West Devon crisis fund sees growing uptake from struggling local households
West Devon Borough Council’s crisis and resilience fund is seeing increased demand as households face financial shock, with emergency grants and long-term support schemes now in place to help residents manage ongoing cost pressures
Nearly 80 crisis grant payments have been given out since April to West Devon residents experiencing financial shock.
West Devon Borough Council received just over £300,000 this year from an £8.4 million funding pot for Devon, with two-thirds to be spent on providing quick payments to people in immediate crisis and the remaining third helping people build financial resilience.
The Crisis and Resilience Fund has superseded the Household Support Fund, which was set up in response to the cost-of-living crisis.
Residents experiencing acute financial hardship must apply for grants and, under new government rules, payments must be made within 48 hours of receipt of a completed application.
A meeting of West Devon's Hub Committee on Tuesday heard that 78 payments had been made, many to low-income families dealing with surging heating oil costs.
As part of the resilience element, councillors have decided to spend £20,000 each on a caseworker for two days a week over 12 months, specialising in welfare benefits and debt advice from Homemaker Southwest, and on coordinated support from West Devon Council for Voluntary Service.
The intention of the fund is to help people better deal with financial difficulties in the long term, reducing the need for crisis support.
Homemaker Southwest was previously given a grant of £5,000 and achieved financial and charitable gains for residents of £20,600 over a six-month period.
The council said this figure may have been higher had it not been for residents failing to engage following a referral, with only 52 per cent engaging with the service.
A Crisis and Resilience Fund payment may have a requirement attached for the resident to demonstrate engagement with wider support services, which should see this figure increase, a report to the council said.
The council will also set up a small financial advice and support team in-house to work across both West Devon Borough and South Hams District councils.
Members were told that this team would help the revenues and benefits department deal with the volume of applications being submitted, as handling the work on top of existing duties was "quite a challenge".
The meeting heard that processing applications had become "a daily occurrence".
Some £10,000 will be ring-fenced for the provision of slow cookers, electric blankets, warm clothing and other essential items.
Members welcomed the "holistic" approach rather than purely handing out grants, and council leader Mandy Ewings (Ind, Tavistock South West) said she would be pleased if, at the very least, the council could help care leavers learn to manage their money, giving them skills that would stay with them throughout their lives.