MIDDLESBROUGH COUNCIL

Report Title: Community Support Scheme

Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Finance and Governance: Councillor David Budd

Executive Director: Tony Parkinson

Date 17 March 2015

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

  1. To provide an update in respect of the Community Support Scheme for the financial years 2013/14 and 2014/15 and options available to support residents in the coming financial year.
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
  1. It is recommended that the Executive:

a) notes the overview of spend for 2013/2014 and 2014/2015;

b)approves the funding proposals for 2015/2016 and in doing so, supports the need to ensure that:

  • they link in to and take account of the Council’s overall review of advice services;
  • any possible future relevant public health funding opportunitiesare considered;and
  • the link with the Financial Inclusion group is maintained.

IF THIS IS A KEY DECISION WHICH KEY DECISION TEST APPLIES?

It is over the financial threshold (£150,000) / x
It has a significant impact on 2 or more wards
Non Key

DECISION IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE

  1. For the purposes of the scrutiny call in procedure this report is

Non-urgent / x
Urgent report

If urgent please give full reasons

SUMMARY INFORMATION

  1. As part of the changes to the Welfare Reform Act, the responsibility for administering the Social Fund was passed to local authorities from 1 April 2013. Grant funding of £954k per year (plus admin costs) was provided to Middlesbrough for the first two years of the scheme.
  1. Councils were given discretion to develop and operate local new schemes with the aim to provide for the “general living expenses” of the “most vulnerable”. A series of criteria were developed for helping residents in crisis, emergency situations together with residents who were returning from care/supported accommodation or those who may be at risk of entering such accommodation should an award not be made. Middlesbrough’s scheme is known as the Community Support Scheme.
  1. The Council does not provide any cash awards, which did apply when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administered the scheme. It is operated by the Council’s Client Benefit team who have access to a number of systems to ensure that only those in genuine need are provided with help. The scheme is working extremely well in providing immediate support for those considered most in need.
  1. As part of the latest spending review, the Government has confirmed that it is to withdraw direct funding provided to local authorities from 1 April 2015. It is therefore a matter for local authorities to decide if they wish to continue delivering the Community Support Scheme, with any costs having to be met through the Council’s general fund.
  1. This report therefore reviews the first two years of operation of the Scheme together with funding proposals for 2015/16.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT SCHEME - OVERVIEW OF SPEND 2013/14 & 2014/15

  1. In 2013/14 a total of 1,798 applications were received for assistance through the Community Support Scheme with 1,376 (76.5%) being awarded. The most frequently requested items for residents in emergency, crisis situations were for assistance with food, gas and electric with a total of £47,519 being paid out.
  1. The Scheme also provided assistance for those setting up home following a period in care or supported accommodation. The scheme was very effective with overall expenditure in respect of household appliances being £111,588.
  1. In 2014/15 the demands on the Scheme has continued and up to the end of January 2015, 1,231 applications were received, 940 of which (76.36%) being awarded. Similar to 2013/14, assistance with food, gas and electric has been requested on a daily basis with £46,404 being paid out in the first ten months of the financial year. Expenditure for those setting up home currently stands at £71,311 which is broadly comparable with the previous financial year.
  1. In addition to the supportdirectly provided through the Scheme, the overall budget has also been used to provide, over the two years, a wider range of initiatives aimed at supporting people affected by the welfare reforms. The following table provides an overview of those initiatives:

SUPPORT PROVIDED / 2013/14
COST (£) / 2014/15
COST (£)
Provision of emergency/crisis support / 47,519 / 60,000
Setting up Home / 111,588 / 100,000
Assisting residents with help through the Discretionary Housing Payment scheme / 38,000 / 0
Funding for alternative white goods provision / 140,000 / 0
Provision of funding to support credit union development / 32,000 / 85,000
Assistance with costs associated with vulnerable children / 140,000 / 280,000
Assistance with homeless initiatives / 40,000 / 0
Assistance with Council Tax payments for those subject to welfare reform / 391,000 / 284,000
Foodbank Support / 10,000
Continuation of two debt advice initiatives / 135,000
TOTAL / 940,107 / 954,000

FUNDING PROPOSALS FOR 2015/16

14. As indicated, given the withdrawal of direct Government funding, the Council now needs to determine whether it wishes to provide a budgetin order to continue delivering both the Community Support Scheme together with the provision of wider initiatives aimed at mitigating the welfare reforms.

