Issue details

Reason for the decision

On Sunday 8 November Government announced it was making £170m available to upper tier authorities “to support those most in need across England with the cost of food, energy and water bills and other associated costs and to ensure no child goes hungry over Christmas.”  KCC has been allocated £4.5m to be spent between early December 2020 and 31 March 2021.   At least 80% of the money must go on families with children, and 80% must also go on food, energy, water bills and other associated costs.

Reason for urgency

The Government has stated that local authorities should start to spend the money from early December, and where third party organisations are delivering elements of the programme, to get resources to them by the end of November if possible.  Whilst the council is being given discretion over how to target the most vulnerable households, there is a general expectation that families with children in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) should be supported over the Christmas holidays. To achieve this, the decision must be implemented in late November due to the need to collaborate with schools and collate relevant pupil data in advance of issuing vouchers.

Background

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is providing funding to County Councils and Unitary Authorities to administer the COVID Winter Grant scheme and provide direct assistance to vulnerable households and families with children particularly affected by the pandemic. Councils are encouraged to work together with other local authorities to provide support and ensure the funding meets its objectives.  Funding has been allocated nationally according to the population of each authority, weighted by a function of the English Index of Multiple Deprivation.

We propose to provide vouchers to low income families who are eligible for free school meals and to low income families whose children:

· currently do not have a school place

· are home educated 

· have a social worker

· are pre-school age but are known to us via Early Help Services or Free for Two

We are exploring a range of potential options based on the available household data to best ensure that support is given to those who need it most from the remaining £2m or so of the grant. We are developing a local eligibility framework and approach to set out how the resources are used, which will be detailed in the decision report. 

Options considered but discarded

·   The option of turning down the grant was not given serious consideration, as there are many Kent families and households in need who will benefit from receiving support.

·   We considered the provision of food hampers rather than supermarket vouchers. This was rejected on logistical grounds, and also because people want to choose their own food items, and there are issues of dietary, religious and cultural requirements.

·   We considered not providing direct support during the holidays for families entitled to Free School Meals, and meeting needs entirely via other routes. This was rejected in part because of the clarity around eligibility which FSM provides and in part because we believe the public will expect and be supportive of this action.

·   The management of the grant could be outsourced in full, although KCC would still be accountable for the spend and the Management Information returns.  Outsourcing the whole grant was rejected because KCC needs to closely monitor performance and expenditure – any grant which is unspent by 31 March will be clawed back.

·   Using KSAS to provide fuel subsidies was rejected because of logistical reasons:   Paypoint is the mechanism used in KSAS to contribute to energy bills.  Payment is made via mobile phone which enables people to credit their key meter and we do not have a mechanism to pay fuel bills by other means (eg for those who use direct debit or pay at the Post Office) nor to pay water bills.  If we were to offer this, it would be labour intensive and difficult to target effectively.

·   We contacted DWP locally to see if they would be able to identify the Kent families on the lowest income and provide them with payment for food and fuel, but this was not possible, and the latest guidance emphasises this.