Subject:
Cost of Living Update including the Household Support Fund
Tranche 3
Date of
meeting:
6 October 2022
Report
of:
Executive Director Governance People
& Resources
Contact
Officer:
Name: Paul Ross-Dale, Tabitha Cork, Debbie
Abbott
Email:
Paul.ross-dale@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Tabitha.cork@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Debbie.abbott@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Ward(s)
affected:
All
For general
release
1
Purpose of the report and policy context
1.1
This report follows on from the report to Policy & Resources
Committee in May 2022 which outlined the causes of the current Cost
of Living increases, focusing in particular on the expected local
impacts on households in relation to food, energy and fuel, welfare
benefits, housing and homelessness.
1.3
The report noted that the situation was rapidly moving and since
then energy prices have escalated significantly, prompting
government to provide both energy payments and energy discounts.
This culminated in the latest announcement of an energy price cap,
an energy relief plan for businesses, third and public sector
organisations and a package of tax cuts as part of the Growth Plan
2022. However, the announcements are not sufficiently targeted at
households most in need, risk increasing inequality and, with no
support for those in the private rented sector facing rising rents,
a rise in homelessness. The Growth Plan also represents a missed
opportunity to reduce overall energy demand, with nothing in place
to help put local authorities on a more sustainable financial
footing.
1.4
There is increased concern
about the national growth of entrenched poverty and destitution,
with residents unable to afford food, shelter and warmth, and
the means to keep clean. This first grew through the pandemic and
is growing again (JRF: https://www.jrf.org.uk/blog/what-destitution) This is exemplified in increased growth of the
work of Disability and Elderly Plumbing and Heating Emergency
Repair (Depher) https://www.depher.com/
1.5
High inflationary increases are being experienced by households
particularly in relation to rents, food, fuel/travel, sanitation
and other necessities. They are also having a growing and serious
impact on a significant element of the business sector,
particularly small and medium sized enterprise, where the
government protections are both temporary and limited. An increase
in insolvencies would be very damaging and have the twofold impact
of dampening the local economy and increasing local
unemployment.
1.6
Aside from energy caps and discounts, the government’s key
response is the Household Support Fund, for which tranche 3 (HSF3)
will cover the period 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. The value of
HSF3 is the same as the previous two tranches at £2.140m,
however previous restriction regarding the distribution of the fund
have been removed, which was widely requested by Local
Authorities.
1.8
Alongside HSF3, the council will continue to provide a wide range
of welfare advice services as well as financial hardship
support. This would include discretionary funds, community
grants, and Council Tax Reduction discounts. A key focus will be on
continuing to develop advice and support to improve energy
efficiency, including pushing ahead with the council’s
Brighton & Hove Warm Homes programme to retrofit private sector
homes with insulation and energy saving adaptations. However, this
report also considers other potential options for using council
resources to provide assistance to people and households over the
winter period, as well as asking Policy & Resources Committee
to agree the measures that should be recommended to government to
further support both households and businesses.
1.9
The council also notes that the Local Government Association (LGA)
is taking a lead role on behalf of the sector, particularly in
terms of gathering evidence and case studies to present to
government to promote understanding of where support is needed, to
challenge current welfare benefit policies that are having
unintended consequences, and recommend sustainable funding
solutions to enable local government to provide effective ongoing
support from April 2023 onward. We are working with the LGA to
provide case studies including for their COL hub
Cost of living: Fuel and energy | Local Government
Association. We
continue to work with them as they collate evidence with bodies
such as Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Money & Pensions
service.
2
Recommendations
2.1
That the Policy & Resources Committee notes the updates on the
local situation regarding the Cost of Living impact including the
ongoing and planned work and actions, with statutory and Community
& Voluntary Sector partners, to provide advice and support to
households in need.
2.2
That the Policy & Resources Committee agrees that the city
council should lobby government for urgent and sustained support
throughout the Cost of Living crisis including:
·
Fully
funding Cost of Living pay increases for schools and local
government in the current year and 2023/24;
·
Immediately
increasing the minimum wage in line with September 2022
inflation;
·
Reintroducing
a top-up to Universal Credit of £20 pw until at least March
2024;
·
Giving
the city council the powers and resources to freeze private rents
for two years or, in the absence of this, introducing a national
rent freeze or cap to reduce the incidence of evictions and
homelessness, as has been done by the Scottish
Government
·
Providing
increases in Local Housing Allowance rates in line with rent
increases and welfare benefits in line with RPI to ensure that they
keep pace with inflation as a minimum;
·
Reintroducing
a temporary ban on evictions during this exceptional inflationary
period (until at least March 2024); and
·
Providing
Free School Meals for every primary school child in England, and
the city council will endorse this lobbying point by signing
the Free School Meals For All Open
Letter to
the Prime Minister.
2.3
That the Policy & Resources Committee agrees that the city
council should formally support the #BusinessSOS campaign and
further recommend to government the measures and support for small
and medium-sized enterprise (SME). The campaign has seen over
150,000 businesses from across the UK lobbying the government to
support small and medium sized businesses by taking the following
actions;
·
Suspension of Covid loan debt repayments for up to two years
(with potential eligibility criteria);
·
Reduction of tourism VAT to 5% (i.e. holiday and hospitality
services and packages), and;
·
Introduction of dedicated Business Grant support for SMEs and pubs
to help with costs over the winter (with potential eligibility
criteria).
