Over £96m is being invested to support South Lanarkshire residents with the cost-of-living crisis.
Additional funding of £4.68m has been announced by South Lanarkshire Council – which is on top of the £91.694m agreed by the Executive Committee on September 21 to help ease pressures faced by residents.
The most recent package announced will put £4.68m towards allowing community groups to join a ‘warm welcome; initiative which will provide activities and places to go this winter as well as combating hunger by extending free school meals to cover weekends.
There will also be extra support for food banks and £49 vouchers to support people using prepaid energy metres.
The package agreed in September 2022 included writing off school meal debt and support for tenants.
Council Leader Joe Fagan said: “Even though the council has already put those supports in place, it is clear that the cost-of-living crisis that households are facing this winter will be worse than anything we have seen for 50 years.
“That is why we are stepping in with this additional package, which is targeted to help those households most likely to struggle, especially those with specific costs such as to meet the needs of young people and coping with rising energy bills.
“A key aspect is the ‘Warm Welcome’ that will be provided in places right across our large geographical area, in partnership with our colleagues in South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) and the many community organisations they work with.”
The additional £4.68m was agreed on by all the council’s political groups.
It will include £3m going to South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture to cover free lets for community groups to provide a ‘warm welcome’ and swimming sessions; £1.02m will be provided to families who receive free school meals to also cover weekend days from this month until the end of March next year; £425,000 will provide more than 5000 voucher payments and advice to households with pre-paid metres; £135,000 will be for additional and one-off £100 payments to foster, kinship or family carers of looked after children; and £100,000 will help support registered foodbanks.
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