From 31 March, the government has announced that councils will be allocated money to directly help those most in need with essential food and energy costs.
The funding has been allocated by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to English councils, who will then use it to support people in their local area to pay for energy bills or groceries.
Those wanting to find out what support is available in their local area should visit their local authority’s website or contact their local council office.
The distribution of the funding is targeted at the areas of the country with the most vulnerable households.
Councils in England have the flexibility to decide how best to spend their allocation to support people in their local area quickly and efficiently, drawing from local knowledge and direct contact with people in the community. This builds on the similar support provided over the past 18 months, with the Household Support Fund now worth over £2 billion across its lifetime.
It has previously been used in a variety of different ways since its inception to support those most in need. For example, Leicestershire County Council has worked with Leicester City Football Club to create community cooking events, while Bexley Council established an energy café to provide energy resource packs and advice on energy consumption.
Elsewhere, Blackpool Council set up a scheme so families and pensioners in need could get vouchers for food directly from their local market stalls, while Wokingham delivered over 650 energy-saving packs to those in need, with items such as air fryers, slow cookers, heated blankets, and LED light bulbs included.
This comes on top of extensive support for those in need in the coming months. The most vulnerable will receive direct payments in 2023/24, which include up to £900 delivered in three payments to those on means-tested benefits, a £150 payment for those on disability benefits, and £300 on top of Winter Fuel Payments for pensioner households.
Benefits and pensions will also increase by 10.1 per cent in April, with the minimum wage seeing its largest-ever cash rise, hitting £10.42 an hour. And more widely, the Energy Price Guarantee will save the typical household £500 in 2023/24.