2.4
That the Policy & Resources Committee agrees that the council
will work with the city’s MPs to lobby for:
·
Extension of business rates relief for all SME’s and
pubs – using usual Treasury relief mechanisms
·
Reduction of VAT
on energy for businesses to 5%
·
Energy prices to
return to 2021 levels for SME’s and pubs
2.5
That the Policy & Resources Committee agrees that the council
will work with local business
representatives to understand their members’ concerns and
work with them to continue supporting small businesses. These
representatives include Brilliant Brighton (the local Business
Improvement District - BID), the BH Economic Partnership, BH
Chamber of Commerce and BH Federation of Small
Business.
2.6
That the Policy & Resources Committee instructs the Chief
Executive to write to the
Secretary of State for the Department for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy, advocating for the advantages and business
literacy of adopting the Brighton Hove Living
Wage.
2.7
That the Policy & Resources Committee agrees the council will
work with regional
public and private sector partners in the Greater Brighton Economic
Board to assess the impact of the cost of living to support local
SME businesses through sharing intelligence and offering mutual
support.
2.8
That the Policy & Resources Committee agrees the approach to
developing potential warm banks for use over the winter period,
including working with the Community & Voluntary Sector
regarding their assets, as set out in paragraphs 5.9 to 5.12.
2.9
That the Policy & Resources Committee agrees the proposed
communications campaign set out in Section 9 to promote awareness
of available advice and support for those in need, and to
re-promote charitable giving toward the Cost of Living crisis from
those who are able and willing to help.
2.10 That the Policy
& Resources Committee agrees the council will support the
‘Warm This
Winter’ campaign which calls for government support to
provide immediate emergency support, help to upgrade homes and
access to cheap energy to lessen reliance on gas and oil.
2.11 That the Policy
& Resources Committee approves the proposed indicative
allocation of HSF tranche 3 as set out at paragraph 10.7, noting
the associated Equality Impact Assessment at Appendix 1
2.12 That the Policy
& Resources Committee agrees that officers may make adjustments
to allocations where there is evidence of changing need throughout
the 6 month period of HSF3, to ensure that all of the fund is
spent.
3
Cost of Living Crisis
3.1
As reported in May, the council has put in place a number of
working groups to ensure a co-ordinated response to the Cost of
Living crisis with the Community & Voluntary Sector (CVS). The
groups include:
·
Cost
of Living Officer Group (Leads)
·
Welfare
Support & Financial Assistance Group
·
Fuel
Poverty & Affordable Warmth Steering Group
·
Food
Cell
·
Mental
Health and Debt Steering Group
3.3
The Household Support Fund tranche 3 (HSF3) should enable
continuation of additional emergency support over the winter period
from October through to March but, as noted in the introduction,
there are concerns that this response will not be sufficient to
outweigh growing food and fuel poverty across the city, or prevent
additional homelessness, and will do nothing to support small
businesses, whose failures would further compound financial
hardship through job losses.
3.4
The report below considers these matters and provides brief updates
on key topic areas together with proposed actions to gear up for
the winter period. The support and responses needed from government
are also discussed and proposed recommendations to government are
set out for Policy & Resources Committee consideration and
approval alongside recommended allocation of the forthcoming
HSF3.
4
Emergency Food Update
Current Developments and
Approach
4.1
A funding pot of £30,000 for CVS Emergency Food organisations
was recently launched and made available for bids, as approved by
July Policy & Resources Committee. This will top up
funding provided to organisations via the current and forthcoming
Household Support Fund to bolster emergency food provision.
4.2
Support to a successful communications campaign to raise money via JustGiving
for fuel & food to residents in partnership with Citizens
Advice Brighton & Brighton & Hove Food Partnership.
This has raised over £40,000 to date for the city and
continues to receive donations.
4.3
BHCC has funded Brighton & Hove Food Partnership (BHFP) to
continue to support the Emergency Food Sector. BHFP liaises with
statutory services, businesses and community groups. The partnership enables sharing of
information on a national level, learning from other local
responses, and development of solutions to food
insecurity. Similarly, the
Household Support Fund has provided support to over 28 emergency
food organisations for them to purchase food, give out vouchers or
fuel payments to their beneficiaries.
4.4
Impact Initiatives, a local charity, also continues with their Food
Access service, supporting elderly and housebound residents to
access food. They also deliver an ‘on the day’
emergency voucher or parcel if they cannot refer to another food
bank that day. East Brighton Food Co-op city-wide meal delivery
service has also received funding support from the Household
Support Fund and takes referrals for housebound residents who
cannot afford to pay for food, but need a meal delivered.
4.5
Elsewhere, the Balfour Mutual Aid group have agreed to provide a
city-wide food parcel delivery service to housebound residents,
only via referral from Impact Initiatives.
4.6
This builds on the work the city council is doing with a lease of a
building in its ownership to the Brighton and Hove City Mission
(BHCM Foodbank). This was agreed by members in the Spring. BHCM
submitted an offer for 5 Preston Circus (a council owned premises)
being used for community food related purposes on 12 May 2022. BHCM
have also applied for planning permission for a change of use into
a food bank and café. Existing facilities are inappropriate
and do not allow BHCM to offer all their support services under the
one roof. BHCM await final decisions on their offer and
plans.
4.7
The Community Hub has continued since the height of the pandemic
and although its focus has changed over time to include other
priorities, including test and trace, and now Homes for Ukraine,
the Hub continues to be part of the overall welfare and food
response.
