Household Support Fund
Case reference FOI2022/00353
Published 25 April 2022
Request
Q1. Please provide a copy of the council's Household Support Fund policy for the funding distributed to councils in October 2021. The policy should outline how the council was going to disburse the funding and by what criteria
Q2. What was the value of the parts of the Household Support Fund provided to the council in October 2021 (or thereabouts) that the council made available to individual applicants (not referrals from third party organisations)?
Q3. Of the figure in question 2, how much did the council eventually provide to applicants?
Q4. If the council fully spent the figure in question 2, on what date(s) was this part(s) of the fund closed to new applicants?
Q5. How many applicants received funding under the parts of the Household Support Fund referred to in question 2?
Q6. How many applications for funding under the parts of the Household Support Fund referred to in question 2 were rejected? Please provide any data the council holds on reasons for rejection
Q7. What was the value of the parts of the Household Support Fund provided to the council in October 2021 (or thereabouts) that the council made available to referrals from council services or third party organisations, e.g. charities?
Q8. How many referrals received funding under the parts of the Household Support Fund referred to in question 7?
Q9. How many referrals for funding under the parts of the Household Support Fund referred to in question 7 were rejected?
Q10. Please provide a copy of the council's Household Support Fund policy for the funding that is to be distributed to councils for April-September 2022. The policy should outline how the council will disburse the funding and by what criteria
Councils' Household Support Fund policies include various elements - they are rarely disbursed in one bloc to one group of recipients by one set of criteria. Some involve automatic funding based on eligibility details the council already holds (e.g. Free School Meals status) with no requirement for application or referral. Some parts are disbursed directly to third party organisations, such as food banks. Some are based on applications by individuals, while others are based on referrals by council services or third party organisations. Questions 2-6 relate to those parts that were disbursed based on applications from individuals, while questions 7-9 relate to those parts that were disbursed on the basis of referrals. Some councils amay not have disbursed any money on the basis of applications or referrals, in which case questions 2-9 do not apply.
Response
A1. Please find the link to the decision report on Herefordshire Council's website
https://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=8412
A2. The council allocated £360,000 to provide a £60 grant to approximately 6,000 residents (in receipt of universal credit below the Free School Meal and/or Free Prescription thresholds).
A3. £68,700 with the balance allocated to Free School Meal vouchers
A4. Applications for the £60 Household Support Grant closed on 28/02/2022
A5. 1,145 grant payments of £60 each
A6. 324 applications were rejected as not meeting the criteria or application form was incomplete.
A7. N/A
A8. N/A
A9. N/A
A10. To be confirmed, once approved will be shared on the website with the scheme also promoted through the Council's social media channels.
Documents
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