Sheffield City Council is making over £650,000 available to support local people with a non-repayable grant to help with food and energy costs.
This follows a decision by councillors of the Strategy and Resources Committee on 13th December. Funding is being drawn from the Household Support Fund.
The Council is taking this action as a direct result of a motion from Labour councillors in October 2023 which called for increased targeted payments to low-income families, including those who are not in receipt of benefits or free school meals.
The application scheme (where people can apply for hardship grants for essentials) is open to people who are not in receipt of means tested benefits and the amount awarded increases for families with children.
Currently, 80% of applicants to the Household Support Fund are ‘families with children’, and demand is soaring – with 112 applications for support every day in November 2023, an increase of 148% on last year.
However, government recently announced that the Household Support Fund scheme will end in March 2024. Sheffield received £10.4 million last year, which will no longer be available to help people on low incomes.
Speaking about this Council Leader Tom Hunt said:
“This year we were able to use this money to pay for hardship grants, and food vouchers in the school holidays for families where children receive free school meals, with vouchers worth £125 for each child.
“Three years ago the footballer Marcus Rashford ran a brilliant campaign which forced government to act and led to the holiday food vouchers being introduced.
“Scrapping the funding now would be a serious own goal.
“Charities including Barnardo’s and the Children’s Society have already called on the government to reverse its position.
“Scrooge saw the error of his ways at Christmas. This Government needs to do the same and think again.
“I am delighted that cross-party councillors backed Labour’s plans to give extra help to those most in need, and directly put money in people’s pockets, but there is only so much we can do without government’s support.
“Locally, we continue to work hard to support people across the city. Under Labour’s leadership the council is providing extra funding for Citizens Advice so they can help more people, and we’re working with Yorkshire Water to reduce water bills.
“As a council we worked with the voluntary sector to create a network of over 170 community hubs and welcoming places where people can get advice and support, come together to chat, and even just to stay warm. I’m proud of our council for doing this but appalled that, like the continued use of food banks, this is needed in this country under the Tories.
“No one should be left cold or hungry. We’re doing what we can to help people this Christmas. It’s time that the Government did the same.
Notes:
Sheffield City Council runs a dedicated page for support Cost-Living Support, which you can access here: https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/cost-of-living, which details how people can check if they are eligible for any additional support, including the Household Support Fund non-repayable grants.