4.8
A ‘cash-first’ approach has been adopted with CVS
advice agencies to help people maximise their incomes by helping
them to manage money effectively and maximise the welfare benefits
and other support they may be able to access. This is supported by
using Household Support Fund to provide, for example, discretionary
social fund payments, vouchers for Free School Meal recipients over
the holidays, and vouchers from the Children’s Centre food
bank.
4.9
The Food Cell continues to be an effective mechanism for
co-ordinating and delivering support and while support from the
Household Support Fund is critical to its work, there is a need to
consider potential longer term, sustainable funding to enable the
cell to develop and implement more resilient strategies for food
security and provision. This should pool
support from across different areas such as Public health, Adult
Social Care, and the NHS who can also provide important insight on
safeguarding and health issues.
Levels of Food
Insecurity and Demand on CVS Provision
4.10
The
Emergency Food Network report from July
22 identified 44 food banks, social supermarkets and
meal projects working out of 50 locations in the city. At
least 5,159 people are being supported weekly, an increase of 18%
from the previous year. However, 69% of organisations are
reporting a reduction in food and financial donations, 63% report a
reduction in food supply from surplus sources plus stock levels
being low, and 63% report needing to spend more money because of
the increases in the cost of food & essentials.
4.11
Organisations reported that 63% of people who access their services
are doing so indefinitely. This translates that there are over
3,000 people in the city who currently appear to need ongoing help
to buy food. Reports from the sector are that individuals are
being referred around different agencies and services but have
already accessed all the support that is available to
them.
4.12
Low incomes, the cost-of-living crisis and ill health/disability
were the main reasons given by the Emergency Food Network’s
44 members for people using their services. Other findings from the
survey showed:
·
53%
of members saw a rise in the numbers of people in work coming to
them;
·
More
than 60% were supporting a growing number of refugees, migrants and
asylum seekers who had no recourse to other funds;
·
68%
saw an increase in lone-parent families and 43% dual-parent
families.
4.13
The concerns raised by CVS partners have been reiterated by NHS
Leaders, including Stephen Lightfoot as chair of NHS Sussex,
through the NHS Confederation, in a letter to the Chancellor in
August. The letter stressed: “If people cannot afford to heat
their homes sufficiently and if they cannot afford nutritious food,
then their health will quickly deteriorate.”
https://www.nhsconfed.org/publications/letter-chancellor-exchequer-0
4.14
Bridging Change and BHFP continue with their research on the food
access needs of Black, Minority Ethnic Communities and Refugees and
Asylum seekers. An interim report is expected in October 2022,
with a final report in March 2023.
5
Energy & Fuel Update
Current Support
and Approach
5.1
Energy and fuel have seen unprecedented price increases with many
domestic and business energy costs set to rise dramatically in
October. In response, the government had provided a £150
Council Tax Energy Boost payment (now almost fully distributed by
councils) and an energy discount of £400 per household.
Households on low incomes will also receive a further £650
Cost of Living payment. Recognising that this would provide
inadequate support, the government has recently gone further and
announced an ‘Energy Price Guarantee’ to try and limit
average household bills to £2,500 for the next 2 years, but
the detail of this is still to be released. This is in addition to
an energy relief plan for businesses, third and public sector
organisations as part of the Growth Plan 2022 announcements.
5.2
While these are substantial measures, many middle to higher income
households will benefit more significantly than low income
households and this may therefore not only leave low income
households struggling but may not represent an optimum use of
public resources. Our comms plan and website will ensure that the
public is fully and accurately informed about how the Energy Price
Guarantee works. It will be important to be clear about what this
would mean financially to each individual household in real
terms.
5.3
Locally, co-ordination of the response is through the Fuel Poverty
& Affordable Warmth Steering Group whose membership consists of
representatives from the Council’s Public Health, Housing,
Food Policy and Welfare, Revenues & Business Support (WRBS)
teams, as well as multiple Community & Voluntary Sector (CVS)
organisations including Brighton & Hove Energy Services
Cooperative (BHESCo), Citizen’s Advice Brighton & Hove
(CABH), Money Advice Plus (MAP), National Energy Action (NEA), East
Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (ESFRS), British Red Cross (BRC)
and Brighton Peace & Environment Centre (BPEC). The steering
group continues to meet on a monthly basis to facilitate and
coordinate collaboration and synergies between key partners,
projects and support available to residents in the city.
5.4
Working with partners, the council’s website has been updated
accordingly with advice on available energy support (Help
with fuel bills (brighton-hove.gov.uk) and provides a link to
the Local Energy Advice Partnership (LEAP) who can provide support
and advice on energy saving measures as well as information on the
full range of government discounts and grants available. The comms
plan will ensure that all relevant self-help support and advice is
clearly provided, including how to monitor energy use and save on
water.
5.5
The council’s Public Health service also commissions the
city’s ‘Warmth for Wellbeing’ programme each
winter, providing money advice and small grants, and (with BHESCo)
home energy checks and advice. In May 2022, in response to
increasing demand and the Cost of Living crisis, Public Health
allocated an additional grant fund to continue provision of money
advice and small grants from June 2022 to March 2023. This is a
one-off investment for 2022/23, delivered by Moneyworks partners
Citizen’s Advice Brighton & Hove and Money Advice Plus.
This year, BHESCo will also provide awareness sessions to key
frontline teams working with people with health vulnerabilities
(e.g. NHS community teams).
5.6
The above Public Health funding enables the service, known as
‘Energyworks’, to provide one-to-one money advice and
casework, as well as distribute hardship grants to
approximately 600 clients, and provide capacity for a dedicated
answerphone and triage of clients to the most appropriate support.
