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Cabinet members set to discuss a further £2.4m funding package to help West Northants households facing hardship
| Author: Craig Forsyth | Published: 30th April 2024 08:09 |
West Northamptonshire Councillors are set to discuss plans at next week’s Cabinet meeting regarding distribution of the £2.4 million funds to households in need of financial support.
The Council has received £2,465,491.77 as part of the fifth tranche of the Household Support Fund (HSF) provided by the UK Government, following the Government’s announcement of a sixth month extension to the scheme, offering additional financial support to vulnerable households.
The proposal builds upon the successful partnership with local voluntary and community organisations developed during previous HSF tranches to best support West Northants households who are facing financial hardship with daily living costs such as; food, clothing, and utility bills. This is in line with the work underway as part of the joint Anti-Poverty Strategy and looks to provide financial support to residents who are most in need and may not be identified through the benefits system.
For the six-month extension period, from April 2024 to September 2024, the recommendation includes:
- Around 12,700 families with children will receive school meal vouchers over the summer holidays at the cost of £15 per child, per week. In addition, families will also be given a further £30 voucher to help towards school essentials such as uniforms.
- Continuing to work closely with our trusted partners to provide tailored support to residents from; debt and money advice, energy saving advice, practical energy saving measures and practical household support.
- Approx. £690,000 in the form of grants for voluntary and community organisations to apply for to increase the dedicated and tailored support that they offer to residents.
To provide a longer-term offer of financial wellbeing, all awards and funding will be complimented by wrap around support schemes with the view to help transition households from crisis support to more sustainable support.
Cllr Matt Golby, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health at WNC said: “It is important we continue to work closely with our voluntary and community sector organisations following such an effective model of distribution during HSF4 to identify those individuals or households that may not otherwise receive support. During the last tranche of funding, a high percentage of funds allocated were successfully distributed to individuals and households by these organisations and we hope that we can continue to build on this method further.
“We also know that supporting families with school meal vouchers is a really valued helpline and we are keen to continue this throughout the summer holidays, whilst providing a wider range of support and advice that will help these families longer term”.
Following Cabinet approval, work will commence with working closely with community partners for distribution of the funds.
To view the cabinet report please visit: Agenda for Cabinet on Tuesday 7th May 2024, 6.00 pm - West Northamptonshire Council (moderngov.co.uk)
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