North Yorkshire County Council

Children & Young Peoples Services

Executive Members

21^st March 2023

Supporting Families Programme

Report of the Corporate Director – Children & Young People’s Service

1.0	Purpose of report
1.1	To seek agreement for NYCC to sign up to deliver the Supporting Families Programme in 2023/2024 and 2024/2025, which will allow the Chief Financial Officer to authorise the participation of NYCC in the programme. This will enable the local authority to receive the allocated funding.

2.0       Issues

2.1       The government programme Supporting families, previously known as Troubled families, programme was launched in 2014 and NYCC has successfully fulfilled the requirements of the programme since that time. Each year, the local authority is required to sign up to the programme and accept the grant.

3.0       Performance Implications               

3.1       For each year of the current phase of the programme, the funding is provided in two streams; a one-off payment of £1,081,000 and a payment by results payment of £800 for each family where the outcomes of the programme have been achieved, through the interventions provided by the Children & Families Service.

3.2 The Government programme sets each local authority targets for the number of families that can be claimed for (see details below). The full guidance for the Supporting Families Programme 2022-2025 can be found here.

3.3       Local authorities’ Internal Auditors will continue to verify successful outcomes before they are submitted. A group of local authority Internal Auditors have worked with the national Supporting Families Team to lay out four guiding principles (collaboration, proportionality, best evidence available and communication) to inform audit practice and ensure that the right balance between rigour and proportionality is struck in the wider interests of the programme’s delivery and value for money objectives. Full details can be found in the guidance document referenced above.

4.0       Financial Implications

4.1       NYCC targets and funding are as follows:

2022/23 = £1, 081,000 advance funding + £800 per claim. Target was 470 (which has already been achieved) so for 2022/23 the money we received in total is £1,457,000

2023/24 = £1, 081,000 advance funding + £800 per claim. Target is 761 so for 2023/24 the money we will receive (if NYCC meets the target) in total is £1,689,800

2024/25 = £1, 081,000 advance funding + £800 per claim. Target is 941 so for 2024/25 the money we will receive (if NYCC meets the target) in total is £1,833,800

5.0       Legal Implications

5.1       As the Children and Families service has been signed up to the programme since 2014, the service delivery is fully embedded within the Early Help service. Contract needs to be signed by 24^th March 2023. The sign-up conditions are set out in the attached letter from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to the Chief Executive.

6.0       Reasons For Recommendations

6.1       The programme has been delivered since 2014 as part of the Early Help service. The programme brings in a financial reward (see section 6). The funding goes into the Council’s reserves.

7.0	Recommendation(s)
7.1	To agree that NYCC signs up to the Supporting Families Programme for 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.

Corporate Director – Children and Young People Service

County Hall

Northallerton

15 March 2023

Author of report – Sheena Chandler

Presenter of report – Barbara Merrygold

Background Documents – Conditions of Funding