Energyworks is also administering grants funded by other sources,
including HSF and the city’s Cost of Living charitable fund.
Eligibility for the service is based on groups who are at highest
health risk when living in a cold home, drawn from national NICE
guidelines.
5.7
Onward referrals are also made to organisations for additional
support, including BHESCo (Brighton & Hove Energy Services
Cooperative), LEAP (Local Energy Advice Partnership) and East
Sussex Fire and Rescue Service. Both advice/casework and grant
distribution are planned to increase significantly during the
colder months when need will be highest.
5.8
Alongside this, the council continues to develop the
‘Brighton & Hove Warmer Homes’ programme. The
programme which is due to be launched in Spring 2023 has a capital
allocation of £7.2m to support energy efficiency improvements
for eligible owner occupiers and households in the private rented
sector. To provide support to households in the immediate future a
further allocation from this capital fund will go to the Disabled
Facilities Grant funded Warm Safe Homes Grant, which will see the
initial investment increased from £0.400m to £1m as set
out in the recent report to Housing Committee on 28 September to
enable retrofit and insultation of more private sector properties.
This is separate to the work the council is undertaking to retrofit
and improve the energy efficiency of its council housing stock.
This is also separate from the main Warmer Homes Capital Grant
programme of £7.2m.
Warm
Banks
5.9
Whilst the council and its CVS partners have attempted to identify
households and people in need of support, for example using
analysis provided by LIFT to identify those in fuel poverty, there
are not only limitations to the level of support available
nationally and locally, but there are also people and groups that
are harder to reach or who may not always seek or accept
assistance. The council will therefore explore, with the local CVS
sector, the practicalities of using their buildings and public
spaces to provide warm spaces for people, both to help them avoid
impacts on their health, and therefore avoid greater demand on
health and social care services, but also to contribute to helping
them to manage energy use and costs.
5.10
Setting up a network of Warm banks is not a simple or
straightforward proposal. No additional resources have been
provided to the council or partners to enable this. There are a
number of risks and costs to consider including rising Covid cases,
lease/licence agreements, safeguarding considerations,
appropriateness for open access, financial constraints,
considerations regarding food and drink being available,
facilities, fire regulations, adequate seating and washroom
facilities as well as a sufficient comms campaign. These
considerations are detailed in greater depth at Appendix 2 of this
report.
5.11
Policy & Resources Committee is recommended to support the use
of the council’s community spaces (such as libraries) as warm
banks, subject to an assessment against the caveats above (and in
Appendix 2) to determine which would be the most practical and
viable properties. As a result, some of these may be mobilised more
quickly than others, which will be set out in a phased mobilisation
plan ahead of winter. Officers are currently coordinating
information across council services, working in collaboration with
third sector partners, and will ensure information on access to
warm banks is clearly disseminated.
5.12
The council is currently collating a list of all potential sites
across its services that could be considered and will work through
the above considerations in drawing up proposals. Officers will
also link with CVS organisations, including churches and faith
organisations, to understand how they would wish to engage in this
initiative and understand which organisations will be able to offer
warm banks. Consideration will also be given to reaching out to
statutory partners in the city and businesses to encourage them to
consider similar offers through their estates.
6
Housing Update
6.1
Although the council is currently seeing fewer people in temporary
accommodation, evidence shows that the main reason people are
becoming homeless is they are unable to afford rents in private
rented housing. The Cost of Living crisis means we can expect to
see more households becoming homeless because they can’t
afford to maintain their existing private rented home, as well as
fewer people being able secure alternative accommodation in the
private rented sector. This problem is expected to escalate over
the next 6 months, leading to an increase in the number of people
going into temporary accommodation with the associated financial
impact for the council.
6.2
The recommendations to the report seek to alleviate anticipated
housing pressures through lobbying of government ministers to
introduce rent freezes, something lobbied for by the TUC and the
Warm This Winter campaigns. The recommendations also include
lobbying for the introduction of rent freezes or caps, however,
this would again be very indiscriminate and would almost certainly
benefit far more people who do not need support compared with those
on low incomes. However, it would have the advantage of halting the
increasing unaffordability in general. A more targeted
intervention would be to lobby for both Local Housing Allowances to
keep pace with local rents and for government to consider a top-up
to Universal Credit (e.g. re-introduction of the £20 pw
top-up). Similarly, welfare benefits should be increased in line
with current inflation to provide more protection against Cost of
Living increases. A further important measure would be to
re-introduce the ban on evictions during this exceptional
inflationary period.
6.3
The city council could also support the calls from the LGA to
review other welfare reforms including the Removal of the Spare
Room Subsidy, the Shared Accommodation Rate and the Benefit Cap to
ensure these reforms are not having unintended impacts on
households which are struggling to meet their rental and living
costs.
7
Impact on Business
7.1
The impact of Cost of Living increases not only affects individuals
but there is growing concern for the impact on businesses,
particularly small and medium sized enterprise (SME).
The Economic Strategy Evidence Base
(2018) found that 86% of businesses in Brighton & Hove were
micro, employing 10 or less people. In total 99.7% businesses
in the city are SME, making them the lifeblood of the city’s
economy. These businesses employ a substantial number of
people from across the region. On the back of the pandemic, which
suppressed business activity for most, they are now experiencing
substantial increases in energy and supply chain costs. Unlike
large businesses, there are limitations on the financial shocks
they can absorb and on their ability to cross-subsidise activities.
