Issue - meetings

To receive a verbal updated from the Corporate Manager: Revenues, Benefits, Corporate Recovery, Planning (DM), and Corporate Fraud on the cost of living crisis

The Committee received and NOTED a verbal update from the Corporate Manager Revenues, Benefits, Corporate Recovery, Planning (DM), and Corporate Fraud on the cost of living crisis.

The officer stated that people in the District had a lot of issues with the cost of living crisis and he detailed the help currently available including:

·         Housing Support Fund 3 - £21k already spent providing fuel and food vouchers which were being issued by charities CHAT and Navigate. Fund will run until the end of March 2023.

·         Housing Support Fund 4 was coming but the Government had not yet provided any details

·         Council Tax Reduction Scheme- current spend £3.8m

·         Exceptional Hardship Scheme – current spend £15k

·         Discretionary Housing Fund – current spend £30k

Consideration was given to:

·         The Government was launching an alternative fuel scheme for households not in receipt of the £400 energy payment. These were properties classed as ‘off grid’ and included farmers in domestic houses, park home residents, caravans and houseboats etc. Details of the scheme would be announced in January

·         The funding for Community Grants, of which CHAT and CAB were recipients had been reviewed in 2020 and the level of funding had been set for 2 years. Both CHAT and Navigate had received additional funding to administer the Housing Support Fund