Household Support Fund

1. How much were you allocated from the Household Support Fund in 2021/22?

2.  How much of this fund did you spend in 2021/22?

Both of the above questions are exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act. Devon County Council is not obliged to provide this information as it is already available on this Household Support Fund for vulnerable households – Freedom of information (devon.gov.uk) post, on our disclosure log.

3. Could anyone apply to receive support from this fund or was it distributed based on certain criteria?

Money was provided to a variety of gateways.  Anyone could apply to receive supports, but applications that were successful had to follow the eligibility criteria set by the particular gateway and comply with the eligibility criteria provided in the guidance of the Department of Work and Pensions.

4. Please provide approximate percentages indicating what this fund was spent on:

a. Targeted direct grants to recipients of the following benefits (please specify these below)

i. Free School Meals (FSM)

DCC provided vouchers for  FSM to schools and colleges at a total of £2,104,587.11 other gateways may have provided direct grants but we do not have this data.  The applicant would need to contact each gateway and District Council direct for this information.

ii. Universal Credit

As 4(a)(i)

iii. Council Tax Support

As 4(a)(i)

iv. Tax Credit 

As 4(a)(i)

v. Discretionary Housing Payments

As 4(a)(i)

vi. Other (please specify)

DCC do not hold this information because we were the distributor of the fund not a direct grant provider.

b. Additional funding for your LWA scheme (as set out in Part A)

DCC do not hold this information because we were the distributor of the fund not a direct grant provider.

c. Funding for third party Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations

£734,483.65, which is almost 16%

d. A new scheme to which members of the public could apply for support

DCC do not hold this information, as we did not operate a new scheme, this was district council and gateways