COVID Local Support Grant management information: 17 April to 30 September 2021
Updated 7 March 2022
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Introduction
The £200million COVID Local Support Grant Scheme was made available from 17 April to 30 September 2021 to support those most in need across England with the cost of food, energy (heating, cooking, lighting), water bills (including sewerage) and other essentials.
The scheme was administered as a £40million grant covering the period 17 April to 20 June and a further grant of £160million covering the period 21 June to 30 September.
The COVID Local Support Grant succeeded the £229.1 million COVID Winter Grant which ran from the start of December 2020 to 16 April 2021.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provided funding to county councils and unitary authorities (including metropolitan councils and London boroughs), under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003. The Authorities administered the scheme to provide assistance to vulnerable families with children and other vulnerable households particularly affected by the pandemic.
The 151 County councils and unitary authorities in England participated (the newly formed North and West Northamptonshire unitaries acted as a single authority when administering the COVID Local Support Grant). The guidance enabled them to deliver the scheme through a variety of routes, including issuing grants to third parties, providing vouchers to households or making direct provision of food. County councils were encouraged to work together with district councils to provide support and ensure the funding met its objectives.
The conditions of the scheme required that at least 80% of expenditure should be to support “Families with children” and at least 80% of expenditure should be on support with “Food, energy and water” as described in the grant determination below:
(a) “the authority must ensure that:
- at least 80% of the grant is allocated to support households that include:
- a person who will be under the age of 19 as at 30 September 2021, or
- a person aged 19 or over in respect of whom a child-related benefit is paid or free school meals are provided during the period, and
- up to 20% of the grant is used to assist other households, and
(b) the authority must ensure that:
- at least 80% of the grant is allocated to support with food, energy costs (for heating, lighting and cooking) and water costs (for household purposes, including sewerage), and
- up to 20% of the grant is allocated to support with other essential expenditure related to food, heating, lighting, cooking, water and sewerage needs, but excluding rent or other housing costs.”
The grant determination has been published on GOV.UK.
About these statistics
The figures shown in this release are from the statement of spend (as of 22 October 2021) from the 151 English Authorities which participated in the COVID Local Support Grant programme. The template for returning the spend, the grant determination (describing the terms of the grant) and detailed guidance are published on GOV.UK.
The Annex shows by Authority, the Authority Grant allocation for the period 17 April to 30 September 2021, the Authority’s reported spend for the same period and the % of the Authority spend on administering the scheme.
Statement of application of the Code of Practice for Statistics
The Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) is built around 3 main concepts, or pillars:
- trustworthiness – is about having confidence in the people and organisations that publish statistics
- quality – is about using data and methods that produce statistics
- value – is about publishing statistics that support society’s needs
The following explains how we have applied the pillars of the Code in a proportionate way.
Trustworthiness
The figures were created following interest from Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ministers and the Members of Parliament. We were unable to restrict access to the data ahead of the publication as the data has been used internally as Management Information (MI). They are being published now in order to give equal access to all those with an interest in them.
Quality
The data which underpins this information is taken directly and solely from the Statements of spend returned to DWP by participating Authorities and the published grant determinations for the scheme. DWP liaised with Authorities to validate the returns. Analysis of the Authority returns has undergone review by analysts and internal audit. The MI has also been reviewed and approved by the scheme’s project design group.
Value
Releasing this information serves the increased public interest in how Authorities have used grant funding from DWP for the two schemes to support vulnerable families through the COVID crisis. The figures also help reduce the administrative burden of answering parliamentary questions, Freedom of Information requests and other forms of ad hoc enquiry and serves public interest.
Further information and feedback
Lead Statistician: Lottie Devaney
Analyst: Andrew Friedman
Contact DWP Press Office by phone on 0203 267 5129 if you have any questions or feedback.
