Issue - meetings

Director of Neighbourhoods and Development attached.

Decision made (Unanimously):

1.    Cabinet notes the information contained within the report.

2.    Cabinet approves the expansion of the scheme to include further areas and the development of a Pantry project.

3.    Cabinet approves a Holiday Hunger budget of £60,000 over a four year period and authorises expenditure on this scheme up to the overall budget.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member (Health, Wellbeing and Leisure), Councillor Mick Titherington, presented a report of the Director of Neighbourhoods and Development that provided an evaluation of a pilot project that had run over the six weeks summer holidays of 2019, in the Broad field area. The report also sought to extend the project.

The project contributed to the development of a sustainable approach to reducing holiday hunger in South Ribble, when children do not have access to free school meals.

Members thanked staff for delivering the project in such a short space of time and feedback received had proved its popularity within the community. In future, greater emphasis would be placed into ensuring that similar projects were aligned to make better use of resources. The vision was to develop the scheme Borough wide.

It would be difficult to find out how many people used the scheme due to promoting anonymity to break down barriers within the community, however, the Cabinet Member gave assurances that every effort would be made to ensure that the scheme would reach those in need.

Decision made (Unanimously):

1.    Cabinet notes the information contained within the report.

2.    Cabinet approves the expansion of the scheme to include further areas and the development of a Pantry project.

3.    Cabinet approves a Holiday Hunger budget of £60,000 over a four year period and authorises expenditure on this scheme up to the overall budget.

Reason(s) for the decision:

This is a key part of the Corporate Plan to tackle poverty and to ensure residents can live in a place where they can be happy, healthy and safe.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Not to run the project at all, but based on the research undertaken as highlighted in the report, children from poorer backgrounds were more likely to report loneliness and hunger during the summer holidays, and were less likely to spend time with friends or engage in physical activities.

Not to expand the pilot, but as shown there would be areas of deprivation that would miss out on the project.