Questions relate to the Household Support Fund:
1. How much was the council allocated as part of the original Household Support Fund (intended to run from October 2021 to March 2022)
£5,064,876.12
2. How much of this funding have you used so far (until March 25th 2022)?
Based on Management Information (MI) held at the time: £4,314,168.33. A final MI return will be compiled and returned to DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) on 21st April, which will show the amount spent in the Devon County Council administrative area.
3. Before new funding was announced on March 23rd 2022 as part of the Spring Statement, had you run out of funding for the scheme?
All HSF (Household Support Fund) funding had been allocated before the new scheme was announced on March 23rd. As in question 2 actual spend will not be confirmed until the final MI return is made to DWP in April 2022.
4. If so, when did this happen?
See response to question 3.
5. How is the funding being disseminated? E.g. in the form of grants, vouchers, given to other organisations, or put towards council schemes
There are a variety of support gateways, both within Devon County Council and via Third Party Organisations (TPOs) who use various mechanism to receive applications and deploy funds to those in need; with food/energy vouchers, grants and schemes being utilised.
6. What is the eligibility criteria for the receiving the above?
The following DWP guidance , including eligibility, has been followed: Household Support Fund: guidance for local councils – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
7. If you are taking applications from individuals, e.g. for grants, vouchers and/or payments via the scheme, how many applications have you received up until today (March 25th 2022)?
Devon County Council (DCC) does not hold centrally data on the number applications received by the various support gateways (within DCC and externals to DCC)
8. How many of these have been:
a. Accepted? Please refer to question 7
b. Rejected? Please refer to question 7
c. Yet to be processed? Please refer to question 7
9. What is the average value of grants/vouchers/payments that have been awarded? £24.19