Agenda item

A report seeking to approve the acceptance of the Holiday Activities and Food programme grant award from the Department for Education.

The Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Communities that sought acceptance of a Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme grant award from the Department for Education (DfE). Also, the report sought to approve the implementation of the HAF programme in Oldham for 2025/26, including the proposed onward payment of the grant to providers and the extension of the dedicated internal delivery team via fixed term secondments, covering the 1 year confirmed extension to the programme for 2025/26 (with an option to extend the programme further for up to three years should the DfE confirm additional funding).

The Department for Education (DfE) had made funds available to every local authority in England under the HAF programme to coordinate free holiday club/activity provision, including healthy food and enriching activities, for children receiving benefits-related free school meals for the Easter, Summer, and Christmas holidays from April 2021 to the end of March 2025.

Options/Alternatives considered:

Acceptance of the HAF Grant:

Option 1: Accept the HAF Grant from the DfE, enter into a grant agreement with the DfE subject to a legal review of the agreement by Legal Services, and allocate the grant by awarding and entering into grant agreement with successful local providers, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the HAF grant and any additional terms and conditions approved by Legal Services.

Option 2: Do not accept the HAF Grant. This is not recommended because the Council would lose the funding, which it has established benefits the community.

Payment terms for delivery providers:

Option 1: To pay all providers in advance of delivering their holiday activities and food provision. This would allow adequate funding for activities to be delivered by small providers with limited reserves. This option presents a level of risk to the council and there is potential for needing to claw money back if they fail to deliver in full.

Option 2: To have a tiered payment process based on the value of the grant being awarded to the provider.

•      50% of total grant paid in advance.

•      Up to 50% of remain grant total paid based on paying only for placed filled and taken up.

This option allows us to balance the need of small providers with the risk presented to the council. It also ensures that the grant is being spent on direct delivery and reduces the risk of paying for unattended places It should also be noted that many of these providers are known to the council.

Option 3: To pay all providers on completion of delivering their Holiday Activities and Food provision. This option provides maximum security to the council but will exclude many providers from taking up the HAF grant and will ultimately limit the provision we are able to make available for our children and young people.

Dedicated HAF programme team:

Option 1: To not have a dedicated team for the management and delivery of the HAF programme and to bring the current secondment to an end. This option would mean we are not in compliance with the DfE guidance for the programme and would not have sufficient staffing resource for the onward delivery of the programme in Oldham. Option 2: To continue the secondment arrangements in place for one HAF manager and 1 HAF coordinator to lead delivery of the programme for the duration of the programme. This option allows us to ensure the effective management and delivery of the programme.

Preferred Options:

Acceptance of the HAF Grant:

Option 1: To accept the HAF Grant from the DfE and to enter into grant agreements with successful providers delivering the HAF programme from time to time.

Payment Terms for Delivery Partners

Option 2: To have a tiered payment process based on the value of the grant being awarded to the provider.

·         50% of total grant paid in advance.

·         Up to 50% of remain grant total paid based on paying only for placed filled and taken up.

Dedicated HAF programme team:

Option 2: – To continue the secondment arrangements in place for 1 HAF manager and 1 HAF coordinator to lead delivery of the programme for the duration of the programme. This option allows us to ensure the effective management and delivery of the programme.

Resolved:

1.    That the Cabinet approves acceptance of the DfE grant funding for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme 2025/2026 and for up to a further 3 years if the DfE confirm a longer continuation of the national HAF programme and for the Council to enter into a grant agreement with the DfE subject to a legal review of the grant agreement.

2.    That the Cabinet approves the award of grants by the Council and for a grant agreement to be entered into on terms approved by Legal Services with those providers who successfully apply to the Council for funding to deliver the HAF programme locally and approval for an alteration to the onward allocation of the grant to local providers, specifically a change to create a tiered payment process based on the value of the grant being awarded to the provider with 50% of total grant made in advance and up to 50% paid based on places filled and taken up.

3.    That the Cabinet approves the extension to the secondment arrangements in place for the HAF programme manager for 2025/6 and for up to 3 years if DfE confirm a longer continuation of the national HAF programme.