Hull City Council’s cabinet has approved a plan for how the council will spend its over £5 million allocation of the Household Support Fund.
At the council’s cabinet meeting held on May 19, cabinet members committed to arrangements detailing how the council will distribute its £5,354,902 allocation of the Household Support Fund (HSF) provided by the Government for the period April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.
Across the country, the Government has made £742 million available to local authorities, such as Hull City Council, to support vulnerable households with the cost of essentials. The scheme is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and was first launched under Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in October 2021 and has been extended periodically ever since.
Hull City Council will use its funding in this period to fund initiatives including food, health, fuel & energy, and money & debt.
Over £2.6 million will be spent on £15 weekly food vouchers that will be given out to recipients of free school meals during school holidays. The council report presented to the cabinet states there are 16,100 Free School Meal recipient who will be receiving the £15 vouchers weekly for eleven weeks of the year.
£375,500 is set to be spent on supporting pensioners affected by changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance. The council will use a targeted approach of pensioners entitlement to Council Tax Support (CTS) to provide allocation of a £200 credit against their Council Tax account, for those receiving less than full CTS.
One million pound of the allocation is set to go towards the Local Assistance Scheme which is split into two parts.
A) Community Crisis Loans (CCL) – for residents who are unable to meet their immediate short-term needs either in a crisis in relation to some expenses or as consequence of a disaster
B) Community Support Grants (CSG) – to help vulnerable residents live independently, providing assistance with white goods, furniture, clothing etc.
Other funding allocations include:
£72,000 on providing microwavable ready meals to enable residents without an oven to enjoy a hot meal
£65,000 on supporting pensioners, via Age UK, with application for welfare benefits such as Pension Credit
£56,000 on funding school uniforms. Worked out as 1,400 lots of £40
£150,000 to support tenancies of those renting homes. This seeks to prevent homelessness and protect tenancies. This funding will be split between private rentals (£90,000) and council housing (£60,000)
By: Andrew Spence, LDRS
