A new update has been issued on where the latest round of Household Support Fund money will be spent in Birmingham. The city council says it has decided how to distribute its newest allocation of cash from the Department for Work and Pensions.
A total of £421million was shared among local authorities in England last October, with 12.9million going to Birmingham. The city council has now shared information that around £11.9million of this will be handed to local people via a number of different schemes and organisations, with £842,000 spent on the 'direct delivery costs' of setting up the systems and procedures for giving out the cash.
Applications are not yet open, the council said. But it has decided how the money will be dished out to people across the city.
Council documents show that £5.1million of the total will go to Birmingham Children's Trust to provide £4.8million in "direct financial assistance" to vulnerable families with children until March 31, 2023, in line with DWP guidance. The admin costs of this will be the remaining £300,000 of that sum.
In addition, a £135,000 contract will be established with the Post Office for £4million to be given to Birmingham households who are in receipt of Council Tax Support, half of it going to people of pension age. Vouchers will be issued to cash in at a local post office.
There will also be two new hardship grant schemes - one for households of all ages, and another for families with children who have been referred through Birmingham Children's Trust. A local organisation will be chosen to oversee these grants at a cost of £300,000.
Lastly, the council's existing Local Welfare Provision funding will get a £500,000 top-up. Birmingham City Council said it would announce further details when applications are open for these various schemes. It said the previous allocation of the Household Support Fund had paid out over £7 million to more than 35,000 households, including families and pensioners.