Annex: Authority level MI
Grant allocation and reported spend for the COVID Local Support Grant by authority: 17 April to 30 September 2021
| Authority | Total CLSG awarded (£s) | Spend (£s) | Number of awards | % Expenditure on families with children | % Expenditure on food and utilities | % Spend on administration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath & North East Somerset UA | £454,942 | £454,942 | 8,790 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2.7% |
| Bedford UA | £567,419 | £567,419 | 10,890 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 1.4% |
| Blackburn with Darwen UA | £759,959 | £759,650 | 25,275 | 95.0% | 79.5% | 4.2% |
| Blackpool UA | £829,071 | £829,071 | 14,957 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.4% |
| Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole UA | £1,256,856 | £1,256,826 | 71,088 | 96.4% | 98.2% | 2.0% |
| Bracknell Forest UA | £260,252 | £260,002 | 4,879 | 99.7% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Brighton & Hove UA | £1,018,137 | £998,137 | 10,168 | 98.8% | 99.1% | 0.1% |
| Bristol UA | £1,929,955 | £1,929,955 | 20,749 | 98.5% | 100.0% | 0.2% |
| Buckinghamshire UA | £1,138,240 | £1,138,240 | 31,659 | 92.4% | 95.4% | 5.0% |
| Cambridgeshire | £1,717,047 | £1,717,047 | 111,015 | 99.7% | 99.2% | 0.2% |
| Central Bedfordshire UA | £690,651 | £653,18 | 4,449 | 97.6% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Cheshire East UA | £1,035,849 | £1,035,849 | 22,166 | 100.0% | 99.3% | 8.0% |
| Cheshire West and Chester UA | £1,088,761 | £1,088,761 | 11,500 | 99.6% | 98.3% | 0.2% |
| City of Nottingham UA | £1,663,853 | £1,663,853 | 36,519 | 97.7% | 99.4% | 1.7% |
| Cornwall UA | £2,154,785 | £2,154,785 | 24,228 | 91.4% | 90.7% | 1.0% |
| Cumbria | £1,760,491 | £1,710,491 | 30,178 | 96.1% | 93.8% | 3.5% |
| Darlington UA | £429,196 | £429,196 | 6,356 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.4% |
| Derby City UA | £1,058,223 | £832,272 | 13,511 | 95.6% | 95.6% | 3.0% |
| Derbyshire | £2,565,911 | £2,565,911 | 79,506 | 95.3% | 99.8% | 3.5% |
| Devon | £2,403,240 | £2,403,240 | 40,789 | 99.9% | 99.0% | 1.4% |
| Dorset UA | £1,084,886 | £1,083,977 | 23,164 | 98.2% | 91.0% | 2.9% |
| Durham UA | £2,202,956 | £2,202,956 | 44,711 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 3.2% |
| East Riding of Yorkshire UA | £970,701 | £970,701 | 8,787 | 97.9% | 99.4% | 2.9% |
| East Sussex | £1,876,389 | £1,876,389 | 35,280 | 98.3% | 98.5% | 2.8% |
| Essex | £4,515,354 | £4,515,354 | 94,426 | 95.9% | 91.6% | 1.9% |
| Gloucestershire | £1,773,735 | £1,396,362 | 34,787 | 97.2% | 96.9% | 5.5% |
| Halton UA | £611,721 | £611,721 | 13,866 | 100.0% | 99.7% | 0.0% |
| Hampshire | £3,410,237 | £3,410,237 | 89,015 | 97.0% | 97.9% | 1.0% |
| Hartlepool UA | £466,999 | £466,999 | 12,540 | 96.5% | 100.0% | 4.0% |
| Herefordshire UA | £632,919 | £632,919 | 7,409 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2.9% |
| Hertfordshire | £2,933,566 | £2,933,566 | 73,119 | 83.8% | 96.4% | 1.5% |
| Isle of Wight UA | £537,465 | £537,465 | 13,530 | 98.9% | 98.8% | 1.7% |
| Isles of Scilly | £4,880 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Kent | £5,298,940 | £5,298,939 | 99,358 | 99.5% | 99.6% | 0.4% |
| Kingston upon Hull UA | £1,446,020 | £1,446,020 | 93,387 | 99.6% | 99.6% | 1.3% |
| Lancashire | £4,612,716 | £4,218,716 | 86,889 | 98.0% | 100.0% | 4.7% |
| Leicester City UA | £1,649,100 | £1,649,100 | 42,698 | 88.8% | 83.8% | 3.9% |
