Agenda and draft minutes

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The Cabinet Member referred to the filming at meetings notice and attendees noted this information.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for abesence.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business.

(Late items of Urgent Business will be considered under the agenda item

where they appear. New items of Urgent Business will be dealt with under

agenda item 7 ).

There were no  items of urgent business.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B,

paragraph 29 of the Council’s constitution.

There were no deputations, petitions or questions put forward.

The Cabinet Member for Resident Services and Tackling Inequality considered a report which sought approval of the allocation of Household Support Fund grant provided from the Government, through the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP).

This decision would enable the Household Support Fund scheme to be extended for a further six months for the period 1^st April 2024 to 30^th September 2024 and Haringey Council had been allocated £2,406,672 for the 6-month period.

The objective of The Fund was to provide support to households in the most need; particularly those who may not be eligible for the other support government has recently made available but who are nevertheless in need and who require crisis support. The Fund was intended to cover a wide range of low-income households in need including families with children of all ages, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers and disabled people, with an emphasis on supporting households with energy, food, and water bills.

The Household Support Fund Scheme Policy: May 2024, was attached at appendix 1 and set out the Council’s arrangement for administering the Fund, which was within the conditions stipulated by DWP.

The Cabinet Member noted that the main difference in this phase of funding was that the Voluntary Sector would not receive direct funding to allocate but instead would be referring residents to apply directly to the Council through the welfare assistance scheme. The benefits manager added that he would be engaging with the Voluntary Sector Team to ensure the process was as clear and efficient as possible to mitigate any delays.

There was also communication with Food Banks on the extension of the scheme so that they could continue to signpost residents and also help them with the application process.

It was noted that there was increased applications for the support with living costs and payment of electricity bills and clarification would be provided on the maximum amount that single persons and families were entitled to from the support fund for energy payments.

In response to a question about the template letter noting the provision of the Household Support Fund from the government, advice was awaited from the DWP on this to ensure that pre-election rules were adhered to. The Cabinet Member was assured that this would not delay letters of notification of grant funding, and in turn payments, to residents

The Cabinet Member for Resident Services and Tackling Inequality,

RESOLVED

1.    To note the Household Support Fund allocation from the government of £2,406,672 for the period 1^st April 2024 to 30^th September 2024.

2.    To approve the allocation of this funding as set out in Appendix 1

3.    To delegate authority to the Assistant Director of Customer Services, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Resident Services and Tackling Inequality, to amend this policy to maximise and control the distribution of the fund and to give effect to changes in legislation, statutory or non-statutory guidance, or directives or instructions of a similar character issued by Government.

4.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

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