North Yorkshire Council
Children & Young Peoples Services
Executive Members
18 February 2025
Holiday Activity & Food Programme – Grant Acceptance 2025/26
Report of the Assistant Chief Executive – Local Engagement
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To seek Executive Member approval to accept a grant in the sum of £1,420,280 from the Department for Education to deliver the national Holiday Activities & Food Programme (HAF) for North Yorkshire in 2025/26.
2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 The HAF grant is offered by the Department for Education to all upper tier authorities in England for the purpose of providing a programme of holiday activities and food for school age children, including those with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) during the main school holiday periods of Easter, Summer and Christmas.
2.2 Free places are offered to all means tested free school meal eligible school age children up to the age of 16. The programme should be inclusive and accessible and will include non-subsidised fee paying places.
2.3 Provision should be delivered in line with the grant criteria:
· Easter - 4 hours per day for 4 days
· Summer – 4 hours per day for 16 days
· Christmas – 4 hours per day for 4 days
However, Councils do have the flexibility to enable providers to deliver in shorter or longer time blocks. This is particularly helpful for secondary age provision.
2.4 Local Authorities have flexibility regarding how the provision is delivered and in North Yorkshire the programme is delivered as a partnership between the Council and a consortia of local community based providers.
2.5 The North Yorkshire programme – FEAST – is coordinated in partnership with North Yorkshire Together (North Yorkshire Sport, North Yorkshire Youth and Rural Arts) with North Yorkshire Sport being the lead provider.
2.6 2025/26 will be the 5th year the programme has been delivered in North Yorkshire.
3.0 ACCEPTANCE OF GRANT
3.1 The grant offer for 2025/26 is £1,420,280. This is marginally higher than the grant received in 2024/25 (£1,410,570).
3.2 The final costs and attendance numbers for 2024/25 are still being finalised and administered however the programme grant for this year is projected to be underspent by circa £58k although attendances were higher than previous years.
3.3 The grant is offered to the Council for the following purpose only:
“…for local authorities to make free places at holiday clubs available in the Easter, summer and Christmas school holidays in 2025. This will be made available to children in the local authority area who are eligible for and receive benefits-related free school meals.”
3.4 The proper administration of the grant is carried out in line with Council financial procedure rules by the Head of Localities as the cost centre manager.
3.5 A Programme Board governs the delivery of the programme with representation from Finance, Early Help, Public Health and Stronger Communities alongside external partners.
4.0 CONTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL PRIORITIES
4.1 This programme was established to support children in families on low incomes by providing free holiday activities and a meal over the main school holiday periods who would receive free school meals during term time.
4.2 This contributes to the following Council Health & Wellbeing priorities:
· People are supported to have a good quality of life and enjoy active and healthy lifestyles
· Reduced variations in health through tackling the root causes of inequality
· In times of hardship, support is provided to those that need it most.
5.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
5.1 The decision sought is binary, whether to either accept or decline the HAF Programme grant offered by the Dept for Education.
5.2 If the Council declines to grant the FEAST programme will be withdrawn in North Yorkshire for 2024/25.
6.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
6.1 The programme is fully funded by the Department for Education and no additional costs are incurred by North Yorkshire Council.
6.2 Any unspent grant at the end of the financial year is returned to the Department for Education.
7.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 In accepting the grant the Council is accepting the set of grant conditions as set out in Annex A to this report.
8.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
8.1 No negative implications identified. The programme purpose is to contribute to the reduction of financial inequalities.
8.2 Programme delivery design is inclusive and open to all with enhanced funding for:
· clubs that provide activities for children with SEND
· free transport for children living in rural areas
· free places for refugee children funded from refugee and asylum seeker funding
· signposting to a range of wraparound support to parents and carers.
9.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
9.1 No negative climate change implications identified. The following mitigation measures are in place:
· local delivery providers across North Yorkshire in order to reduce travel distance for children attending
· clubs are asked to provide food from local sources wherever possible
· children are offered environmental activities as part of the programme to enhance their knowledge in relation to environmental issues.
10.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
10.1 The programme is fully funded and offers valued free to access activities and food to children and families on low incomes when free school meals are not available. Without the grant these activities would not be available.
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11.0 |
RECOMMENDATION
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i) that the grant in the sum of £1,420,280 offered to North Yorkshire Council by the Department for Education for the purposes of providing holiday activities and food programme be accepted.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A: Section 31 Grant Determination for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme 2025 (Department for Education)
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
North Yorkshire Council Plan
Rachel Joyce
Assistant Chief Executive – Local Engagement
County Hall
Northallerton
18 February 2025
Report Author: Marie-Ann Jackson, Head of Localities
Presenter of Report:
Howard Emmett, Assistant Director of Resources
Note: Members are invited to contact the author in advance of the meeting with any detailed queries or questions.