| Leicestershire | £1,720,191 | £1,720,191 | 34,823 | 99.5% | 98.1% | 0.0% |
| Lincolnshire | £2,615,824 | £2,604,846 | 54,500 | 97.5% | 99.8% | 2.2% |
| Luton UA | £862,015 | £862,015 | 11,899 | 91.2% | 97.7% | 0.6% |
| Middlesbrough UA | £776,040 | £776,040 | 5,092 | 97.1% | 92.1% | 7.3% |
| Milton Keynes UA | £849,637 | £849,637 | 10,513 | 91.3% | 89.8% | 2.1% |
| Norfolk | £3,224,226 | £3,224,226 | 59,883 | 92.9% | 90.6% | 0.0% |
| North East Lincolnshire UA | £739,369 | £739,369 | 9,200 | 91.5% | 94.9% | 0.0% |
| North Lincolnshire UA | £626,549 | £626,549 | 14,592 | 98.5% | 100.0% | 3.3% |
| North Somerset UA | £621,660 | £580,486 | 9,701 | 98.5% | 100.0% | 3.9% |
| North Yorkshire | £1,688,707 | £1,688,707 | 18,279 | 100.0% | 99.9% | 4.0% |
| Northamptonshire | £2,447,900 | £2,113,512 | 19,811 | 99.4% | 100.0% | 0.5% |
| Northumberland UA | £1,167,665 | £1,167,665 | 20,365 | 90.7% | 99.5% | 0.5% |
| Nottinghamshire | £2,724,715 | £2,707,030 | 57,175 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.9% |
| Oxfordshire | £1,609,301 | £1,609,301 | 36,763 | 97.6% | 99.0% | 0.7% |
| Peterborough UA | £874,896 | £874,895 | 81,547 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.4% |
| Plymouth UA | £1,089,460 | £1,089,460 | 22,605 | 99.1% | 98.4% | 1.5% |
| Portsmouth UA | £900,748 | £900,748 | 11,353 | 99.1% | 97.4% | 0.0% |
| Reading UA | £546,468 | £506,912 | 5,536 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Redcar & Cleveland UA | £615,034 | £615,034 | 4,022 | 96.1% | 80.0% | 0.0% |
| Rutland UA | £74,144 | £58,558 | 1,103 | 98.6% | 100.0% | 5.1% |
| Shropshire UA | £990,158 | £932,944 | 12,223 | 96.3% | 93.7% | 4.3% |
| Slough UA | £558,971 | £558,971 | 10,102 | 98.9% | 95.8% | 4.5% |
| Somerset | £1,817,867 | £1,817,867 | 104,500 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| South Gloucestershire UA | £669,601 | £668,920 | 23,389 | 91.2% | 98.0% | 1.2% |
| Southampton UA | £1,059,843 | £1,059,843 | 21,525 | 98.0% | 98.8% | 0.0% |
| Southend-on-Sea UA | £674,929 | £674,929 | 11,464 | 95.0% | 92.3% | 0.8% |
| Staffordshire | £2,613,439 | £2,613,439 | 76,742 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 7.6% |
| Stockton-on-Tees UA | £799,401 | £799,401 | 11,280 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Stoke-on-Trent UA | £1,274,797 | £1,269,861 | 31,139 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 7.8% |
| Suffolk | £2,444,620 | £2,444,620 | 66,521 | 96.0% | 95.5% | 0.4% |
| Surrey | £2,501,637 | £2,501,637 | 48,808 | 95.8% | 96.3% | 0.5% |
| Swindon UA | £723,454 | £696,000 | 9,150 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 1.7% |
| Telford and the Wrekin UA | £716,894 | £716,894 | 18,113 | 99.1% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| The Medway Towns UA | £1,068,936 | £977,400 | 43,352 | 95.3% | 95.3% | 4.6% |
| Thurrock UA | £615,299 | £615,299 | 21,135 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2.3% |
| Torbay UA | £588,781 | £588,781 | 30,404 | 97.6% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Warrington UA | £684,285 | £684,285 | 3,110 | 100.0% | 90.0% | 0.8% |
| Warwickshire | £1,652,483 | £1,652,483 | 33,251 | 99.9% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| West Berkshire UA | £328,104 | £321,208 | 7,911 | 85.0% | 92.8% | 0.0% |
| West Sussex | £2,340,696 | £2,340,696 | 17,265 | 90.6% | 93.7% | 2.1% |
| Wiltshire UA | £1,303,450 | £1,303,450 | 83,270 | 96.2% | 100.0% | 0.2% |
| Windsor & Maidenhead UA | £278,065 | £278,065 | 5,321 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 4.3% |
