Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member for Safety and Communities

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    The award of the first tranche of grant funding as set out as set out in para 2.8 be approved;

2.    The award of the second tranche of grant funding as set out in para 2.11 and 2.12 be approved.

On behalf of the Cabinet Member Safety and Communities the Leader introduced this report. She explained that the authority had been allocated funding from the Household Support Fund Programme via the County Council. The first tranche of funding of £150 k was used between 1 April-30 September and the second tranche, amounting to £123k, covers the period 1 October to 31 March 2023. The fund is to provide support to vulnerable households in most need of support to assist with the increasingly high cost of living in line with eligible expenditure. She highlighted that CBC’s partners are a highly established network of providers and all of them have a high priority in promoting equity and tackling discrimination. Within the scheme there is flexibility to identify which vulnerable households are in most need of support and to apply discretion in relation to the allocation of monies.

The grant must however be allocated against a specific framework :

·         At least one third must be ring-fenced to support households with children

·         At least one third must be ring-fenced to support pensioners

·         At least one third must be ring-fenced to support those in genuine need and not necessarily in receipt of DWP benefit

The report outlined the provider selected, the activity that has to be funded through the scheme and the amount of money being allocated to that organisation. In addition to demonstrating the amount of money spent on each activity there is also the amount spent on the administration. She emphasised that Cabinet was confident that the partners will be able to deliver the plan.

In her absence, the Cabinet Member Safety and Communities was thanked for her report. Cheltenham was an affluent town but had extreme pockets of poverty.

RESOLVED (unanimously) THAT:

1.    The award of the first tranche of grant funding as set out as set out in para 2.8 be approved;

2.    The award of the second tranche of grant funding as set out in para 2.11 and 2.12 be approved.