Agenda item

(Report to follow).

This report will follow in a Supplementary Papers pack once the report has been published for consideration of the Cabinet.

The Head of Community and Housing Services presented the Cost of Living Funding proposal. In doing so, the following was highlighted:

• In 2020-21 the Council allocated £50,000 to support the Community Hubs initiative.  Further allocations were made in 2021-22 and 2022-23 equalling a total budget of £150,000. It was confirmed that this budget was currently sat in earmarked reserves.
• In February 2020 the budget was approved by Cabinet as a revenue bid to support the development of Worcestershire County Council (WCC) Community Hubs in Libraries initiative across the District.
• Following a new direction of travel by WCC, this budget was never provided to the County Council.  Therefore, the £150,000 funding remained within reserves.
• Due to the Cost of Living crisis, the report was asking for the funding to be directed to a Cost-of-Living initiative. This proposal followed a multi-agency Cost of Living Group was established with partners such as WCC, Bromsgrove District Housing Trust (BDHT) and other partners. Following discussions at this group, two surveys were carried out, in order to better understand the specific needs of local communities.
• The findings from the surveys highlighted that the cost-of-living crisis was affecting a broad range of residents not just those who were in receipt of state benefits or on lower income. The surveys also established that financial management advice might ease pressure on residents but that this could not be the only solution. It was suggested that more information was needed to provide support to mortgage holders who were struggling with their mortgages, those who had faced food insecurity in the last six months, and those residents who had gone without essentials, such as shower or cleaning items including clothes.
• Section 3.7 of the report included a proposal for allocating £150,000 earmarked reserve for one-off investments of a Citizen’s Advice specialist housing adviser at £52,000, voluntary sector money adviser at £32,000, and enhancing the support of the Council’s Financial Inclusion at £42,000. This would be for a 14-month period.

Following the presentation of the report, Members asked questions and discussed matters as set out below:

• It was queried why the amount outlined in the report equated to only £126,000 rather that the full amount of £150,000. It was confirmed that the amounts contained within the report were per annum and as the trial period took place over fourteen months the outstanding amount of £24,000 would cover the final two months of the roles.
• Members commented that there were a number of voluntary and community organisations in the district, for example foodbanks, which were already providing budgetary advice to those residents accessing their provision. This was often done alongside the main work of those voluntary organisations. Officers responded that feedback received from the Bromsgrove’s voluntary and community sector (VCS) was that a voluntary sector money adviser would greatly assist these organisations in providing budgetary advice to those residents who access these community services. The voluntary sector money adviser would be able to attend community support settings to provide specialist advice on aspects such as debt management, budgeting, benefits and entitlements, crisis intervention, emotional support and referrals. The voluntary organisations would be able to put forward proposals if they feel they and their users would benefit from this support.
• Members highlighted that there was a need for specialist housing advisers in many wards and queried how one specialist housing adviser would be able to cover all the wards in the district. It was responded that the specialist housing adviser would sit within Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) and the post holder would be expected to engage with voluntary sector organisations to identify residents in need of support. It was highlighted that the post holder would be in addition to the existing voluntary sector provision already available across the district.
• Members were informed that the emphasis of the roles would be on providing outreach services such as at libraries and in community settings. This would include liaison with the Parish Councils. As part of the Cost-of-Living Group, the posts were expected to join up across agencies and with all partners. The proposal in the report would be a trial for 14 months with a view to it informing a lottery bid by the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) to further sustain the work. If the lottery bid was successful any monies not spent on the project would be put back in to reserves.
• It was hoped the investments outlined in the report would help with timely processing of Household Support Fund (HSF) applications by the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and the Council.
• It was clarified that the agreement in respect of the £71,000 for the housing strategy monitoring implementation of the renter reform requirements, agreed at the full Council meeting on 14^th February 2024 as part of the Medium Term Financial Plan (Tranche 2) report, concerned an increase from 1.4 to 2.5 FTE Private Sector Housing Officers. This was to account for the increased statutory duties that are being placed on Private Sector Housing Teams considering recent damp and mould issues raised nationally.
• Funding proposed as part of this report was for a different type of housing support officer who would work within CAB and provide specialist housing advice to residents.

RECOMMENDED that:

£150,000 contained within earmarked reserves be allocated as a one-off investment to support the estimated costs of the following cost of living initiatives as set in section 3.7:

(a) Citizen’s Advice specialist housing adviser - £52k

(b) Voluntary sector money adviser - £32k

(c) Enhancing the support of the Council’s Financial Inclusion Team - £42k