Vulnerable residents across Fylde are soon to receive additional financial assistance from Fylde Council through the Household Support Fund.
Fylde Council have received £270k in funding from Lancashire County Council, and a one-off payment of £90 will be made to each household where a person of pension age and in receipt of Council Tax support is resident.
The funding left after this payment will be used to support vulnerable residents through Citizens Advice with essential costs such as heating and energy. A further bid has been submitted with the aim of allowing Fylde Council to continue working more widely with Citizens Advice Fylde, Age UK, and Fylde Foodbank to help those most in need.
Cllr Karen Buckley, Leader of Fylde Council, said: “I’m proud that Fylde Council have voted to provide this much needed assistance to the most vulnerable members of society. The rise in the cost of living has affected us all, and these payments – along with the additional support for our valued local partner agencies – will help ease these hardships.”
The Houshold Support Fund originated in September 2021 with a £500 million fund to help vulnerable households across the country with essentials during the winter period. Fylde Council received £150k in this tranche through Lancashire County Council, which was distributed through small payments to support vulnerable households meet daily costs such as food, clothing and utilities.
In May 2022, the Government announced that the Household Support Fund grant had been extended once again to offer additional support to vulnerable households. Lancashire County Council have distributed to Fylde Council a further £270,000 of funding to be used in supporting the elderly, to complement the support for families and individuals provided through Lancashire County Council’s £4million free school meal voucher scheme over the school holidays from April to September.
The £90 payments will come in the form of a letter with a code which can be scanned at the Post Office to claim the cash payment, to a maximum of one letter and payment per household where a pension-age resident is in receipt of Council Tax support.
Councillors on Fylde Council’s Environment, Health and Housing Committee unanimously approved the scheme funding in June, and the proposal has now been approved by the full Council as of 4 July 2022.
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