Open Arms programme drop-in
sessions.
 
Given these established
priorities for the use of this funding the following allocations
are proposed between October 2024 and March 2025:
 
Vouchers for free school meal children in school
holidays
 
It is proposed to provide
continued support to free school (FSM) children to cover school
holidays. This has been calculated on the basis that the easter
break will be eligible, as has been the case previously within a
second six-months HSF allocation. This would provide for five weeks
including Christmas and February half term, noting that the October
half term has been covered in the HSF allocation for April –
September 2024.
 
During the most recent school
holidays over the summer period 13,273 children received these
vouchers. For the allocation between October and March, it is
proposed that this is calculated for 13,713 given increases seen in
recent years. Vouchers continue to be £15 per child per
week.
 
This would amount to a proposed
allocation of £1,028,475.
 
Energy scheme
 
The Council’s energy
scheme was extended into 2024/25 using funding carried over from
2023/24 (Covid Recovery Fund). This was supplemented again using
HSF from the April – September 2024/25 allocation, utilising
£174k for energy support. This was open to all households
facing hardship, providing grants of £250 each.
 
Taking account of allocations
to other recommended options, this would provide £1.156m for
energy support, providing up to 4,622 grants at £250
each.
 
Council Tax Support
 
The Council has already applied
a top-up to Council Tax Support for 2024/25. Many households
receiving support will already have been awarded this top up for
the full year.
 
It is proposed that a
contribution from the HSF is made of £150k to support the
costs of this top up for the second six months of 2024/25. It is
expected that around 15,000 households are projected to benefit
through this scheme.
 
Support for Care Leavers
 
Support has been provided to
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. This has provided
additional financial support through the cost-of-living increases
seen in recent years.
 
Continuing at the same level as
in 2023/24 and the first six months of 2024/25 for a further six
months between October and March would amount to
£45,000.
 
VCS
support to vulnerable families over Christmas / New Year /
Winter
 
HSF, and the Covid Winter Grant
before it, has enabled local VCS organisations to provide
additional support to vulnerable families that they work with, over
the last three years. This primarily involved the provision of food
hampers over Christmas and New Year.
 
£30,000 was provided in
each of the first two years. However, growing needs meant this
increased to £44,000 in 2022/23 and £55,000 in
2023/24. 
 
It is proposed that
£60,000 is provided for 2024/25 to meet projected
requirements.
 
Crisis Support – household items support
 
In the second quarter of
2024/25 an allocation of HSF was included to provide parcels of
household items (cleaning / personal hygiene etc) to be distributed
through VCS community support including food banks and social
supermarkets, and as part of the Open Arms programme drop-in
sessions. An allocation of £25,000 was included calculated on
the basis of a £25 value for each parcel, providing support
to 1,000 households.
 
Following positive feedback on
this scheme, it is proposed to provide these parcels for six months
(rather than the three in the first six months of 2024/25) this
would amount to an allocation of £50,000.
 
Amendment to the Crisis Support SLA
 
The support to the VCS sector
and the provision of household items will be facilitated through an
amendment to the Crisis Support 2024 – 2027 Service Level
Agreement (SLA) for the provision of support over the Christmas /
New Year and for the provision of household items to be distributed
through community organisations. Approval is sought to enter into
this supplementary agreement.
 

Details of alternative
options considered and rejected:

The alternative would be to not
allocate this fund until the November Cabinet meeting. This would
lead to:
 
·       
Delays in re-establishing the energy
scheme;
·       
Lead to a gap in provision of essential household
items through the crisis support scheme; and
·       
Delays in the arrangements in support for vulnerable
households over the Christmas period.
 
An alternative would also be to
allocate a some of the HSF grant to support the Local Council Tax
Support Scheme. However, as this is already funded through the
Council budget so would not provide additional support for
vulnerable households in 24/25. 

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

No
conflicts of interest.
 
Cabinet Member for Social
Inclusion consulted.

Dispensations
Granted:
(If any)

None.
 

Reports or parts of
reports considered

None.

 
I
certify that this is a true record of the executive decision to
….
 
determine allocations for the Household Support Grant following
its extension to the end of the financial year, including an
amendment to the Council’s Crisis Support Service Level
Agreement.
 
Signed by the Decision Maker  
Dated: 10th October 2024

Name:
Lynsey Linton                                     
Job
Title: Assistant Director of
HR
(deputising for Jo Brown,
Assistant Chief Executive)