Subject:
Brighton &
Hove Fairness Fund and Household Support Fund
2025-26
Date of
meeting: Thursday, 20
March 2025
Report
of:
Cabinet Member
for Finance & City Regeneration
Contact
Officer:
Name: Paul
Ross-Dale, Welfare, Revenues & Business Support
Manager
Email: Paul.Ross-Dale@Brighton-Hove.gov.uk
Ward(s)
affected: (All
Wards);
Key
Decision:
Yes
Reason(s)
Key: Expenditure which
is, or the making of savings which are, significant having regard
to the expenditure of the City Council’s budget, namely above
£1,000,000 and Is significant in terms of its effects on
communities living or working in an area comprising two or more
electoral divisions (wards).
For general
release
1.1
To approve the allocation of funds from the Brighton & Hove
Fairness Fund (BHFF), incorporating allocation of the Household
Support Fund (HSF) which the government has confirmed will be
extended to cover the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.
1.2
The allocation of these funds links to the council’s Cost of
Living Action Plan, approved by full Council on 28 March 2024,
which in turn is part of the Brighton & Hove City Council Plan
2023-27 to support ‘a fair and inclusive city’.
1.3
The proposed allocation of the funds aims to provide a balanced
spread of investment in prevention and advisory services, community
& voluntary support services, as well as emergency hardship
relief. The funds work in collaboration with other council services
and complement other local welfare assistance including Council Tax
Reduction and Discretionary Housing Payments. The focus is on
helping to reduce financial, food and fuel poverty.
2
Recommendations
2.1
That Cabinet approves the approach set out in Section 3 including
the proposed allocations of funding from the Brighton & Hove
Fairness Fund and the Household Support Fund 2025/26.
2.2
That Cabinet delegates authority to the S151 Chief Financial
Officer, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance
& City Regeneration, to make minor alterations to the
allocation of the Household Support Fund in order to maximise its
use in accordance with the relevant time constraints.
2.3
That Cabinet receives a report at the end of the 2025-26 year,
outlining how the Fairness Fund and Household Support Fund has been
utilised and what outcomes have been achieved as a result.
3
Context and background information
3.1
Since October 2022, the
Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has provided the Household
Support Fund (HSF) to Local Authorities, initially with the
intention of supporting vulnerable households struggling through
the pandemic and then subsequently the Cost of Living crisis. HSF
has generally been provided to local authorities in 6-month
tranches, with varying terms and conditions, but the forthcoming
tranche covers a 12-month period aligned to financial year
2025/26.
3.2
The allocation for Brighton and Hove is £3.772m, to cover the
period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. This is a reduction relative
to the amount received by the council in 2024/25, which was
£4.280m. The fund is ringfenced to this period and cannot be
carried forward.
3.3
The council created a Cost of Living Action Plan in 2024, and in
line with the core strategy of combating poverty, introduced the
new Brighton & Hove Fairness Fund (BHFF) as a mitigation
against the possibility of the Household Support Fund ending. The
Fairness Fund draws together a mix of council resources,
reallocated funding, donations and paid partnerships with energy
companies, as well as the Household Support Fund, to provide as
much support as possible to low-income households impacted by the
higher cost of living, particularly housing costs.
3.4
Total funding of £4.323m is expected to be available
including £3.772m for the HSF component and £0.551m
available from Fairness Fund resources.
3.5
One of the actions arising from the Cost of Living Action Plan was
the establishment of the member-led Poverty Reduction Steering
Group (PRSG). This group has seen and discussed the core allocation
principles outlined in this report and endorses the approach
taken.
3.6
There is a balance to be struck between crisis and prevention work,
but, having consulted widely, it is the council’s strategy to
move the city’s Welfare Support response towards a stronger
prevention model aimed at achieving more sustainable outcomes for
households. This approach is also endorsed by the PRSG and is core
to the Cost of Living Action Plan. By focusing on prevention, we
can help households to find longer-term solutions and reduce or
avoid the need for future crisis or hardship support. This aligns
with the intended direction of travel within the advice sector and
with other strategies, for example, the recently adopted Food
Strategy within the city.
3.7
However, it is recognised that there is still a high demand for
crisis support, in the form of food help, assistance with fuel
bills, access to household items and other essentials. Feedback
from the organisations supported by HSF within the community
indicate that they are reliant on HSF to provide this practical
help and meet demands. There also continues to be a high number of
applications to the Local Discretionary Social Fund (LDSF) and a
backlog of cases.
3.8
Providing help for short periods provides some support but is
unlikely to help resolve longer term debt or financial issues. All
parts of the sector know that investing more in casework and advice
to help people manage debt, save energy and fuel, find lower cost
contracts for goods and services, or apply for welfare benefits
they may be entitled to is much more likely to help in the longer
term.
