Agenda item

Mr Rob Yates was present for this item as a Guest Member.

1.      The Leader of the Council introduced the report which set out the proposed delivery plan for the Crisis and Resilience Fund for the period 2026–2029. The fund replaced the Household Support Fund and brought together crisis support and housing-related assistance into a multi-year programme focused on prevention and resilience.

2.      Mr Ben Watts, Deputy Chief Executive, provided a PowerPoint presentation and outlined the funding allocation, the four required strands of delivery, and the proposed eligibility criteria. Mr Watts explained the emphasis on a cash-first approach where safe and appropriate, alongside robust safeguards to protect public funds, including assessment processes, fraud prevention measures and ongoing monitoring.

3.      Further to questions and comments from Members the discussion covered the following:

(a)     Members discussed the balance between providing timely financial support and protecting against fraud, particularly in relation to the cash-first approach. Officers confirmed that decisions would be made on an individual basis, drawing on experience from previous schemes, and supported by appropriate verification processes. It was also clarified that while Kent County Council (KCC) would manage the core crisis scheme, district and borough councils would play a role in delivery, particularly in administering the additional heating oil support funding in partnership with KCC and other organisations.

(b)     Questions were raised regarding communication and how eligible residents would be made aware of the fund. Officers confirmed that information would be available via a dedicated webpage and that partners, including district councils, would support targeted communications. Members suggested further engagement with external partners, such as heating oil suppliers, to increase awareness among eligible households.

(c)     Members also explored broader issues around financial inclusion and income maximisation, including whether additional support could be provided to ensure residents access existing entitlements. Officers acknowledged the importance of this issue and agreed to consider it further outside the meeting, noting that the CRF itself was subject to specific government constraints.

(d)     Further queries addressed the scale of need for heating oil support and the distribution of funding. Officers noted that while detailed data is limited, the Council’s role was to allocate the available funding as fairly as possible in line with scheme requirements. Clarification was also provided that homeless applicants could access support via professional referrals.

4.      RESOLVED that the Cabinet Committee endorses the proposed decision to:

a)      Approve the Crisis Resilience Fund Delivery Plan for 2026-2029 

b)      Approve the proposed use of the CRF across (a) Crisis Payments (after careful assessment cash first by default unless inappropriate), (b) Housing Payments replacing Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) within CRF scope (year 3), (c) Resilience Services (e.g. income maximisation, debt advice, digital inclusion), (d) Community Coordination, and (e) any additional provision funded by government as a top-up to CRF targeting defined local need, in line with CRF guidance. 

c)      Delegate authority to the Senior Responsible Officer (Director of Public Health), in consultation with the Leader, to assess the suitability of cash, vouchers or goods and take all necessary actions to implement the decision, including but not limited to, entering into contractual arrangements, legal agreements, making grant awards, and making any consequential changes to ensure compliance to CRF guidance, grant determination and reporting requirements, and ensuring spend within the funding period. Judging which method of delivery i.e. cash, vouchers or goods is most appropriate on a case by case basis.

d)      Delegate authority to the Deputy Chief Executive and Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education, where relevant, to implement operational arrangements with internal services and partners to support the implementation of the CRF. 

e)      Authorise officers to undertake any ancillary activities required to meet CRF funding rules, including procurement, data sharing arrangements, and engagement with district councils, VCS partners and suppliers.