Recommendation 20

This locally-led model focused on providing eligible people with priority access to book supermarket deliveries, rather than Government providing standard food parcels.48 Defra told us that almost everybody that signed up for food box support was matched and prioritised by a supermarket, and that these half a million people have continued to be prioritised by the supermarkets over the last months and for the foreseeable future. MHCLG observed that as the pandemic has progressed, fewer people have needed support through this programme, and felt confident that a locally led model, reinforced with the new registration system built over the summer, has proven an effective way of delivering the programme. MHCLG also reported that it now has good information about what 38 Q 74 39 Q 80 40 C&AG’s Report, para 3.22 41 Q 80 42 Q 78; C&AG’s Report, para 1.7 43 Q 74; C&AG’s Report, para 3.7 44 C&AG’s Report, paras 19, 21, 27, Figure 1 45 Q 80 46 C&AG’s Report, para 4.10 47 Q 75 48 Qq 74, 75; C&AG’s Report, Figure 14 Covid 19: supporting the vulnerable during lockdown 13 local authority activity is on the ground, in terms of the delivery of the programme.49 MHCLG calculates that is has provided local authorities some £4.6 billion in un-ring- fenced funding in 2020–21 to help with COVID costs.50 49 Qq 74–76 50 Q 83 14 Covid 19: supporting the vulnerable during lockdown 2 Communicating with vulnerable people Difficulties in gaining assurance that people’s needs were met