3.9
The proposed allocations of the combined BHFF and HSF resources in
2025/26 are summarised in the following table. The rationale for
the proposed allocations is discussed below.
Combined BHFF and
HSF Allocations 2025/26
|
Area of
support
|
Amount
(£)
|
|
Free
school meals in the school holidays *
|
1,023,500
|
|
Local
Discretionary Social Fund (LDSF)
|
565,322
|
|
LDSF
staffing (Assessment and Advice)
|
290,000
|
|
Homelessness
Prevention and Housing Advice
|
500,000
|
|
Welfare Advisory
Support
|
126,000
|
|
Specific Welfare
Advisory and Employment support aligned with homelessness
prevention
|
48,000
|
|
Older
people (Brighton and Hove Fuel Payment)
|
47,000
|
|
Community Hub
Resource (for older people campaign)
|
37,000
|
|
Youth
Advice Centre
|
108,000
|
|
Lift Up scheme (for Just About Managing
households)
|
80,000
|
|
MAP
Energyworks
|
79,000
|
|
BHESCO (energy
support and advice)
|
35,000
|
|
Food
and essentials through community organisations
|
675,000
|
|
Impact
Initiatives (April to September 2025)
|
32,500
|
|
Contingency for
winter demand and changes
|
32,000
|
|
Civic
Leadership Programme
|
67,000
|
|
Community Kitchen
projects
|
30,000
|
|
Period
Poverty
|
15,000
|
|
Discretionary
Council Tax Reduction Scheme
|
150,000
|
|
Family
Hubs
|
80,000
|
|
Children’s
Services Pods / S17 payments
|
70,000
|
|
Fairness Fund for
People and Place
|
140,000
|
|
Fairness Fund/HSF
management and support
|
53,000
|
|
LIFT
data dashboard (Low Income Family Tracker)
|
40,000
|
|
TOTAL
|
4,323,322
|
*
Note, Easter 2025 is already funded from HSF 2024/25.
3.10
To recognise the lower level of HSF funding next year and continue
the move toward a more prevention-focused approach, the LDSF team
has already had to adjust the award criteria. The team is focusing
more on cases where financial vulnerability is highest, and many of
the awards made are tied in with the applicant accepting a referral
for more in-depth advice. LDSF support will continue at a lower
level but this in itself requires more support as there will be
more households ineligible for vouchers who will be in need of
support and advice. Paradoxically, the lower fund level therefore
requires more trained officers to provide support and
assistance.
3.11
Vouchers for Free School Meal eligible children during school
holiday periods have been seen as an important and effective guard
against food poverty for low income households. However, this
scheme requires a substantial proportion of the available total
funding and with the lower level of funds available, a revision of
the scheme is proposed for 2025/26 to ensure resources can continue
to support wider initiatives and objectives. However, it has been
possible to fund the Easter holidays from flexibility within the
previous HSF which is of significant help in maintaining the scheme
in 2025/26. Support for Free School Meal vouchers in the school
holidays is proposed to be provided at the following rates:
·
May
25, October 25 and February 26 Half terms - £10 per
child
·
Summer Holiday
period - £50 per child
·
Christmas Holiday
period - £25 per child
Note: As
aforementioned, Easter 2025 has been paid for from the previous HSF
allocation, at a rate of £30 per child for the full two
weeks.
3.12
In previous years, temporary HSF funding paid for £15 per
child per week in the school holidays. The reduced funding and
increased spending pressures mean that the equivalent weekly amount
for 2025-26 would be the same for Easter, but between £8 and
£12.50 per child per week for the other holidays. However, it
should be noted that the government has now confirmed, separately
to HSF, a continuation of funding for the Holiday Activities and
Food (HAF) scheme, which will now continue throughout the 2025/26
year. HAF provides a range of activities, including food, for
children through the Easter, Summer and Christmas school holidays.
Also, access to food support and crisis help continues to be
available across the city, funded by the HSF.
3.13
£0.500m is proposed to be allocated to Homelessness
Prevention and Housing Advice. This will enable a new approach to
linking welfare advisory and employment support services more
closely with Housing Advisors. The council has identified a
spending pressure of £4.3m across homelessness in 2025/26
where demand is expected to increase for preventing homelessness.
This HSF allocation will help to mitigate that pressure, as it will
enable the recruitment of Housing Advisor roles that would
otherwise have been unsupported.
3.14
The funding will also allow for the continuation of the Youth
Advice Centre’s Housing Support work, which the council was
already committed to until the end of June. However, the alignment
with HSF provides a new opportunity. Officers from Housing and
Welfare, Revenues and Business Support (WRBS) are working to create
a model that will enhance the service provided and contribute to
the prevention of homelessness.
