Decision details

The approval of a variation to the North Yorkshire Local Assistance Fund (NYLAF) Contract for the Covid-19 Support Grant Scheme administered by Family Fund Business Services for those residents in North Yorkshire who are self-isolating and most in need or most at risk from the impact and effects of Coronavirus.

Contract variation value – £17,550 for the first three months, £3,600 each month thereafter. This equates to £49,950 over 12 months and £71,550 over 18 months.
Contract duration – a minimum of three months.

*PLEASE NOTE This decision was originally published on or near the date of the decision and so call in no longer applies. It has been re-published as part of the change in committee management system that we use.*

There were five main reasons for the decision:
• The Council wanted to provide urgent support for emergency provision such as food to those residents who needed it the most in the wake of Government instructions for certain residents to shield, followed by the blanket lockdown strategy.
• Family Fund Business Services already administered the NYLAF, a very similar support scheme, and had much of the infrastructure already in place – online grant system, supply chain, call centre operations etc – and could seamlessly and quickly implement a new and effective scheme.
• Family Fund Business Services had a proven track record of effective delivery on the NYLAF and there were already effective relationships and working practices in place.
• Due to their experience of operating many similar schemes, Family Fund Business Services could be sufficiently flexible to accommodate changes as they arose. It was decided to build the scheme around a Community Support Organisation model that the Council was developing with local community groups who were coordinating volunteers to do shopping on behalf of households. A similar model was already in operation for the NYLAF so this was easily adopted.
• Family Fund Business Services agreed to a reduction of their management charge because of the importance of the scheme and the unprecedented situation, as well as the value they placed on their partnership with the Council.

Increasing the provision available from the Local Assistance Fund was initially considered, as was a closer and more overt link to the Local Assistance Fund; however, different eligibility criteria and different partner organisations made it practically difficult to integrate. It was also desirable, in terms of communication lines, financial management and access to information to keep the schemes as distinct as possible.