STRUGGLING Warwickshire residents can apply for funding to meet household costs through winter.
Warwickshire County Council (WCC) is distributing its £3.47million share of the government’s Household Support Fund grants, as the country continues its recovery from the pandemic.
Funding is available to Warwickshire residents who need immediate financial support this winter with food, energy and water bills.
At least half of the total funding is ring-fenced to support families with children, with the remainder available to other households in need of support this winter.
The funding will be distributed via WCC’s Local Welfare Scheme, which distributed £3.2m of Covid funding to the most vulnerable during the last ten months.
Priority support is being offered to families with children eligible for benefits-related free school meals during school holidays. Those eligible and registered children will automatically receive support towards food costs over the October half term via Huggg supermarket vouchers.
WCC’s environment, heritage and culture spokeswoman Coun Heather Timms said: “We welcome news of this government funding which will enable us to offer targeted help to those who will struggle financially over the next few months.
“Last winter, we allocated £1.8m of government funding to make 51,000 awards to families and individuals in need, so they were better able to meet food and fuel costs – this funding means we can do even more.
“The grant will bolster the work of our well-established Local Welfare Scheme. If you or someone you know is facing hardship right now, I encourage you to look online and get in touch with us, to find out what help there is.”
Visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/facinghardship for information about wider support from the council and other services.
Contact the Warwickshire Local Welfare Scheme team by visiting www.warwickshire.gov.uk/localwelfarescheme or calling 01926 359182 or 0800 408 1448.