15. In view of the impact of the reforms in Middlesbrough and the need for the Council and its partners to continue to the work together in supporting those residents affected, £800,000 has been identified within the medium term financial plan for such purposes.

16.In terms of the possible use of such funding,options focussed on supporting those most in need have been developed and are included in (Appendix A). These confirm the numbers of residents who would be assisted by the proposals and are summarised below:

PROPOSAL / COST
Allow payments to single people and couples of working age with no dependent children/disability who receive a passported benefit (such as Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance Income Based) for a period of 6 months. This will help those with the least income and also have a contribution to pay towards their rent due to having a spare bedroom(s) / 120,000
Allow payments to residents who have debt problems and are referred to the Council by partner organisations who are assisting with their debts for a period of 6 months. Those with debt problems are likely to have difficulty in paying their Council Tax and as they are seeking assistance about their debts, this will also assist in the short term / 62,400
Startup funding for debt co-ordinator in light of an increased number of residents being assisted with their debts as a result of these proposals / 32,000
Allow payments to Council Tax payers who start work and no longer receive a passported benefit (such as Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance Income Based) for a period of 2 months. This proposal will assist residents who are actively seeking work and help in the short term with any transition into work. / 20,000
Consider applications for help with Council Tax hardship assistance whilst applying for help with rent through the Discretionary Housing Payment scheme for 12 months. At present, two separate applications are required with the same information being provided to different departments. This would reduce duplication and provide a better service to residents. / 51,600
Consider helping with Council Tax payments for 2015/16 for those who currently have an attachment to their state benefit due to non-payment of Council Tax for 3 months. The Revenue Services department can only receive a set amount of £3.65 per week through deductions froma Customers state benefits. By helping with payments towards the upcoming financial year, residents are less likely to default if the amount to pay is lower, therefore potentially also avoiding further court costs of £65 should they default on payments. / 119,550
Consider awards where there has been a miscalculation of Council Tax Reduction for 100 cases. There may be a small number of cases where the Revenue Services department miscalculate an application and the error results in less reduction being awarded although the resident provided the correct information at the time. This would therefore allow for such calculations not to be recovered. / 21,000
Continued Provision of the Community Support Scheme / 285,000
Contingency / 88,450
TOTAL / 800,000

17. If the Executive is minded to support such proposals it is also suggested that processes are put in place to address the following:

  • the need to ensure that the proposals link in with both the Council’s review of advice services and any public health funding opportunities considered relevant;
  • the provision of white goods through the Community Support scheme is examined to ensure that funding for such items is used effectively; and
  • the delivery of the proposed initiativesarekept under review with the Financial Inclusion Group being asked to assist in this regard

BACKGROUND AND EXTERNAL CONSULTATION

18. No external consultation has been undertaken in respect of this report.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT (IA)

19. An impact assessment has been undertaken and it was found that there would be no disproportionate adverse impacts as a result of these proposals.

OPTION APPRAISAL/RISK ASSESSMENT

20. A series of options are available for Executive to consider (Appendix A) should they wish to utilise the funding made available through the medium term financial plan.

FINANCIAL, LEGAL AND WARD IMPLICATIONS

21.Financial –The full cost to the Council is detailed above and is within the budget allocated from the Medium term Financial Plan.

22.Ward Implications –There are no specific ward implications arising from these proposals. Any residents who meet the relevant criteria and are in hardship will be assisted through these proposals

  1. Legal Implications – There are no legal implications around this report.
RECOMMENDATIONS
  1. It is recommended that the Executive:

a) notes the overview of spend for 2013/2014 and 2014/2015;

b) approves the funding proposals for 2015/2016 and in doing so, supports the need to ensure that:

  • they link in to and take account of the Council’s overall review of advice services;
  • any possible future relevant public health funding opportunities are considered; and
  • the link with the Financial Inclusion group is maintained.
REASONS
  1. To ensure that all residents of Middlesbrough who are adversely affected by the welfare reforms continue to receive support during 2015/16.
BACKGROUND PAPERS

No background papers were used in the preparation of this report.

AUTHOR: Martin Barker Benefit Manager Client Unit

TEL NO: 01642 726252

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Address:

Website:

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