Issue - meetings

Questions by the Public

 

 

Meeting: 27/01/2014 - City Council (Item 82)

QUESTIONS BY THE PUBLIC

To receive questions from and provide answers to the public in relation to matters which are about something the council is responsible for or something that directly affects people in the city, in accordance with Part B, paragraph 11 of the Constitution.

 

Questions, of no longer than 50 words, can be submitted to the Democratic Support Unit, Plymouth City Council, Civic Centre, Plymouth, PL1 2AA, or email to democraticsupport@plymouth.gov.uk. Any questions must be received at least five complete working days before the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

One question had been received from a member of the public in relation to a matter which, in the opinion of the Lord Mayor, was relevant to the business of the meeting in accordance with paragraph 10 of the constitution.

 

Ms Linda Crick attended the meeting to put her question and Councillor Penberthy responded as follows –

 

Question No

Question By

Cabinet Member

Subject

Q12/13-14

Linda Crick

Councillor Penberthy (Cabinet Member for Co-operatives and Community Development)

 

Local Welfare Provision Grant

Given recent reports that the Conservative led government is going to scrap the "local welfare provision grant" from 2015, could the Council confirm how much of this funding has come to Plymouth, what it's been used for and what effect it's withdrawal will have on local people.

 

Response:

I am disappointed that less than a year after the commencement of local delivery of the welfare provision grant, and before any evaluation has been undertaken, the Conservative Government has cut the funding by 100 per cent.

 

Let us be clear, this fund helps anyone in Plymouth at a time of crisis – it is assessed on the basis of situation not employment status. It also seeks to provide means tested support for local people going through major life changes that require rehousing or resettlement.

 

The total funding received for 2012/13 is £1,064,046 of which we have allocated administration costs of £80,000, leaving a budget for front line resource of £984,046. In 2014/15 we expect to receive a total of £1,048,567. Thereafter there will be no funding available from this Tory and Lib Dem coalition government.

 

In Plymouth we had anticipated the cuts to the welfare system would have a substantial impact on people in Plymouth. This Labour administration, working very closely with our partners, implemented a suite of early intervention and prevention measures to mitigate this impact.

 

Unfortunately the Department for Work and Pensions was not able to give us information about how the Social Fund was used; how many repeat customers they had; the number of customers in each household; what was being asked for; all really important information we lacked when we put our scheme together. Following pre-decision scrutiny recommendations Cabinet we agreed that we needed to set and publish very strict criteria to access our Emergency and Welfare Fund a view endorsed and adopted by Full Council.

 

Up to the end of December 2013 the Emergency and Welfare Fund had awarded 959 Crisis Payments, including money for food and utilities, and 372 Community Care Payments, including household items and white goods. Demand for the Emergency and Welfare Fund is rising month on month, and we anticipate seeing this continue.

 

Unlike the scheme that the Department for Work and Pensions operated, which simply handed out resources, we focus on providing wider help and support for people who approach us in crisis, with the aim of preventing future problems and reducing their call on the Fund. We work towards helping an individual address any underlying financial difficulties they are having,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82