There is a serious risk of widespread business failure, and more
government support is needed.
7.2
The Brighton Business Improvement District and Brighton & Hove
Economic Partnership (BHEP) are backing the #BusinessSOS
campaign seeking further government support. The campaign warns of
mass closure and redundancies if immediate and effective action
isn’t taken by the Government in the face of spiralling
energy costs that are proving more detrimental than the
pandemic. The Chancellor’s Growth Plan 2022 does not
provide specific new measures of support for businesses, in
particular SMEs. Financial support business improvement districts
across the country are saying more help is needed.
7.3
The #BusinessSOS campaign has a three point plan to support ailing
businesses:
·
Reduce VAT – including dropping the headline rate to
12.5% (from 20%) and business energy bills reduced from 20% to 5%
to match domestic billing.
·
Business rates relief – 100% rate relief until 31
March 2023.
·
Energy rates relief – Discounted kwh price on all
business energy bills.
7.4
Policy & Resources committee is recommended to support the
objectives of the #BusinessSOS campaign through lobbying government
and to press government to consider additional support
including:
·
Suspension of Covid loan debt repayments for up to two years
(with potential eligibility criteria);
·
Reduction of tourism VAT to 5% (i.e. holiday and hospitality
services and packages), and;
·
Introduction of dedicated Business Grant support for SMEs and pubs
to help with costs over the winter (with potential eligibility
criteria).
7.5
It is recommended to explore the potential for joint lobbying with
partners through the Greater Brighton Economic Board subject to
agreement on the suggested areas of support set out
above.
8
Lobbying Government for Urgent and Sustainable Support
8.1
The issues
set out above clearly indicate that a much wider and deeper
response is required from government to avoid widespread impacts on
people’s health & well-being and therefore help to avoid
unmanageable demands on health and social care services, as well as
homelessness and rough sleeping services. Together with the
potential impacts on business, which will suppress the economy and
employment opportunities, there is an urgent need for more targeted
and sustained support through the Cost of Living
crisis.
8.2
A key factor for individuals concerns wages. The Real Living Wage
(RLW) foundation brought forward its announcement for next
year’s RLW (normally announced in November) and set a wage of
£10.90 (a 10.1% increase) outside of London, its largest
annual increase by far. The council’s minimum pay is already
above this level having taken steps to increase the pay of its
lowest paid staff earlier this year. However, the council would
encourage employers in the city to adopt the Real Living Wage as a
minimum given the higher Cost of Living (particularly rents) in the
city. The council recognises that many employers still pay the
National Minimum Wage and Policy & Resources Committee are
therefore recommended to call on government to significantly
increase the minimum wage, at the very least, in line with
September inflation.
8.3
The council and schools (non-teaching staff) are also awaiting the
conclusion of the NJC negotiations for the 2022/23 local government
pay award. The Employers side have offered a flat-rate increase of
£1,925 which offers higher percentage increases at lower pay
grades but this (if agreed) is far in excess of the funding
provided to councils in the 2022/23 local government financial
settlement. Similarly, schools have been notified of a potential 5%
pay increase for Teachers but the indicative 2023/24 Dedicated
Schools Grant settlement offers a funding increase of less than 2%.
Further to a letter from the Leader of the council to the
#BusinessSOS campaign, Kit Malthouse on 23/09, P&R committee,
Policy & Resources Committee is recommended to call on
government to provide adequate funding in 2022/23 and 2023/24 to
support reasonable Cost of Living increases for staff, which would
mitigate the risk of impact on service quality and provision across
schools and council services.
8.4
Together with other concerns highlighted in the report, the Policy
& Resources Committee is recommended to call on government
to:
·
Immediately
increase the minimum wage in line with September
inflation;
·
Fully
fund Cost of Living pay increases for schools and local government
in the current year and 2023/24;
·
Introduce
a rent freeze or cap to reduce the incidence of evictions and
homelessness;
·
Reintroduce
a top-up to Universal Credit of £20 pw until March
2024;
·
Provide
increases in Local Housing Allowances in line with rent increases
and welfare benefits in line with RPI to ensure that they keep pace
with inflation as a minimum, and;
·
Reintroduce
a temporary ban on evictions during this exceptional inflationary
period (until March 2024).
9
Communication and Awareness Campaign
9.1
The council works within a strong network of statutory and CVS
partners who help to identify, target and reach out to the many
different people, groups and households in need.. This is supported
by the use of the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) analytical tool
within the council which analyses various data sets, particularly
welfare benefit data, and also enables correlation with other data
captured by various organisations including the B&H Food
Partnership, Public Health and other CVS organisations (e.g. from
money advice services). However, to maximise the reach of the
advice and financial support available, a strong communications
campaign is being developed to ensure that all households and
agencies across the city know where to turn, or where to advise
those in need to turn, when help is needed.
9.2
Communication of the Cost of Living package of support needs to be
clear, simple and widespread in order for residents to be clear about where they, or their
neighbours, friends and family in need, can get help. The Household
Support Fund guidance allows for some of the fund to be used to
provide information and promote awareness and it is therefore
proposed to deploy £30,000 from the fund to maximise impact.
However, by doubling-up the campaign to also promote charitable
giving to the city’s Cost of Living Charity, it is
anticipated that the investment will more than repay itself in
terms of charitable support for those in need. We will promote
where the donated funds are being spent and demonstrate how the
funds are being used to improve lives.
