To gain approval to accept additional grant funding offered by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

DWP require the council to return the acceptance of the additional funding offer by 21 May 2021.

That:

a)    The council accepts additional grant funding offered by the Department of Work and Pensions of up to £2 million for the continued implementation of the Kickstart Scheme.

b)   The Chief Finance Officer be authorised to sign on behalf of the council the funding offer addendum (appendix A) from the Department for Work and Pensions, and following consultation with the cabinet member for Environment, Economy and Skills, any subsequent variations such as any increase to the number of approved placements.   

c)    To delegate to the Director for Economy and Place, following consultation with the cabinet member for Environment, Economy and Skills and the S151 Officer, operational decisions required to ensure the successful delivery of the scheme.

1.            Do nothing – the council could decide not to accept the funding to deliver the Kickstart scheme.  However, this would mean that it would not be possible to offer the additional placements to 16 to 24 year olds on universal credit in the county (circa 895 as of March 2021) and they would not be able to access this support.