| State the Delegated Authority that you are relying on in order to make the decision | Delegation from the Mayor to the Chief Executive in his Executive Scheme of Delegation as follows: I authorise the Chief Executive of the Council, or any officer nominated by the Chief Executive as his Deputy in this regard, to make Executive decisions of a policy, financial and operational nature in response to the Covid-19 emergency |
| Subject of decision | Holiday Hunger Support |
| Text of decision | To provide a £15 voucher to the parents of all children eligible for Free School Meals in Middlesbrough to assist with the cost of food during the Half Term Holiday week commencing 26th October 2020. Allocate a reserve budget of £10,000 to support Food Banks in Middlesbrough experiencing increased demand during Half Term Holiday week commencing 26th October 2020. |
| Reason for decision | This decision is to be taken in response to the withdrawal of equivalent support by Central Government on 21st October 2020. The decision needs to be taken urgently to allow funds to be distributed to families by 26th October 2020. Families in Middlesbrough who already struggle with the established issue of Holiday Hunger are facing additional pressures on household budgets as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. So far since the commencement of the pandemic Central Government has provided equivalent support to families during School Holidays. Middlesbrough’s position under Tier 2 arrangements and with rising case numbers of Covid-19 mean that families are under greater pressure than when previous support was available. It is therefore determined that the allocation of £130,000 of funds from the Council’s Covid-19 support funding is a proportionate intervention to support vulnerable families at this time. |
| Other options considered (if any) | The Council could have decided to not replicate the previously available support for families in receipt of Free School Meals during School Holidays in the pandemic situation. It was determined that this would leave vulnerable families in Middlesbrough exposed to Holiday Hunger and leave children in the town with potentially too little to eat at half term. This was felt to be unacceptable if the Council were able to support. |
| Has an Impact Assessment been carried out - if so please attach a copy to the decision using the upload attachment screen which follows | Yes |
| Declarations of Interest by any member or relevant local government body | N/A |
| Who have you consulted as part of the decision making process | Elected Mayor – Andy Preston Chair of OSB |
| Date of decision | 23 October 2020 |
| Service area | Finance |
| Name of Delegated Officer making the decision - i | Tony Parkinson, Chief Executive |
| Name of the Officer making the decision - If power has been sub-delegated to another officer | N/A |
| Issue date:- | 23 October 2020 by Chris Lunn |
| Creation date:- | 23 October 2020 16:29:15 by Emily Gill |
| Background paper/Impact Assessment | Impact Assesment (29K/bytes) |