Household Support Fund - details announced

Published Monday, 22nd November 2021

Councillors in Hartlepool have approved proposals for the distribution of a £993,000 Government grant that aims to provide support to households facing financial hardship over the winter.

The money has been awarded to Hartlepool Borough Council from the national Household Support Fund.

Members of the authority’s Finance and Policy Committee have agreed that a large part of the money - £640,000 – should be used to provide pre-loaded supermarket cards to the families of some 8,000 children aged 2-19 who meet the qualifying criteria for free school meals. This will ensure that the Government’s requirement that at least 50% of the grant is spent on children is met.

Qualifying families will receive two payments of £40, one in mid-December and another in early February, and they will be able to redeem the cards against their shopping bills.

Other measures include:

  • Hartlepool Local Welfare Support Scheme, £80,000 - to provide support for food, fuel and household goods. Awards will be based on personal circumstances and will not be means-tested.
  • Hartlepool Borough Council’s Housing Advice Team, £60,000 – to provide assistance with exceptional housing costs and support those at risk of eviction due to housing and council tax arrears as a result of Covid-19.
  • Support for households, who do not qualify for the supermarket cards, but are in receipt of benefit (Local Council tax Support, Universal Credit or Housing Benefit), £50,000 – an award of £60 for the purchase of food or other essential household costs.
  • Hartlepool Food Bank and The Bread and Butter Thing, £10,000 each - to provide food parcels/bags of shopping.
  • Citizens Advice Bureau and Advice at Hart, £40,000 each – for the provision of fuel vouchers.
  • Anglian Water, £15,000 – to provide assistance to households in debt and water poverty through the Anglian Water Assistance Fund.

For more information on all of the above go to www.hartlepool.gov.uk/household-support-fund

Councillor Shane Moore, Leader of the Council and Chair of the Finance and Policy Committee, said: “Hopefully, this package of proposals will go some way to easing the hardship that many hard-pressed local families are facing as the cost of living sky rockets.

“A lot of work has been carried out by council officers in a very short space to put this package of support together and I’d like to thank them for their efforts.

“I’d also like to express my gratitude to those partner organisations that have agreed to work with us to provide vital help to local residents. Their support really is appreciated.”