Councils join up to call for continuation of Household Support Fund
We’ve joined up with 4 other councils across the country to lobby the government for urgent confirmation that the Household Support Fund will continue past 31 March.
Together with Lambeth Council, Plymouth City Council, Southampton City Council and Bristol City Council, we’ve written to Simon Hoare MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to outline the importance of the continuation of funding when the current round ends.
The Household Support Fund is a government funded scheme, introduced in winter 2021 as additional funding to support people impacted by the cost of living crisis.
The funding in Brighton & Hove was around £4.3 million in the current financial year. This has been used to offer direct support to residents struggling to pay for food, energy and other essentials, as well as funding community and voluntary sector initiatives offering support through food banks, money and energy advice, and more.
Help through the cost of living crisis
The letter, jointly signed by representatives of Lambeth Council, Plymouth City Council, Southampton City Council and Bristol City Council alongside Brighton & Hove Chief Executive Will Tuckley, states:
‘We are writing to you as local authorities from across the country to ask for urgent confirmation that the Household Support Fund (HSF) will continue past 31 March 2024.
‘The substantial positive outcomes achieved through previous allocations of the HSF since 2021 cannot be overstated, and the discontinuation of this support would significantly impede our efforts to assist the most vulnerable impacted by what is an ongoing cost of living crisis.
‘Across England, the Household Support Fund plays a crucial role in funding Free School Meals during holidays for numerous children in need, in addition to providing crisis support for the broader public. This assistance includes food vouchers and other aid from local discretionary social funds and community hubs.
‘Collaborating with community and voluntary sectors, local councils have facilitated innovative support initiatives using the HSF. For instance, programs like the Energy works initiative, offering energy advice and fuel grants, have been established helping to boost the longer-term resilience of communities.
‘The HSF has also contributed to sustainable initiatives such as food markets and support services for specific demographics, ensuring practical assistance reaches those in need through community organisations.
‘Local authorities urgently need confirmation of HSF support to enable critical work planning to take place for the year ahead amidst overwhelming demand.’
Vital support
Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, said: “Hunger is now a scourge of modern Britain. We have an unprecedented number of food banks in Brighton & Hove and I’m told by them that demand is increasingly outstripping supply.
“The Household Support Fund has been critical to allow the council to provide emergency food vouchers and other essentials to residents on the lowest incomes.
“If the support fund is discontinued, I fear the consequences and so I am appealing to the government to reinstate it to mitigate extreme hunger and further homelessness.”
