Decision details

The committee considered the report which sought Members’ approval of the Crisis and Resilience Fund Delivery proposal for 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29.

The report set out the background of the Household Support Fund (HSF), which had provided support since December 2020.  The Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) was intended to combine and replace the HSF and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) from March 2026.  The CRF was expected to provide £3.781m in 2026/27; £3.779m in 2027/28 and £3.816m in 2028/29 (£11.376m total) in funding for Cheshire East until 31 March 2029.

The grant required the Council to provide crisis support and to fund community organisations delivering financial?resilience activity, alongside targeted support through the local authority.

The proposed delivery model included:

·         Food, energy and household essential payments.

·         A community grant programme for third?sector organisations.

·         Distribution of support through the existing triage network to ensure timely and tailored assistance.

During consideration of this item, Councillor S Bennett-Wake declared an interest by virtue of her role as a volunteer at a community food pantry.

The committee asked questions and made comments in respect of:

• Contingency within the MTFS and risks of clawback.
• Ongoing and/or annual and end?of?programme appraisal of expenditure across service areas, i.e. Children’s Services and Adult Services to determine which areas were most in need.
• Eligibility, provision and monitoring of third?sector grants, including food banks.
• Referral routes, checks and balances, and potential use of open?banking tools.
• Links with other services to support households to improve longer?term financial resilience.
• Administrative capacity and whether existing resources were sufficient.
• Procurement requirements for organisations already contracted with the Council.
• Environmental considerations, including the percentage number of refurbished white goods.
• Rural access, transport support, and ensuring that hard?to?reach communities were not overlooked.

In response, officers reported that:

• Demand for support meant clawback was unlikely, and financial management was robust.
• Data on distribution of funding could be provided at any point.
• Community grants would be administered through the Council’s established process/Community Team.  Within the grant conditions, more focus was on social supermarket; further information would be requested from appropriate officers and a written response provided.
• Referrals could be made by a wide range of professionals, Councillors and partners.  Further information could be provided if requested.
• Strengthened financial?vulnerability assessments were being explored.
• The triage network and third?sector grants supported wider prevention work.
• An administration allowance within the grant funded the current delivery team.
• Some contracts must be reprocured for delivery from 1 April 2026.
• Refurbished goods would continue to be provided within relevant contracts, up to 40% of overall provision.
• Rural considerations were recognised, with transport support forming part of the offer.
• The CRF formed part of a wider system of support delivered with partners.

RESOLVED (Unanimously):

That the Children and Families Committee

1.    Endorse the proposed delivery model of the Crisis and Resilience Fund for 2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29.

2.    Delegate authority of the grant to the Director of Children’s Services (DCS) to deliver the grant in line with grant conditions.

3.    Approve to commence procurement for the services as detailed within the report.

4.    Note that the funding is included within the medium-term financial strategy 2026/27 to 28/29 for an estimated total sum of approx. £11.4m.