| Wokingham UA | £245,533 | £245,533 | 4,434 | 99.8% | 100.0% | 0.1% |
| Worcestershire | £1,890,895 | £1,890,895 | 29,241 | 87.8% | 93.4% | 3.5% |
| York UA | £490,270 | £490,270 | 6,179 | 97.5% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Bolton | £1,306,920 | £1,306,920 | 29,380 | 97.2% | 100.0% | 0.3% |
| Bury | £728,728 | £728,728 | 7,852 | 97.5% 90.1% | 2.3% | |
| Manchester | £3,036,961 | £3,036,961 | 36,598 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Oldham | £1,146,693 | £1,146,693 | 19,362 | 98.7% | 100.0% | 0.5% |
| Rochdale | £1,102,254 | £1,102,254 | 14,778 | 97.5% | 98.5% | 2.5% |
| Salford | £1,281,593 | £1,281,593 | 27,291 | 98.5% | 98.9% | 2.9% |
| Stockport | £1,020,892 | £1,020,891 | 23,909 | 89.3% | 94.0% | 4.4% |
| Tameside | £1,052,488 | £1,052,488 | 13,319 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Trafford | £692,052 | £692,052 | 12,378 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Wigan | £1,322,985 | £1,322,985 | 16,482 | 86.4% | 98.6% | 5.9% |
| Knowsley | £871,449 | £871,449 | 16,137 | 100.0% | 99.4% | 0.1% |
| Liverpool | £2,869,151 | £2,869,151 | 51,887 | 86.3% | 81.3% | 0.7% |
| St Helens | £842,732 | £842,732 | 18,204 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Sefton | £1,153,496 | £1,153,496 | 64,950 | 97.3% | 97.7% | 5.0% |
| Wirral | £1,440,726 | £1,440,726 | 44,091 | 82.9% | 84.3% | 6.7% |
| Barnsley | £1,113,072 | £1,113,072 | 31,555 | 91.0% | 84.0% | 0.0% |
| Doncaster | £1,415,893 | £1,415,893 | 81,503 | 98.8% | 89.9% | 2.5% |
| Rotherham | £1,185,171 | £1,185,171 | 9,535 | 100.0% | 96.9% | 0.0% |
| Sheffield | £2,459,204 | £2,459,204 | 57,000 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.9% |
| Gateshead | £870,999 | £870,999 | 18,721 | 96.1% | 99.9% | 0.2% |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | £1,350,080 | £1,350,080 | 32,406 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.3% |
| North Tyneside | £758,810 | £758,810 | 6,041 | 99.2% | 99.6% | 0.0% |
| South Tyneside | £702,331 | £702,331 | 15,365 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2.1% |
| Sunderland | £1,261,016 | £1,261,016 | 19,366 | 99.1% | 100.0% | 0.2% |
| Birmingham | £6,104,630 | £6,104,629 | 41,350 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.3% |
| Coventry | £1,520,720 | £1,520,720 | 33,471 | 99.5% | 99.8% | 2.3% |
| Dudley | £1,244,829 | £1,244,829 | 25,344 | 98.4% | 99.3% | 0.4% |
| Sandwell | £1,652,479 | £1,543,891 | 35,175 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Solihull | £665,692 | £665,692 | 9,792 | 94.8% | 96.7% | 7.0% |
| Walsall | £1,334,995 | £1,334,995 | 20,798 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 6.7% |
| Wolverhampton | £1,249,321 | £1,207,639 | 8,920 | 83.9% | 79.7% | 5.5% |
| Bradford | £2,682,791 | £2,682,791 | 50,007 | 88.9% | 100.0% | 1.3% |
| Calderdale | £863,542 | £859,220 | 11,062 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.9% |
| Kirklees | £1,750,319 | £1,750,319 | 52,638 | 97.6% | 99.0% | 0.0% |
| Leeds | £3,338,302 | £3,338,302 | 76,293 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 1.1% |
| Wakefield | £1,481,377 | £1,481,377 | 17,132 | 97.7% | 91.9% | 2.1% |
| City of London | £23,725 | £14,640 | 137 | 80.3% | 96.8% | 0.0% |
| Camden | £921,463 | £921,463 | 18,218 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 4.8% |
| Greenwich | £1,138,446 | £1,138,446 | 7,588 | 97.7% | 100.0% | 1.3% |
| Hackney | £1,355,297 | £1,355,059 | 18,741 | 100.0% | 99.8% | 1.8% |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | £688,384 | £688,384 | 15,017 | 98.2% | 98.1% | 0.7% |
