Vital expenses including extra help to pay household bills, and school meals during the holidays, can now be supported over the next six months through the borough’s £2.7m Household Support Fund (HSF) allocation, confirmed by the Government.
The funding will enable Lambeth to continue essential support for low-income families at a time of significant financial pressure, due to unprecedented demand for front-line services, particularly temporary accommodation.
As many people continue to struggle with household costs including fuel bills, Lambeth has decided to continue directing its HSF funding towards the residents who need it most.
The latest cost of living package is expected to support almost 45,000 people over the next six months. It will help fund:
- Free School Meal holiday provision for families on low incomes, to the tune of £15 per child per week.
- Emergency Support for residents in crisis with an income of less than £30,000 a year
- Support for residents disproportionately impacted by increases to the cost of living, including care leavers, private rented tenants and disabled residents
- Support for residents through voluntary and community sector organisations
- Free period products in council-run buildings, children’s centres and Sanctuary services
All of Lambeth’s previous allocations under the HSF, during critical periods including the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, have been focussed on those groups and individuals most directly affected. The latest activity is a key part of the range of help and support the council provides for residents who are vulnerable or on the lowest incomes: Lambeth currently spends £9.4m per annum on direct support to financially precarious residents.
Word from the Cabinet
Lambeth’s Joint Cabinet Members for Equalities, Governance and Change, Councillor Fred Cowell and Councillor Nanda Manley-Browne said: “People might have assumed that we’re through the worst of the cost of living crisis now that inflation has fallen from the unprecedented levels of a couple of years ago. But there are thousands of people who are still struggling to afford household essentials, including energy and water bills, food, and other necessities.
“The Household Support Fund has been a lifeline for so many people over a number of years, and we welcome the Government’s decision to extend it. We will continue to use it to ensure our most vulnerable residents receive the support they need at this particularly difficult time of year.”
Continued household support funding is particularly welcome given the significant financial challenge Lambeth faces, with a £69million funding shortfall over the next four years.
Cllr Cowell and Cllr Manley-Browne added: “This funding comes at a time when the council is having to make incredibly tough decisions about how we spend limited resources. We will continue to do all we can to support people on low-incomes, and welcome the Government’s recent commitments to allocate funding according to need, helping us to tackle the root causes of deprivation in our communities”
