Delays to Household Support Fund in Hastings

Hastings residents in need have not yet been invited to apply for assistance from the government’s Household Support Fund which has been topped up for a sixth round running from October to March 2025. The council’s Labour group has written to Cllr Julia Hilton, the Green council leader, asking why there has been such a long delay. The council tells HOT it has not yet received its share from East Sussex County Council. Nick Terdre investigates.

In September the Department for Work and Pensions announced the provision of £421m to the Household Support Fund for local authorities in England to disburse to vulnerable households struggling to cover the cost of essentials in the period 1 October to 31 March 2025, the sixth round.

As yet there is no information about applying for a grant from this fund on the council website beyond the brief statement that “Further information on round six of the Household Support Fund (HSF) will be added to the page shortly.” Round five, for the period April to September, also enjoyed funding of £421m, of which Hastings’ share was distributed to applicants on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Labour letter, signed by the nine members of the group and addressed to Green council leader Cllr Julia Hilton, states that “Despite the money being announced on the 2nd September, Hastings Borough Council has still not made it available to residents through its website. We are calling on you to ensure that this is rectified so that the fund is more accessible to those [in] need.”

East Sussex’s share of the fund is distributed via East Sussex County Council. As of Monday, none of the other local authorities had invited applications for grants from round six. Only Wealden District Council, in an update on its website dated 5 November, reported that “A new round…is coming soon…”, while Rother, Lewes and Eastbourne district councils have not even told residents that fresh funds have been made available.

Bureaucratic requirements

It appears that meeting bureaucratic requirements has delayed distribution of the funds to the local authorities. After pointing out that the six-month period included time to ensure the funds were being correctly administered, an ESCC spokesperson told HOT:

“This includes ensuring allocation proposals comply with updated Department for Work & Pensions guidance as well as ensuring the Fund is administered in accordance with guidance, legal requirements, and best practice.

“We expect these essential steps to be completed shortly and, as with all previous rounds of HSF in East Sussex, eligible households will be able to access the Fund during the intended six-month period.”

Hastings council confirmed to HOT today (Wednesday 13th) that its tranche had not yet arrived. “We are waiting for final sign off of the process,” a spokesperson said. “We’re keen to get the process started and get the money out.”

Cllr Hilton told HOT she had been informed that “…there have been  internal delays in getting all the relevant sign-offs but this should be completed soon.”

Urgent item

The process of making the funds available to the public was going through as an urgent item with approval from the lead member for finance so it would not have to wait for the Cabinet’s December meeting, Hilton said. “In future I have asked for agreement that this can be done under officer delegated powers so it doesn’t need Cabinet approval.”

Hastings’ sixth round share is £219,570, which includes a sum for administering the scheme, she said. Applicants can receive a grant of up to £200, up from £50 in the previous round, and up to 966 households are expected to benefit.

“While this funding is welcome, it does take officer time to distribute and, frankly, providing proper levels of benefit to people would be a better solution and make sure everyone in need got the funding they need to live a decent life rather than having to apply for piecemeal grants.”

Further questions

The Labour letter also asks:

• What the current uptake has been from this new funding scheme (running 1 October–31 March 2025)?
• What steps HBC has taken to increase awareness of the fund to all of those who are eligible?
• Whether officers are routinely signposting this support when residents find themselves in difficult financial situations, such as council tax arrears?

A poverty champion would have ensured there was a focus on poverty by the council, the group say, stating that their proposal for the creation of such a champion was “voted down by the Green Party and its allies in other parties.”

As HOT has already reported, this proposal was included in an amendment to a Hastings Independents’ motion that called on the government to end the two-child benefit cap “as soon as economic conditions allowed” rather than immediately, which the Greens explained was why they voted against it.

The letter ends: “…we urge this situation be rectified immediately and that it is made easier for local people to apply for a share of the £421 million that other local authorities have made immediately available to their residents.”

HBC’s eligibility criteria for the fifth round, which are expected to be rolled over to the sixth, allowed one application per household and a grant of £150 for approved applications. Applicants had to be in receipt of certain benefits – full details are available on the relevant HBC web page. Not surprisingly, demand is greater than supply – the pot was fully disbursed before the end of the period.

ESCC also pointed out that part of the HSF monies are distributed through other channels, with allocations going to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations, food banks and the region’s five food partnerships, Children’s Services and the Warmer Homes service.

The government announcement made it clear that the HSF is seen as a stop-gap measure while a permanent solution to poverty is sought, stating that, “The government is exploring options around how best to provide sustainable support to vulnerable households in the longer term while the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce develops an ambitious strategy to tackle the root causes of poverty, and the Get Britain Working White Paper, to be set out in the Autumn, will develop measures to reduce inactivity and help people to find better paid and more secure jobs.”

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