| Islington | £1,032,083 | £1,032,083 | 23,709 | 98.7% | 99.9% | 1.4% |
| Kensington & Chelsea | £555,135 | £555,135 | 17,851 | 89.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Lambeth | £1,315,817 | £1,315,817 | 14,546 | 94.3% | 94.3% | 3.5% |
| Lewisham | £1,273,539 | £1,273,539 | 22,770 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.5% |
| Southwark | £1,307,833 | £1,307,833 | 29,977 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 4.2% |
| Tower Hamlets | £1,415,330 | £1,415,330 | 36,175 | 80.6% | 94.0% | 5.0% |
| Wandsworth | £983,774 | £983,773 | 25,007 | 80.0% | 100.0% | 5.1% |
| Westminster | £901,626 | £901,626 | 21,568 | 99.6% | 99.6% | 0.8% |
| Barking & Dagenham | £1,023,620 | £1,003,782 | 21,431 | 88.6% | 93.0% | 0.0% |
| Barnet | £1,161,130 | £1,161,130 | 22,018 | 85.5% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Bexley | £729,086 | £729,085 | 15,423 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 4.0% |
| Brent | £1,344,020 | £1,344,020 | 64,202 | 96.4% | 100.0% | 3.0% |
| Bromley | £886,896 | £886,896 | 8,359 | 99.8% | 99.0% | 0.1% |
| Croydon | £1,419,771 | £1,419,770 | 41,461 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 1.0% |
| Ealing | £1,257,626 | £1,257,626 | 21,065 | 99.0% | 98.8% | 1.2% |
| Enfield | £1,352,404 | £1,352,404 | 65,741 | 97.1% | 81.9% | 0.0% |
| Haringey | £1,160,388 | £1,160,388 | 26,611 | 95.6% | 100.0% | 4.0% |
| Harrow | £692,889 | £692,889 | 16,787 | 99.1% | 100.0% | 2.8% |
| Havering | £782,020 | £782,020 | 20,552 | 87.2% | 93.3% | 5.8% |
| Hillingdon | £978,019 | £978,019 | 16,961 | 98.0% | 100.0% | 5.0% |
| Hounslow | £968,679 | £968,679 | 17,238 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Kingston upon Thames | £404,211 | £404,211 | 6,009 | 99.3% | 99.6% | 1.8% |
| Merton | £560,227 | £560,227 | 6,300 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Newham | £1,593,138 | £1,581,317 | 36,958 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 1.2% |
| Redbridge | £928,119 | £928,108 | 15,279 | 98.5% | 87.3% | 0.0% |
| Richmond upon Thames | £396,303 | £396,303 | 5,390 | 98.7% | 98.6% | 6.6% |
| Sutton | £543,525 | £543,525 | 7,340 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Waltham Forest | £1,112,409 | £1,112,409 | 21,439 | 98.3% | 98.2% | 0.0% |
| England | £200,000,000 | £198,045,149 | 4,328,189 | 96.6% | 97.1% | 1.9% |
Notes:
- Total COVID Local Support Grant awarded (£s), this is the total Award made to Authorities as described in the Grant Determinations for the initial scheme 17 April to 20 June 2021 and its extension from 21 June to 30 September 2021
- All spend statistics derived from Individual Authority’s Statement of spend as of 22 October 2021 and as described in the scheme’s detailed guidance
- Authority spend has been capped to remove any contributions made by Authorities using their own funds
- Number of awards is as reported by Authorities, it may not represent the number of people helped as some may have received multiple awards
- % expenditure on families with children is the reported spend by Authorities on this category divided by total local authority (LA) spend
- % expenditure on food and utilities is the reported spend by Authorities on this category divided by total LA spend
- % Spend on admin: This is calculated for the period 17 April 2021 to 30 September 2021 as reported admin costs / total reported spend on the COVID Local Support Grant for the authority