3.15
A new Landlord enquiry line will also be developed, enabling
landlords to contact the council directly if they are worried that
a tenant is falling behind with their rent and may benefit from
pro-active assistance and advice.
3.16
Elsewhere in the proposed allocation plan, allowance is made for
additional Welfare Rights Advisory hours. This will enable joint
working where benefits advice needs to be available alongside
Housing Advisors for advice and support for clients. It is
anticipated that this will be focused around cases that do not fall
under the relief duty, but are nonetheless in need of support to
maximise their income from Welfare Benefits and employment
support.
3.17
£0.126m is allocated for the council to continue to provide
Welfare Support and Advice at existing levels, which it would
otherwise have had to withdraw. This will allow for trained staff
in the Welfare, Revenues & Business Support (WRBS) team to
continue to provide essential preventive support and advice.
3.18
Further to the commitment to June, £0.108m one-off additional
support for the Youth Advice Centre is proposed. In feedback
gathered from the Advice sector and other Voluntary Sector
organisations, concerns were raised about the potential loss of
funding for YAC over the next year. However, the HSF can cover the
costs of retaining existing advisors at YAC.
3.19
With this funding, YAC will be able to continue posts that comprise
a mixture of Housing Support and general support and advice roles.
In advance of April, officers from Housing and WRBS will meet with
YAC to agree the best way to deliver a service to young people that
prevents the likelihood of them becoming homeless.
3.20
The following are also proposed to be supported in line with
previous allocations of HSF that have worked well and ensure that
people and households presenting through different routes can be
supported:
·
£0.150m for
Discretionary Council Tax Reduction, topping up Council Tax
Reduction for those most in need.
·
£0.070m for
Family Hubs – vouchers and caseworking with
families.
·
£0.060m for
Children’s Services (Section 17 payments).
·
£0.114m on
Energy support programmes, including advice provided by MAP+ and
energy efficiency help and visits from BHESCO.
·
£0.080m
“Lift up” scheme with Money Advice Plus, for households
that do not qualify for benefits, and are ‘just about
managing’.
·
£0.040m for the Low Income Family Tracker dashboard –
this software solution enables the council to identify, track and
carry out proactive campaigns for vulnerable cohorts in the
city.
·
£0.050m support for older people (Brighton and Hove Fuel
Payment)
·
£0.150m
Fairness Fund for People and Place, a programme of financial
support for grass roots community organisations
3.21
Food support in the city continues to be a priority, given evidence
of continued high demands. £0.675m is set aside to distribute
to over 50 community organisations and food projects, for food and
other essentials.
3.22
Impact Initiatives provide on the day voucher support and
signposting towards community help. The council has provided
funding for the service since the pandemic, when the function was
particularly relevant for residents who were clinically vulnerable
and had to shield. The funding is no longer being provided by the
General Fund, so an HSF allocation of £0.033m has been made
to continue the service for six months until the end of September.
During this time, officers will work with Impact Initiatives and
the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership (BHFP) to establish what the
future of such support should be.
3.23
A modest budget of £0.032m is proposed to be set aside for
emerging needs changing demand. It is recognised that the
council’s approach to the Cost of Living could evolve during
the year, particularly as winter 2025-26 is still some way in the
future. Priorities will be reassessed in August via the Poverty
Reduction Steering Group and decisions on allocations will be made
in accordance with recommendation 2.2
3.24
In line with the council’s commitment to building a fair an
inclusive city, it is proposed that £0.067m of the Fairness
Fund will support a Civic Leadership Programme in partnership with
Operation Black Vote. The aims of the programme are to promote
diversity across civic leadership roles across the city.
4.1
By utilsing the full amount of funding available from the Brighton
& Hove Fairness Fund and the Household Support Fund the
proposed allocations aim to provide a balanced spread of advice,
prevention and hardship support. This is based on what has worked
well before together with a recognition that prevention is
preferable and effort should be increasingly focused on helping
households into a more sustainable situation.
4.2
Note that the severe funding and demand pressures on the General
Fund budget mean that minimum support from the HSF of £0.290m
for Welfare Support and Advice officers, and £0.500m for
homelessness prevention and housing advisers is required as assumed
in the approved General Fund budget, otherwise these
services/pressures will need to be reduced or withdrawn.
4.3
Changing the balance of allocations is possible and different
methods of allocation for school holidays are possible but the
proposed allocations attempt to sustain effective support, maintain
a diverse range of access routes, provide more preventive advice
and support, and enable a number of innovative initiatives.