9.3
Using the funds above, the council will
create and distribute materials about where to seek help, as
well as targeting communications messages to different audiences
e.g. those that have never asked the council or its CVS partners
for support before, or to different age groups. It is proposed to provide amongst others, the
following resources:
·
An
information and advice leaflet to all households in the city
(approx. 118,000 households) – the leaflet will contain key
advice and links regarding support for the Cost of Living as well
as containing promotion of the Cost of Living Charity (Just
Giving);
·
Improving
the digital offer via the council website including wide ranging
information, tips, support and signposting around all issues of
financial vulnerability;
·
Targeted
social media advertising;
·
Bus
and bus shelter advertising over the autumn/winter
period;
·
Print
advertising in local community media;
·
Significant
promotion through BHCC’s social media;
·
Provision
of copy for external press releases and news stories;
·
Internal
news stories and briefing/information for councillors and staff
(many live in the city and are worthy champions for disseminating
information);
·
Partnership
communications taking a city-wide partnership approach, for example
BHCAB and BHFP, sharing communications through their channels and
audiences. Also, through schools, children’s centres and
nurseries which have significant reach.
10
Allocation of the Household Support Fund Tranche 3 (HSF3)
10.1
The government is allocating more money to local authorities in
order for the Household Support Fund (HSF) to continue through the
winter and early spring. The government requires local authorities
to spend all of the allocation by the end of the period and no
funding can be carried over. The current HSF finishes at the end of
September 2022, and HSF3 will start from 1 October through to March
2023. As each HSF tranche is a separate fund with new guidance,
HSF3 will require approval of a new local allocation of the
funds.
10.2
The first HSF tranche was focused on Covid support but the second
tranche was re-focused to Cost of Living support which will
continue to the focus of HSF3. The second tranche of HSF was used
to provide the following:
·
Free
School Meals to cover the school holiday
periods ;
·
Enhanced
funding for the Local Discretionary Social Fund
(LDSF);
·
Funding
for the Brighton &Hove Food Partnership
(BHFP);
·
Funding
for the voluntary sector to give practical help directly to their
service users;
·
Increased
funding for Discretionary Council Tax Reduction (DCTR) and help
with Council Tax arrears;
·
Discretionary
Council Tax fund for financially vulnerable households with
cyclical arrears issues who are not in receipt of Council Tax
Reduction (CTR) and therefore cannot be awarded
DCTR;
·
A
fund for households who were struggling financially, but not in
receipt of means tested benefits, also known as ‘Just About
Managing’ (JAM) households.
10.3
On a household-by-household basis, this means that vulnerable
residents were assisted with a mixture of food vouchers, meals,
help with fuel bills and other essential items. The various
Cost of Living working groups (see paragraph 3.1) and the Cost of
Living Officer Group have reviewed and discussed these allocations
and there is general agreement that these allocations have worked
well, have enabled widespread reach through a range of appropriate
settings and avoid, as far as possible with the funds available,
lots of re-referrals between different agencies and services.
10.4
For the second tranche of HSF, the government made a key change to
the guidance, stipulating that one third of the fund must be spent
on support to pensioners. Due to the fact that the local
population of pensioners is less than 14%, this presented
challenges in terms of being able to spend the required proportion
on pensioners and still support other residents where demand
continued to be high. The HSF was therefore supplemented by
one-off council resources in order to maintain the balance of
support to non-pensioner households, particularly in relation to
the provision of vouchers for Free School Meal families.
10.5
The full amount of HSF tranche 2, including the pensioner element,
will be spent. However, this has necessarily been achieved by
disproportionately applying financial support to pensioners over
non-pensioners and delivering financial payments in bulk to
pensioner households on Housing Benefit or eligible for Council Tax
Reduction discount. In contrast, demand for support of
non-pensioner households continues to rise and has increased over
the summer. There was a similar position across many local
authorities which resulted in significant lobbying against this
restriction and, fortunately, this appears to have been heeded with
the draft HSF3 guidance indicating no such restrictions.
10.6
The government published draft guidance for the third HSF on 26th
August and announced the funding allocation on 22 September which
confirms that it will be the same value as tranches 1 and 2; that
is £2.140m. For HSF3, there is a new requirement within the
guidance that states at least some of the fund must be made
available through an application-based scheme, so that households
in need are able to self-refer themselves in for support. The
committee is advised that BHCC already has this system in place
through its Local Discretionary Social Fund (LDSF)
scheme.
10.7
It is proposed that HSF3 should broadly follow the previous method
of allocation which was seen as successful but with the added
advantage of not having to disproportionately support pensioners.
Assuming the same level of funding, the proposed allocation is as
follows:
|
Ref
|
Proposed
Support:
|
Allocation
|
|
1
|
Free
School Meals for 6 weeks (Christmas, Oct and Feb half terms, and
Easter 2023), continuing with £15 per child, including early
years and sixth form
|
£0.810m
|
|
2
|
Local
Discretionary Social Fund (LDSF)
|
£0.640m
|
|
3
|
Community
organisations
|
£0.130m
|
|
4
|
Sustainable
energy solutions (e.g. BHESCO, LEAP and similar)
|
£0.050m
|
|
5
|
Warmth
for Wellbeing, including £15k for staffing and extra
admin
|
£0.115m
|
|
6
|
Addition
to Council Tax debt and Discretionary Council Tax
Reduction funds
|
£0.040m
|
|
7
|
LDSF
staffing - 2 x Assessment Officers, LDSF Admin x 1, Community
Hub Officer x 1
|
£0.065m
|
|
8
|
Scheme to
support JAM households (Local Lift-Up Scheme)
|
£0.040m
|
|
9
|
BH
Food Partnership
|
£0.040m
|
|
10
|
Carers
Centre allocation
|
£0.020m
|
|
11
|
Food
club and providers of delivered meals
|
£0.060m
|
|
12
|
Children’s
Centres
|
£0.060m
|
|
13
|
Family
Children and Learning – pods / section 17
payments
|
£0.040m
|
|
14
|
Cost of Living
communications and charitable giving campaign
|
£0.030m
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
£2.140m
|
10.8
One of the challenges of managing the HSF is that the fund is not
large enough to sustain any individual household throughout the
Cost of Living crisis. For example, it cannot act as a regular
income supplement, even though many households are unable to meet
the increased Cost of Living each month.
