A 'technical issue' on the part of the Post Office with e-mails led to a delay in the processing of vital winter support vouchers for entitled families in Stockport.
Post Office bosses, however, have now confirmed to the Manchester Evening News that the 'issue has now been resolved' and all 'affected e-mails are being resent'. Council bosses in Stockport issued a Twitter alert and sent messages to eligible families to inform them of the issue on Monday.
The council confirmed it concerned those with Gmail e-mail accounts registered with the council and said it was working with the Post Office to resolve the issue.
It's not known how many recipients were affected, but the Post Office said those who now receive resent emails would be able to take their voucher code to their nearest branch to redeem it for the cash they are entitled to. E-mail vouchers must be redeemed by Friday, December 23 and expired vouchers cannot be re-issued.
Funded by the Department for Work and Pensions Household Support Fund, eligible families will receive a voucher for £60 for each eligible child.
The vouchers - designed to provide support to families over rising energy and living costs - started to be issued from November 21 2022. Eligible families include those in receipt of free school meals, early years and Post-16 equivalent, plus those in receipt of Local Council Tax Support and/or Housing Benefit paid by Stockport Council.
The council said around 8,500 families qualify in the town, benefiting some 13,000 children and young people.
Vouchers for children in receipt of free school meals will be sent by e-mail, where the council holds an e-mail address for the qualifying family, with residents being encouraged to check their spam folder to ensure that they receive the voucher.
Otherwise the parent will receive a voucher by post. For families with children in receipt of free school meals for which the council does not hold an e-mail address, and for those children eligible for a voucher by means of Local Council Tax Support and/or Housing Benefit paid by Stockport Council, vouchers are being sent by post.
Announcing the support Councillor Malcolm Allan, cabinet member for finance and resources at Stockport Council, said: "We know the difficulties people are facing because of the cost-of-living crisis, and we want to do all we can to support residents across the borough, especially those with young families."
In a message sent to entitled recipients seen by the Manchester Evening News the council, which also tweeted out details of the issue, said: "We are aware of an issue with the Post Office that is impacting e-mail Winter Support Vouchers for all of those with Gmail addresses registered with the council.
"We are working closely with the Post Office to find a solution so that vouchers can be reissued as soon as possible.
"In the meantime, we kindly ask that if you are experiencing this problem, not to contact the council at this time - the council will contact all affected families as soon as a solution has been identified. Thank you for your patience and understanding and we sincerely apologise for the delay."
A Post Office spokesperson told the Manchester Evening News : "Yesterday - Monday - we were made aware that a technical issue meant that some e-mails to Stockport residents needed to be resent.
"The issue has now been resolved and all affected emails are being resent. People who receive these emails will be able to take their voucher code to their Post Office and redeem it for the cash that they are entitled to." No further details have been revealed.
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