Agenda item

The Council recognised the growing pressures being faced by residents linked to the increases in the cost of living.   The Cabinet report summarised the wide range of support that had been developed this year, together with new initiatives which had been put in place in anticipation of growing hardship over the forthcoming winter.

Confirmation had been received of the third tranche of Household Support Fund allocation for the period from 1st October 2022 – 31st March 2023. This had been built on the funding the Council had received from Government since 2020, initially through the Winter Grant and Local Support Grant, and subsequently through the Household Support Fund.

For the period 1st April to 30th September 2022, Buckinghamshire was awarded £2.4m of funding from the Household Support Fund to provide support for residents in need of help with food, fuel and other essential household costs. The Cabinet report summarised how the previous funding allocation was used, and set out a proposed use of the additional fund between now and the end of March that would ensure this would be targeted to residents in need of support and in line with the Government guidance.

RESOLVED –

(1)                      That the range of support provided by the Council for individuals experiencing hardship across the county be NOTED.

(2)                      That the arrangements for deploying the new Household Support Fund allocation for the period from October 2022 to March 2023 be APPROVED.

The Council recognised the growing pressures being faced by residents linked to the increases in the cost of living.   The Cabinet report summarised the wide range of support that had been developed this year, together with new initiatives which had been put in place in anticipation of growing hardship over the forthcoming winter.

Confirmation had been received of the third tranche of Household Support Fund allocation for the period from 1st October 2022 – 31st March 2023. This had been built on the funding the Council had received from Government since 2020, initially through the Winter Grant and Local Support Grant, and subsequently through the Household Support Fund.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment presented the report. The Cabinet Member reported that for the period 1st April to 30th September 2022, Buckinghamshire was awarded £2.4m of funding from the Household Support Fund to provide support for residents in need of help with food, fuel and other essential household costs. The Cabinet report summarised how the previous funding allocation was used, and set out a proposed use of the additional fund between now and the end of March that would ensure this would be targeted to residents in need of support and in line with the Government guidance.

The Cabinet Member reported that in partnership with the Heart of Bucks, the Council have established a Crisis Fund to raise money to help Buckinghamshire families in need. Residents have been invited to donate what they can into this fund so the money can be best channelled to get support to the people in communities who need it most. The Crisis Fund had already raised more than £80,000 in donations, which would be used to support local people who were in the most need with energy, food and other essential costs. The Council was also developing Welcoming Spaces (safe and inclusive spaces such as libraries, free of charge, to stay warm and enjoy a little company) and a Warm Box offer, to provide further practical support to residents during the winter months. Further information about Warm Boxes would be available on the website.

The Service Director Service Improvement reported that in line with previous allocations of the Household Support fund, the new fund was intended to provide support to vulnerable households in most need of support to help with significantly rising living costs. Whilst the general purpose of the fund was the same as that provided previously, there were changes to the criteria which offered more flexibility in how the fund was used locally.

During discussion the following points were made:-

·       In response to a question whether residents were reticent about reaching out for help it was noted that a lot of work was being undertaken reaching out to residents e.g. through Community Boards and Council Services such as housing. Assistance was also being provided with helping with school uniform costs. The Council made every contact count.

·       In terms of raising funds Heart of Bucks reached out to the business community for support and data was being analyzed to look at the needs of individual communities.

·       Our Warm Box offer was still being developed, and other areas who were providing these offered practical items such as blankets, an insulated mug and gloves.

·       A query was raised about energy bills being taken out as a direct debit making it more difficult to control their finances. This scheme was administered by Government. The Service Director would look at what help was available for residents in this situation.

·      There was a communication plan including reaching out to those most in need such as children who had free school meals, people who used food banks or refugees. Allocating funding would be undertaken in a phased approach e.g. digital food vouchers or providing vouchers for school holidays. Data trends were also analysed on previous requests. Community Boards also provided funding support which supplemented this funding.

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the range of support provided by the Council for individuals experiencing hardship across the county be NOTED.

(2)               That the arrangements for deploying the new Household Support Fund allocation for the period from October 2022 to March 2023 be APPROVED.