Decision details

It was RESOLVED that Cabinet:

a)           calls upon partner authorities in the County to explore transformational change to support a more equitable distribution of the BCF, which will assist in meeting local need and align with the aspirations to progress a County deal project with pooled resources;

b)           transfers £500,000 from the Support for Registered Housing Providers (RHP) budget (funded through the receipts set-aside from Large Scale Voluntary Transfer (LSVT) of housing stock) to support DFG costs;

c)           develops and implements an operational waiting list to prioritise applications in line with budget provision;

d)           amends the current Council DFG Policy to suspend the use of discretionary DFG funding until a review of the national formula is undertaken, or the adoption of an alternative county model to administer DFG applications;

e)           ensures an assessment is undertaken to consider the likely future demand and impact on the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and capital resources. The MTFS to be updated for 2023/24; and

f)      makes representations to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUC) to review the Better Care Fund and national DFG formula to achieve a more equitable distribution of resources based on updated health and social care needs to achieve better health and wellbeing outcomes.