10.9
In this regard, services across the council and the voluntary
sector are reporting that households are presenting multiple times
either at the same service, or at different services. Whilst there
is an aim to avoid duplication of help, there is nothing in the HSF
guidance to prohibit multiple awards of support. The pressure
across all sectors is increasing and the extent to which this
demand will rise during the winter is currently unknown and will be
very dependent on other government support and measures.
10.10 The deficit in
regular household income is a national policy issue, but there will
need to be a considered approach to a citywide strategy beyond the
ending of the HSF, because the financial deficit for vulnerable
households in the city will almost certainly continue beyond this
period. However, councils themselves are severely constrained by
resource limitations and therefore government needs to provide
sustainable funding through local government if it is to be able to
provide a continued and effective local welfare response.
Commentary on
Proposed Allocations
10.11 It is proposed
that Free School Meals vouchers will continue to be provided in the
school holidays to support children in low-income households. The
proposed allocation of £0.810m will cover 6 weeks (Christmas,
two half terms and Easter) at the standard amount of £15 per
child, in line with previous programmes. As Easter falls on 31
March (the deadline for spending HSF3) it is considered safest to
provide an allocation for Easter in case further support is not
forthcoming in April.
10.12 Demand for help
from the LDSF has increased significantly throughout the last 12
months. This fund is one of the primary sources of crisis help for
households in the city, providing help such as:
·
Food
vouchers and vouchers for household items
·
Support
for the payment of energy bills
·
Furniture
·
White
goods
·
Clothing
and bedding (and beds)
10.13 The introduction
of the HSF brought much-needed additional funding for LDSF.
However, it also coincided with the Cost of Living crisis
intensifying, and with the withdrawal of the £20 Universal
Credit top-up that supported households during Covid restrictions.
The corresponding impact on the LDSF team was that expenditure
increased from an average £0.021m per month to in excess of
£0.100m per month and over 400 applications per
month.
10.14 It is
anticipated that through the winter months, LDSF demand could rise
even higher and the annual expenditure could exceed £1.2m. As
a comparison, the running budget for LDSF, pre-Covid, without
additional HSF funding was £0.180m per annum. The proposed
allocation of £0.640m will enable the LDSF to maintain
monthly expenditure of around £0.100m throughout the winter
months up until 31 March 2023. However, it may not adequately
support an increase in demand above the current
levels.
10.15 Due to the
increase of applications, it is not possible for the LDSF and
Community Hub teams to process awards within a reasonable timeframe
without additional resources. The suggested allocation therefore
includes an amount for continued provision of staffing on the LDSF
team and in the Community Hub, who deal with JAM
cases. Without this, cases will take an inordinate amount of
time to turn around resulting in backlogs, a slow distribution of
funds, and a significant increase in complaints.
10.16 The HSF3
guidance emphasises relieving the financial pressure mounting from
the increase in energy costs, making reference to those who have
not received support from other targeted government financial
support schemes such as the additional Cost of Living
payment. However, the guidance does not ringfence or make any
further directives in this regard. In this respect, a £0.100m
allocation from HSF3 is proposed for the Warmth for Wellbeing
programme. There is also a proposed £0.050m allocation for
energy efficiency organisations/programmes such as BHESCo and LEAP.
However, it should be noted that the funding provided for HSF3
cannot provide for widespread payments to offset the effects of the
increasing energy price cap.
10.17 Support is
included again for a wide range of organisations in the Community
and Voluntary Sector. However, the sector is reporting back that
they are also experiencing an increase of demand and pressure on
their staff. In addition, there are mounting funding pressures for
operational costs, including premises and energy bills. In both
previous HSF programmes, partners in the voluntary sector have
ensured that help reaches parts of the community that may not
otherwise present themselves to the council. Also, in providing
funds to the voluntary sector, recommended at £0.130m, this
provides greater assurance that the HSF will reach groups and
households with protected characteristics.
10.18 HSF is part of a
broader funding solution for the overall food strategy. Officers
have consulted with representatives from the Brighton & Hove
Food Partnership to ensure that there is adequate coverage for food
provision. The recommended allocation to BHFP is £0.040m with
a higher amount for other organisations and food clubs recommended
(£0.070m) based on feedback from BHFP.
10.19 Council services
delivering HSF funds will use all available data and analytics
tools (EFN survey/LIFT/national/DWP info) to ensure that those
groups most impacted by the cost-of-living crisis are reached
through the food response. This would include identifying key
at-risk groups such as those housebound, with disability or
long-term health conditions, refugees & asylum seekers, for
example.
