There’s additional financial support on its way for families, pensioners and care leavers in Rotherham to help with hardship caused by the cost of living crisis.
Rotherham Council’s Cabinet announced initial plans for how it intended to allocate its share of the Household Support Fund in May this year.
Now it is to consider further measures at its meeting on Monday 11th July:
• Increasing funding for a supermarket food voucher scheme for families with children in receipt of means-tested free school meals to meet an increase in the number of eligible children
• Help with gas and electricity bills for care leavers living independently for the first time
• Additional targeted financial support to help the poorest pensioners with gas and electricity bills
The Council's Energy Crisis Support Scheme is already in place, which is providing one off £250 payments to working and non-working households in Rotherham struggling to make ends meet because of energy price hikes. This scheme is funded by the Council and has been supplemented by an additional £150 for pensioners struggling with the cost of living, linked to the Energy Crisis Support Scheme and paid for from the Household Support Fund.
In total, the package of support adds up to almost £2.5m, which is the full Household Support Fund allocated to Rotherham Council by the Government, covering the period from March to September 2022.
The Household Support Fund has been allocated to all local authorities. Councils decide how the fund is distributed in their area.
The Government has announced that a further round of the Fund will be allocated to cover the second half of the current financial year. The Council is currently awaiting an announcement about the amount it is to be allocated.
Councillor Chris Read, Leader of Rotherham Council said: “The increase in food, fuel, gas and electricity costs is tough on everyone and we know people are really struggling.
“The Household Support Fund, along with other national measures to support people at this difficult time is welcome but we know it is only a sticking plaster for an increasingly gaping wound. We know many people are having to really tighten their belts, but with only a finite resource, we’re trying to target our support at those in the very greatest need – people in receipt of means-tested benefits and those with less than £150 left each month after they’ve paid for essentials like food rent and utility bills.”
A wide range of information about the support available, saving money, jobs and benefits and where to get debt advice is available on the Council’s website.
Rotherham Council is amongst the first local authorities in the country to have distributed the Government’s £150 Council Tax energy rebates to all its eligible households.