A verbal update on round 5 of the Household Support Fund will be provided at the meeting.

The committee received a verbal update on the delivery of Household Support Fund 5 grant allocation, which had recently been taken as a Key Decision by the Deputy Chief Executive and exempted from call-in with the approval of the Chair to ensure the timely distribution of funds to residents.

The Executive Member for Finance and Resources informed members that the extension to the Household Support Fund was announced just 25 days before the previous scheme ended and he commended Council officers for their hard work in administering this funding that was vital to residents. He stated that there had been significant lobbying of government to extend the scheme and he placed on record his thanks to the Leader of the Council and Manchester’s Members of Parliament (MPs) for their efforts and he also commended the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCSE) organisations that worked with residents experiencing poverty. He expressed his belief that the Household Support Fund was the last line of defence for many vulnerable residents, particularly in the context of the cost-of-living crisis and lack of adequate funding for local authorities from central government, and that the possibility that this scheme might not have been implemented highlighted the need for a new government to be elected to listen to, work with and appreciate local government’s ability to deliver services.

The Head of Corporate Assessments explained that the current scheme allocated funding for 6 months with money to be spent between 1 April and 30 September 2024, with the Council receiving £6.453m which had been allocated in consideration of other support available such as the Residents at Risk Cost-of-Living group budget.  He explained that the Council’s focus in administering Household Support Fund 5 (HSF5) was to distribute payments and provide support, with application-based payments also incorporated to meet the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) guidance requirements.

The committee was informed that the Council’s delivery of HSF5 focused on free school meal support, which covered the May half-term with a payment of £15 per eligible child being distributed by schools and the summer holidays with a one-off payment of £55 per eligible child. The Holiday Activity Fund in the May half-term would also be supported and a top-up payment of £10 would be made to care leavers. It was stated that Council Tax Support data would be used to identify households in need whilst recognising the difficulty in supporting every household that might require support in response to the cost-of-living crisis.

The Head of Corporate Assessments explained that a payment of £100 would be made to all households on Council Tax Support where one or more resident was known to be in receipt of a disability-related payment, which amounted to approximately 22,000 households. He also explained that a payment of £100 would be provided to households of four or more people on Council Tax Support but where a disability-related payment was not being made.  A payment of £90 per household would also be provided to households on Council Tax Support where one or more children lived. Members were advised that only receive one payment would be provided where a household met more than one eligibility criteria.

Payment would be made via BACS where the Council held bank details, which applied to around 8,500 eligible residents, with the Post Office voucher scheme used for the remaining 20,000 eligible residents. The Head of Corporate Assessments provided assurances that this method had proved effective in previous tranches of the Household Support Fund.

Members were also advised that £220k would be allocated to the VCSE sector to enable them to continue supporting hard-to-reach communities across Manchester, £100k would be awarded to the food response scheme to maintain support, and £20k would be given to the Council’s Welfare Provision Scheme which was an application-based process and would meet the DWP’s guidance requirements whilst supporting those not captured in other cohorts. 

The Head of Corporate Assessments advised that there was no guarantee of further Household Support Fund schemes in the future.

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussions included:

·       Commending officers for their work on administering the Household Support Fund;

·       Recognising the instrumental role that the HAF Programme had played in Longsight;

·       Highlighting how the late announcement of the scheme impacted the Council’s ability to plan its budget and support to residents;

·       How successful and secure it was to use the Post Office voucher scheme to administer money to residents.

In response to a query regarding the success and security of using Post Office vouchers, the Head of Corporate Assessments explained that 99% of Post Office vouchers were cashed during the last tranche of the Household Support Fund scheme and that some vouchers were cancelled because the circumstances of a household had changed. He explained that assurances were built into the process of cashing in a Post Office voucher to ensure that the payment was provided to the intended recipient. 

In closing the item, the Chair asked the Head of Corporate Assessments to relay the committee’s thanks for their work in administering the Household Support Fund and wished them luck going forwards.

Decision: That the verbal update be noted.