Newcastle City Council is to use the extended Household Support Fund (HSF) to continue to help needy families. For the period April to late September 2024 Newcastle has been awarded £2.9mn.
Councillor Paul Frew, Cabinet Member for Resources, said:
”We are pleased the UK government has extended the Household Support Fund which has helped thousands of city households facing hardship. However, this will be the final time the government will fund the HSF. We will continue to lobby central government for further and permanent funding.”
The allocated pot of money to Newcastle will give support during school holidays, give hardship payments, and support alterative cost of living schemes.
According to a council statement Free School Meals will continue to be delivered during the school holidays to 17,900 children at £15 per child per week for the May half-term vacation and the six weeks summer holiday. This amounts to £1.9mn. According to Councillor Frew a further £0.3mn has already been spent for the Easter Holidays 2024.
Furthermore, individual hardship payments of £200 will be made available to people and households in need in early summer and autumn. £0.6mn has been allocated to this scheme.
The remaining funding of £0.1mn will be used to support localised cost of living schemes. This will include support for unpaid carers, care leavers and the councils’ fuel poverty fund including boiler replacements.
Councillor Shaun Davies, chair of the Local Government Association, said:
”The government needs to use the next six months to agree a more sustainable successor for the HSF. Councils need certainty and consistent funding to maintain staff, services, and networks that help our most vulnerable residents. Without this, we risk more people falling into financial crisis a head for into winter.”
Both Newcastle Council and the LGA are calling for the HSF to be made permanent.