11
Analysis and consideration of alternative
options
11.1
Including FSM vouchers through the Easter holidays adds £270m
(an additional 50% of the total FSM budget, or 12.5% of the total
HSF budget) to the cost of providing FSM vouchers. Redistributing
the funding to include this has meant reducing the allocations for
key areas such as LDSF, Families, Children & Learning (FCL) and
CVS, all of which provide a wider coverage of need throughout our
community. Their reach is therefore reduced, but all
indications are that the need for financial support will be at its
greatest through the colder winter months, prior to the Easter
holidays in April. An alternative is therefore not to provide
for Easter 2023 and redistribute funds to other lines
accordingly.
11.2
Another alternative would be to change the Free School Meal
methodology in common with some other Local Authorities. Whilst
some have stopped providing Free School Meals entirely, others have
started giving a lower lump sum for the whole six months to
families who qualify for Free School Meals, instead of giving
weekly amounts. In some authorities, this has enabled funding of
other support initiatives. However, feedback from the voluntary
sector and from recipients is that there is a high demand from
families for the vouchers, as it is an expectation that has been
set by successive HSF schemes.
11.3
The possibility of bulk payments to households has also been
considered, either to compensate for households who have not
received any Cost of Living support (i.e. those not on one of seven
qualifying means-tested benefits), or to help with energy payments.
It would not be possible for the HSF budget to stretch far enough
to cover the cost of such a scheme. It would mean introducing an
element of differentiation between households to determine which
ones receive an award. It would also limit the ability to respond
flexibly to newly arising needs from households that are falling
into difficulty for the first time. Feedback from services
including the LDSF team is that they are now seeing an increasing
number of applications from such households. It is likely that this
new cohort will grow in the coming months.
12
Community engagement and consultation
12.1
As with previous HSF programmes, this is a short-term emergency
scheme and there is no practical way of conducting a full public
consultation in the limited timescale between the government
confirming the grant conditions and the implementation of the
scheme. However, as with the previous two schemes, officers have
called upon partners across the council and in the voluntary sector
to help devise the proposed allocation plan. Also we will
ensure the scheme is promoted to the public through the
aforementioned communications plan, once the scheme has been
approved by this committee.
12.2
Representatives of the voluntary sector and a cross-section of
council services met on 25 August 2022 as part of the Welfare
Support & Financial Assistance Cost of Living forum. A
follow-up meeting was held on 7 September 2022. Attendees included
representatives from Community Works, the Moneyworks and Advice
Matters partnerships, and council services including Housing,
Families, Children & Learning, and Welfare, Revenues and
Business Support. As noted earlier in the report there was general
approval for following the same broad approach as the previous HSF
scheme.
12.3
Officers also met with the Food Policy Co-Ordinator and BHFP to
discuss the approach to funding for the food partnership. The
feedback was that it would be more effective to channel funding
directly to the main foodbanks and organisations involved with food
support, although the food partnership would still need funding to
support harder to reach communities and
organisations. However, if HSF3 funding is greater than
previous HSF allocations, this provides a clear steer on how to
allocate additional funding.
13
Conclusion
13.1
HSF3 will provide much needed support to households across the city
during the winter and beyond and this scheme is one of the key
mechanisms that the council can employ to support its most
vulnerable residents.
14
Financial implications
14.1
The Household Support Fund tranche 3 was announced on 22 September
and is set at the same value as the two previous tranches
(£2.140m). Final guidance is awaited but the draft guidance
indicates that HSF3 is unrestricted, within the overall objectives
of the fund, and can therefore be allocated to any households in
need, in any proportion. It can also be used to support limited
administrative and technical resources and staffing, as well as
communication and awareness resources. It must be expended by 31
March 2022 and cannot be carried forward. Provided that
payment-over of funds to the voucher provider for the Easter 2023
holiday period is made prior to 31 March 2023, this can be funded
from HSF3.
Finance officer
consulted: James
Hengeveld Date
consulted: 22/09/22
15
Legal implications
15.1
Policy & Resources Committee has delegated authority for the
financial and other resources of the Council. It is the
correct body to receive this report and to note and agree the
actions referred to in the recommendations including the allocation
of the specified funds.
Lawyer consulted: Elizabeth
Culbert Date consulted: 26
September 2022
16
Equalities implications
16.1
Some protected groups and those with lower incomes will be
over-represented in the households intended to be supported by the
fund. The proposed allocations therefore attempt to address and
mitigate these impacts by providing targeted funding. More details
on the impacts and mitigations are contained in Appendix 1 of this
report.
17
Sustainability implications
17.1
There are specific sustainability implications around fuel and
energy. In particular, the council’s retrofit programmes,
programmes such as Warmth for Wellbeing, and the proposed support
to organisations such as BHESCo and LEAP, to provide advice and
support on how to save energy or improve energy efficiency, will
all contribute to carbon reduction.
18
Public health implications:
18.1
There are specific Public Health implications around food and
energy poverty. The health risks for certain groups are
significantly higher from living in a cold home i.e. older people
and people with disabilities and long term health conditions. Often
these groups will incur a higher energy cost due to these issues
and therefore not adequately heating their homes will have a
disproportionate effect on health. The council’s response to
the Cost of Living situation, including its core budgets for local
welfare assistance, working with partners and CVS organisations to
provide support and advice, lobbying and recommendations to
government, and local allocation and management of government
support such as the Household Support Fund all contribute to
minimising negative public health impacts.
Supporting
Documentation
Appendices
1.
Equality Impact
Assessment
2.
Warm
Banks considerations