East Suffolk Council

The funding

We understand that some uniform banks are struggling to meet demand for items of uniform that are in short supply second hand. In order to respond to this, we are offering a top up fund to uniform banks, whether set up costs were funded by us or not.

Grants are available of up to £1000 per application and can be used for the following:

• Vouchers for shoes of up to £15 per child.
• The purchase of new, branded uniform where none is available second hand from the school or uniform bank and the items can only be purchased from a single supplier.

What we ask of you

For uniform banks previously funded by the ESC Uniform Bank grant stream only:

• That you have spent allocated funds in accordance with the grant acceptance agreement, submitted all monitoring forms and receipts where requested.

For all uniform banks:

• A commitment to operate at least once a fortnight in school holidays and at least run a request service during term time - There is no maximum number of sessions, and the more that can be run the better, but we are keen that projects are sustainable and don’t overstretch.
• Publicity – That you regularly inform your community about the service, requesting donations and ensuring families know how to access uniform.
• Monitoring and evaluation - To help us assess the effectiveness of the uniform bank programme, there are data requirements for the first 6 months I.e. information that we will ask you to provide to us as a condition of the grant. You will be asked to keep a record of families supported, including name and address of the parents, number of children and ages (names of children will not be required), school(s) attended and uniform supplied with costs. This information must be collected and stored in accordance with GDPR legislation. We can provide support on this if required.
• Photographic evidence of use of the uniform bank - This is as simple as taking a photo of the service a few times.

Finally there is a new requirement that we have had to add in due to a large increase in demand for new items and a reduction in funding available.

This fund must be targeted at families most in need. One of the aims of uniform banks is to reduce waste, ensuring that as much uniform as possible is passed on and reused. For generic second-hand items such as trousers, shirts etc we are really happy for uniform banks to run a universal service, open to all. However, where grant funding is used for new items, we have a responsibility to protect public money and therefore there must be proportionate means testing in place.

We have a two tier means testing system in place. By applying to this fund, you agree to implement this approach.

1. For shoe vouchers and new purchases of £20 or less you must request evidence of low income, this could be one of the following:

• Entitlement to Free School Meals.
• Universal Credit.
• Income Support.
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
  You do not need to take or keep a copy of this, but you will need to add a box to your application form to check which one of the above you have seen and that you are happy they meet the criteria.

2. For new purchases above £20 clients must be referred to East Suffolk Council’s Community Help Scheme for a financial assessment. As well as being part of the means testing this is a really supportive process that will ensure the family is receiving the maximum income they should be, may enable access to other financial support and grants and will support with reducing expenditure, budgeting and accessing special schemes such as social energy and water tariffs. The CH team will endeavour to process the applications within 2 weeks and will feed back to you whether the client is eligible for support. If agreed the family can access up to £80 per child. This could be as well as the shoe vouchers.

Applications will be scored using the criteria above

What you willl get from us

Ongoing support from the East Suffolk Council Communities Team - Communities Officers can help with project development, empowering members and communities to take on leadership of the uniform bank. We can also help with crisis response, financial inclusion, signposting, liaison with statutory agencies such as local authorities and health.

Access to funding support from East Suffolk Council’s Funding Team - If you need additional funding, our Funding Team may be help to identify potential sources of funding and advise you about your application

Who can apply?

The fund is available to organisations already running a uniform bank, whether or not it was originally funded by East Suffolk Council. Individual profit-making businesses will not be eligible to apply, however, businesses are encouraged to work with and support the uniform bank if possible.  Please be aware that all applicants are expected to complete the subsidy declaration.

What we cannot fund

• Applications from individuals - we cannot make grant payments to individuals.
• VAT: If you are able to claim back VAT then VAT is not eligible as part of the costs of your project and should not be included.
• Projects unable to start within 3 months of the grant award date.
• Activities promoting political or religious beliefs. Groups are welcome to apply if they can prove the project is solely for community benefit and will commit to not proselytising.
• Payments towards endowment funds, deficit funding or loans.
• Items or projects which only benefit an individual.
• Retrospective costs (unless the details are agreed with the funding panel and fitting within the criteria above).
• Projects that will displace existing provision.
• Activities that are statutory obligations.

How to apply

If you would like to access funding through the East Suffolk Ease the Squeeze programme for a Uniform Bank Top Up please, complete the application form. Once completed and signed (an electronic signature is fine), please send your completed application to communities@eastsuffolk.gov.uk. If the application is fully complete (i.e. all the required information is provided) it will be considered by a panel on a rolling basis.

Deadline for applications

This is a rolling grant scheme and a panel will meet each month to assess applications. The funding scheme will continue until all funds are spent or the scheme is reviewed. If your application is successful, you will be notified of the decision through a Grant Acceptance (via email) within 5 working days of the Panel assessing your application.

Grants should only be spent on the items/purpose detailed in the application form and Grant Acceptance and within 12 months of the date of the Grant Acceptance. All funding must be allocated within a 6 month period but our contribution may be part of a longer-term project which is match-funded from elsewhere and funding may be available in future years. Indicate on your form if you have applied for/intend to apply for match funding for this project. If the grant is not spent on the approved purposes or there is an underspend, the council has the authority to reclaim part or all of the grant. If you are proposing to make any changes to your approved project, please inform us as soon as possible. If the changes are significant enough not to meet the key criteria for the project funding may be reclaimed.

An evaluation and monitoring form will be sent for completion after 3 months to ascertain the impact that the project/activity is having and then again at 6 months. Returning this form to us is one of the grant conditions.
Please keep copies of receipts and invoices related to the project/activity. We may ask to see these as part of our monitoring process as we spot check a proportion of successful applications.

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