The government has announced details of a household support fund (HSF) extension worth £842m. From 1 April, the additional funding will be allocated to local authorities to help the most vulnerable households across England. The area that has benefitted the most is Kent, which has received a total of £55,326,904.01.
What is the household support fund?
The funding is an extension of the HSF and 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 pay for energy bills or groceries.
The area that has benefitted the most is Kent, who has received a total of: £55,326,904.01.
Mims Davies, DWP minister for social mobility, youth and progression, said: “The household support fund has already helped vulnerable families across England through these challenging times and I am pleased it will continue to do so for another full year.
“We also know that bearing down on inflation is one of the best ways to help families cope with rising bills, which is why the prime minister has made halving inflation this year one of his top priorities.”
The government has stated that the distribution of the funding is targeted at the areas of the country with the most vulnerable households.
How will the money be spent?
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 HSF now worth over £2bn in its lifetime.
So far, Leicestershire County Council has worked with Leicester City Football Club to create community cooking events, while Bexley Council has established an energy café to provide resource packs and advice on energy consumption. Meanwhile, Wokingham Council delivered over 650 energy-saving packs to those in need, with items such as air fryers, slow cookers, heated blankets and LED lightbulbs included.
Blackpool Council has also used the money to set up a scheme helping families and pensioners get vouchers for food direct from their local market stalls.
Cuts to local authorities
With inflation and energy prices eating into local authority budgets, the Treasury is set to reduce spending to counter a £30-50bn shortfall in the public finances.
Analysis from the County Councils Network reveals that county authorities in England are grappling with £3.5bn in inflationary and demand costs this year and next – which is more than double the expected rise.
Tim Oliver, Chairman of the County Councils Network and Leader of Surrey County Council, said: “Between 2010 and 2018 local government took the brunt of austerity, with councils seeing their budgets halved. A return to this has set off alarm bells for council leaders, who year after year delivered savings to reduce the national deficit.”
He continued: “Considering inflation and demand is set to add £3.5bn to our costs, this would be worse than the period of austerity and devastating for local services. We will be left with unpalatable decisions, with many likely to have to resort to a very basic ‘core offer’ level of services despite this ultimately being a false economy and adversely hitting the most vulnerable in our society.”
Meanwhile, Unison, the public service union, revealed that almost nine in 10 UK councils have a predicted budget gap in the 2023/24 financial year. Through data gathered via freedom of information requests, Unison said: “The data shows the biggest budget shortfall of £80m next year is being faced by Birmingham City Council.”
