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Decision details

Covid Local Grant Scheme (formerly Covid Winter Grant)

Decision Maker: Corporate Director Children and Young People's Services

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: No

Purpose:

To approve arrangements for support to vulnerable families for the Summer half term school holiday.

Decision:

To approve the deployment of funding to schools, academies, colleges and early years’ providers to provide supermarket vouchers totalling £15 per week for 1 week prior to the start of the Summer half term break.

To approve the allocation of supermarket vouchers totalling £15 per week for 1 week for eligible care leavers prior to the start of the Summer half term break.

To approve the allocation of £25,000 to North Yorkshire Local Assistance Fund (NYLAF) for the provision of support to vulnerable families and individuals who fall outside of the main distribution of the Grant

To approve the retention of any remaining funding balance on the Grant, after the distribution of voucher support, by NYCC as a contribution towards Grant administration costs. The remaining funding balance is currently estimated to be £19.5k (approx. 5% of Grant funding).

Reasons for the decision:

On 8 November 2020, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced £170m ring-fenced Covid Winter Grant funding for targeted financial support for vulnerable households and families with children affected by the pandemic and in need over the winter period to 31st March 2021. This was extended on 4 March by DWP to provide support for the full two week Easter 2021 school holiday period. A local eligibility framework was approved by the Chief Executive under emergency powers on 26 November 2020 and the final deployment of the Covid Winter Grant was reported to the Executive on the 9th March 2021.

On 14 April 2021, the DWP announced a further extension of the Covid grant support for vulnerable families through the Covid Local Support Grant (CLSG). The funding will continue until 20 June 2021, with a further £40 million of support provided nationally. North Yorkshire County Council will receive a funding allocation of £337,741. The CLSG has the same eligibility criteria as the previous Covid Winter Grant Scheme. It is proposed that the CLSG support is continued on the same basis as the Covid Winter Grant and supermarket vouchers at £15 per week per eligible child are provided to cover the one week of the Summer 2021 half term school holiday.

This decision was taken under Rule 16 special urgency and call in exemptions procedures due to the urgency in confirming arrangements for the May half term for families experiencing financial hardship across the County.

Alternative options considered:

None

Publication date: 29/04/2021

Date of decision: 29/04/2021

Accompanying Documents: