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15th March 2021 |
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Decision Session – Executive Member for Finance & Performance
Report of the Assistant Director (Customer & Digital Services)
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Recommendations for approval of grants from the Financial Inclusion Innovation Fund 2021/22
Summary
1. This report seeks approval of the recommended awards of grants under the above scheme following a round of competitive bids and a selection panel process.
Recommendations
2. The Executive Members are asked to approve the award of £113,276 of grants to fund seven projects for 2021/22 as set out below to deliver a range of financial inclusion activities in the city. There is an approved budget of £100,000 for 2021/22 plus a carried forward underspend from 2020/21 of £20,360 giving an available total of £120,360. All projects are of a twelve month duration.
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Organisation |
Project title |
Brief Summary |
Amount |
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Older Citizens Advocacy York (OCAY) |
Benefits Advocacy |
To provide advocacy support to help with applications, assessments and appeals |
£5,818 |
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Citizens’ Advice York |
Financial Inclusion at GP surgeries |
Continue to develop co-ordinated advice work located in GP practices. |
£13,229 |
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Citizens’ Advice York |
Financial Inclusion in the Traveller Community |
Working with the Travellers Trust to deliver and co-ordinate advice services to the Gypsy & Traveller community. |
£5,385 |
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Peasholme Charity |
My Money, My Life |
Continue delivery if its financial capability pathway service |
£25,057 |
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Welfare Benefits Unit |
Advice Extra |
Extend reach of services to underpin first tier advisors in responding to more complex cases. |
£13,900 |
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Experience Counts |
50+ Project |
Deliver four employment related programmes to residents aged 50+ |
£19,262 |
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Changing Lives |
Financial & Social Inclusion Worker |
Support vulnerable and hard to reach residents to gain financial independence. |
£30,625 |
Reason: to ensure that funds set aside to support the delivery of financial inclusion activity are allocated appropriately.
The Financial Inclusion
Innovation Fund 2021/22
3. The Financial Inclusion Steering Group (FISG)[1] is responsible for overseeing the delivery of a range of financial inclusion activities including strategic oversight of the council’s Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP), York Financial Assistance Scheme (YFAS) and Council Tax Support (CTS) schemes. Six bespoke projects for 2020/21 are currently funded through FISG which has an approved base budget of £100k per year which is available for Financial Inclusion schemes.
4. The group’s purpose is:
‘To ensure that local people have the knowledge of and access to appropriate services, allowing them to make more informed choices to achieve and maintain financial stability’.
5. The aim of the group is to secure the following outcomes:
· Ensure that residents have the knowledge to manage their finances effectively
· Better coordination of advice services across the city
· Advice givers and those ‘sign posting’ better understand the welfare benefits system
· Explore opportunities to reduce general living expenses.
6. To target resources effectively to support those that need it most, bids were invited from partners across the sector for projects that promote financial inclusion. The group monitors on an ongoing basis grants awarded to local organisations to deliver projects that meet the group’s objectives.
7. The council provides a broad range of support to residents in need of assistance through a number of channels which has extended during 2020/21 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The most recent summary of work in this area was reported to the Executive Member for Finance and Performance on 18/1/21[2]. This included an update on the outcomes of the projects that FISG already directly funds.
8. The bidding process to fund projects for 2021/22 opened on 22 January and by the closing date of 19 February 2021 nine bids from eight organisations for grants were received with a total value £144,270, exceeding the £120,360 available. Four of the bids sought to build on projects already funded by FISG in 2020/21.
9. Bids weresubject to panel selection and were assessed against a range of criteria drawn from the outcomes noted in paragraph 5 above. The panel convened on 2 March 2021 consisting of two senior CYC officers and a representative of the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust. Approved projects are subject to the council’s Financial Regulations and a Service Level Agreement is put in place for each. Grants are paid by instalment with regular reporting on progress built in to ensure delivery.
10. Competition was very strong and whilst all the bids had some merit not all met the criteria sufficiently. The panel were extremely grateful for the interest shown and the quality of the submissions. Constructive feedback has been offered to the two unsuccessful bidders.
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Consultation
11. None required as this report is not a policy paper.
Analysis
12. There is no further analysis other than the existing information provided in the report.
Council Plan
13. Outcomes achieved through the council and its partners will contribute to the Council Plan commitment to help deliver ‘Well paid jobs and an inclusive economy’. This includes tackling financial exclusion by investing in financial inclusion projects with measurable outcomes.
Implications
14. (a) Financial – The direct financial implications relate to the funding of the Financial Inclusion Innovation Fund bids which is funded within approved budget allocations/reserves. The funding available in 2021/22 is £120,360.
(b)Human Resources (HR) - There are no implications
(c)Equalities – There are no direct implications
(d) Legal – The are no implications
(e) Crime and Disorder - There are no implications
(f) Information Technology (IT) - There are no implications
(g) Property - There are no implications
Risk Management
15. The key risk is that projects do not deliver required output – this is managed by an individual service level agreement per project and regular monitoring of outputs by the Financial Inclusion Steering Group. The outputs are also reported to Executive Members in a Financial Inclusion update every 6 months.
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Contact Details Author:
Pauline Stuchfield Assistant Director Customer & Digital Services Tel No.01904 551706
John MaddenStrategic Manager Corporate Strategy & City Partnerships Tel No.01904 551132 |
Chief Officer Responsible for the report:
Ian Floyd - Chief Operating Officer |
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Report Approved |
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Date |
3/5/2021 |
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Specialist Implications Officer(s) None |
All |
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Wards Affected: List wards or tick box to indicate all |
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Annexes:
None
Background Papers:
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Financial Inclusion/Welfare Benefits Update Report 18/1/21 (Supplementary item 1): https://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=875&MId=12483
Recorded decision on 2020/21 Awards (16/3/20): https://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=875&MId=12267&Ver=4
List of Abbreviations
CYC City of York Council
FISG Financial Inclusion Steering Group