5
Community engagement and consultation
5.1
The Welfare Support and Financial Assistance Board met throughout
the previous rounds of HSF, with attendees from multiple services
and organisations providing welfare support in the city, including
the advice sector and the BHFP. During these meetings, current
demand was discussed, alongside forthcoming HSF proposals.
5.2
The Poverty Reduction Steering Group met on 12 February 2025 and
discussed the core principles contained in this report. There was a
full discussion of the potential impact of different choices and
broad agreement with the proposed allocations of the Fairness Fund
and HSF.
5.3
Specific funding meetings were held with a broad cross-section of
the voluntary and advice sectors, including representation from the
Advice Matters and Moneyworks partnerships, Community Works and
BHFP, alongside some individual organisations and services within
the council. The overall feedback was that whilst moving to a
prevention model is the right approach, there is still high demand
for crisis support, and the citywide infrastructure will operate
more effectively if change is managed incrementally. The feeling
was that 2025/26 could and should be viewed as a transitional year.
This will also enable more time to understand the
government’s longer-term funding intentions around localised
welfare support.
5.4
Key concerns included the funding situation for YAC and to ensure
that there was adequate support for disabilities. There was support
for changes to LDSF criteria and the corresponding reduction in
LDSF spend. It was reported that there is adequate provision for
energy support in other funding bids so this element can be reduced
somewhat in the new HSF allocations without impacting available
support.
6
Financial implications
6.1
The funding sources set out in this report are based on the best
information currently available. The total of £0.551m from
the Fairness Fund is available but the Household Support Fund
2025/26 is yet to be confirmed. Based on the announced national
total and previous HSF distributions, the council is expected to
receive £3.772m.
6.2
The report proposes delegating authority to the S151 Chief
Financial Officer following consultation with the Cabinet Member
for Finance & City Regeneration to make minor alterations to
the allocation of the HSF in order to maximise its use in
accordance with the relevant time constraints and any change to the
final allocation from government.
6.2
Finance officer consulted: Nigel Manvell Date consulted:
22/2/25
7.1
The key legal and governance implications are to ensure that the
funds are distributed in accordance with the funding criteria to
avoid any claw back or loss of funding. A clear record of the
decision making and the detail of the allocations made is required.
The recommended report back to Cabinet at the end of 25-26 year
will assist with ensuring this is in place.
7.2
Lawyer consulted: Elizabeth Culbert 28.02.25
8
Equalities implications
8.1
The Equalities Impact Assessment from the previous Fairness Fund
and HSF report has been reviewed. Whilst there are no substantive
changes to the main conditions impacting those with protected
characteristics, some changes in the allocation plan could have an
impact.
8.2
Overall, the Fairness Fund and HSF has a positive impact on
protected characteristics. Significant elements of funding are
directed towards grass-roots and community based organisations,
strengthening local support networks for people with protected
characteristics and has a positive impact on creation of access and
equity. This is particularly the case for disabled,
D/deaf/deafened, blind, migrant/refugee/ asylum seeker, QTIPOC,
TNBI and Black and Racially Minoritised communities.
8.3
The restructuring of the Free School Meal vouchers in the school
holidays means that those who are most financially disadvantaged
will be impacted disproportionately. However, mitigation exists in
the form of the Holiday Activities Fund, for which take up could be
increased. Furthermore, HSF is distributed widely to community
organisations across the city, where families in need can access
help directly, in addition to the availability of the LDSF for the
most financially vulnerable. Both the HSF and HAF are temporary
funding and so the impact will have to be re-examined in light of
the government’s future funding plans, when known.
9.1
There are no direct sustainability implications arising from this
report however there is funding support for energy advice and fuel
poverty that is aimed at helping households to achieve greater
energy efficiency or reduce energy use.
10
Health and Wellbeing Implications:
10.1
Allocations of the Fairness Fund and HSF are aimed at supporting
the Cost of Living Plan and reducing the impacts of poverty for low
income households alongside supporting advice services (food, fuel
and financial) to help people reach a more sustainable position.
This has significant health and wellbeing benefits as poverty and
debt are known to be significant contributors to ill-health,
particularly mental health issues which has well researched links
to debt. The HSF will also be used to underpin continued investment
in homelessness prevention which is also a significant contributor
to poor health outcomes.
11
Conclusion
11.1
The recommendations in this report, if approved, will enable a
continued response to the challenges low income households are
facing within the resources available and in line with the Cost of
Living Action Plan. It will complement other local welfare
assistance such as the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and
Discretionary Housing Payments and will support other preventive
services including Public Health services, homeless prevention
services and community & voluntary sector support.
Supporting
Documentation
Appendices
1.
Equality Impact
Assessment
