Merseyside's five local authorities have been allocated millions of pounds to help struggling families cope with the cost of living crisis.
Funds from the Household Support Fund scheme are given to councils from the Department for Work and Pensions. Each local authority decides who to give the money to, and how the money should be spent. Residents facing a crisis situation and not able to pay for essentials such as fuel, heating or children's shoes are among those who could benefit from the local financial support scheme.
However, the support available is decided by each individual council - as well as the eligibility criteria.
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Wirral Council has secured more than £3m to provide school meal replacements and help residents facing severe financial difficulties this summer. The authority said the cash will be targeted at the borough's most vulnerable residents, with a third ring-fenced to support families with children, and a further third allocated to help pensioners (age 65+).
Wirral Council’s director of resources, Shaer Halewood, said: "Cost of living increases are making it increasingly difficult for people to make ends meet, so this £3m of extra support is very welcome. The new funding will be targeted at the most vulnerable people in our community, with the majority being used to help with essential food and fuel costs.
"We know that many families rely on school meals and will be worried about feeding their children over the summer, so more than £1m will be used to provide food for the summer holiday via nurseries, schools, Birkenhead Sixth Form College and through Holiday Activity Fund play schemes."
The £3.049m awarded under the latest phase must be spent by the end of September. It is being distributed in a number of ways:
- Financial support with fuel, and with fuel and water debt (£650,000): vulnerable residents who are unable to pay for the fuel they need to heat and power their homes or are struggling to deal with fuel and water debt.
- Small grants programme (£600,000): for community-based food and welfare support groups, including many that played a key role supporting residents through the pandemic.
- Emergency school food pantries (£520,000): primary, secondary, special schools, and Birkenhead Sixth Form College will be given a store of food items for pupils and students to take home and use over the summer holiday.
- Emergency financial support scheme (£400,000): this scheme allows the council to provide emergency support to help people in crisis situations due to an emergency or disaster, as well as to helping those leaving care, hospital, or prison to become established in the community.
- Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) – Food Support (£200,000): the HAF is a national programme providing more than 70 clubs and activity venues in Wirral over the summer holiday for free school meal-eligible young people.
- Wirral Family Cook Off (£200,000): up to 4,000 families in all parts of the borough will receive food boxes containing the ingredients and step-by-step menu cards to create interesting and nutritious family meals together this summer.
- Early Years Food and Essential Hampers During School Holidays (£130,000): families who qualify will receive hampers containing food and other essential items, which will be provided for the nursery/school summer holidays.
- Housing Support Costs (£100,000): funding will be allocated to support housing costs in exceptional cases of genuine emergency where existing housing support schemes cannot be used.
Sefton Council has an allocation of £2.4m for the period from April to September, which the authority will use in a number of different ways such as providing free school meals and support for parents. St Helens Council, meanwhile, has received a grant allocation of just over £1.7m.
It will provide help to residents struggling to afford energy, food and water bills. In addition, the scheme will cover items which may directly affect a household’s ability to afford energy food and water, including: essentials linked to energy and water, e.g. warm clothing, blankets, toiletries, boiler replacements / repairs, cookers or white goods.
Liverpool Council has been awarded £6m from the Household Support Fund to be split between households with young people, those of pensionable age and other households who would otherwise struggle to buy food.
Eligible families with children under one, families with youngsters aged two years who are entitled to free early education, and families with children entitled to free school meals will receive nine weeks’ worth of £15 supermarket vouchers per child, benefiting 25,000 youngsters.
Food vouchers for children entitled to free school meals will be distributed by schools before the summer break, while families with younger children will receive a letter inviting them to visit their local Children and Family Centre. A further 316 care leavers will receive a supermarket voucher to the value of £135 and a £200 fuel voucher.
Funding will also be used to support up to 10,000 other families identified by children’s social care and 3,500 families through the Liverpool Citizens Support Scheme (LCSS). All eligible families will be automatically contacted by the council.
Vouchers are being allocated to people of pensionable age by social work teams and the Carers Centre is working to ensure that vouchers reach carers across city.
Cllr Frazer Lake, Cabinet Member for Adults and Children’s Social Care, said: “Making sure our children and young people are fed and that they are fed well is always a priority for us, and particularly during summer when parents are facing additional pressures due to the school holidays.
“Issuing vouchers means that families can choose their own food from their regular supermarket and be confident of its quality.
“I would encourage anyone who is struggling, whether you have children or not, to contact the Liverpool Citizens Support scheme. The team will be able to advise whether you are entitled to any support for basic living expenses.”
Knowsley Council was awarded £1.862m to support struggling families and residents. The local authority confirmed households in receipt of free school meals will automatically receive their allocated Household Support Fund funding and won’t need to apply.
Knowsley Foodbank has also been allocated a budget and are helping with food and essentials – this is open to everyone who needs it either through a referral from an organisation or residents can self-refer through the Knowsley Food Support scheme.
Pensioners will also have access to the Household Support Fund and details for how they receive this are currently being confirmed.
In addition residents have access to the Knowsley Better Together Hardship Fund, which aims to support residents who need it most by ensuring they get the right support at the right time – more info about how to access this can be found here.
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