Issue - meetings

            The Board considered a report of the Operational Director – Finance, which provided an update on the progress of the delivery of the £1.3m grant allocation received by the Council for the six month extension to the Government’s Household Support Fund (HSF). Halton’s allocation of grant funding was £1,297,880, for the period 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022, of which 5% was permitted to provide for the costs of administering the grant. A spending plan had been prepared and was attached as Appendix A to the report. Detailed information relating to spending for the period 1 April to 30 June 2022 was included as Appendix B.

            It was noted that the DWP were currently working through the design and governance of the new HSF for the period 1 November 2022 to 31 March 2023. No details of the scheme were as yet available however one change highlighted was there would be requirement to spend on particular groups of people as stipulated in the current HSF.

            It was proposed that once the DWP had issued final guidance for the new HSF the Operational Director – Finance, in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Corporate Policy and Performance Board (PPB), would recommend the new HSF scheme for approval by Executive Board. A further progress report would be submitted to the Board at its meeting in November.

            RESOLVED: That

1.    progress with delivery of the Household Support Fund, as outlined in the report, be noted;

2.    a further progress report be brought to the next meeting of the Board; and

3.    the Operational Director Finance in consultation with the Chair and Vice Chair of the Corporate PPB recommend the new Household Support Fund scheme for approval by Executive Board.