Household Support Fund - letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer

A letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer from Wokingham Borough Council's Leader and executive member executive member for equalities, inclusion and fighting poverty, and the chair of the Hardship Alliance, requesting for the Household Support Fund to be continued to support our residents.

The letter in full - Household Support Fund for 2024/25

Dear Chancellor of the Exchequer,

We are writing to you on behalf of Wokingham Borough to request you continue funding the Household Support Fund (HSF) into the next financial year.

Since the HSF funding began in 2021 it has helped thousands of residents by contributing to mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and then the cost of living crisis in our borough.

Continuing this funding is vital for our residents who are most vulnerable and have the lowest incomes.

Ahead of the Spring Budget on 6 March, we still have no clarity or indication on the future of the funding. The lack of clarity means we are having to plan to begin to stand down our HSF infrastructure.

It is critical we know the future of the HSF so we can plan ahead and have confidence it will be there to help our residents for the months ahead. Extending the fund is essential to help those struggling most in the area.

Wokingham Borough Council and its Hardship Alliance partners have worked tirelessly to make best use of the funding. The group of local voluntary organisations and the council has worked together to use the funding for those who need it most since early 2022, alongside implementing our joint Tackling Poverty Strategy.

Since the Household Support Fund launched, more than £2million has been paid to thousands of residents who were struggling to pay for essentials. 

For these people, it's made the difference between having food or going hungry, and between being able to heat their homes or going cold because of the challenges of the pandemic and cost of living crisis.

The majority of funding has gone straight to residents targeting high-need groups, including:

• School Holiday Food Vouchers for free school meal families during school holidays supporting 2,403 children from 1,319 families (in 2023/24 alone)
• Grants to pensioners, families, single income households, people with disabilities, carers and people who miss out on other Government cost of living support

The flexibility of the HSF means we have been able to innovate and add value through out partnerships with local voluntary and charitable organisations.

Meaning these organisations, who have huge trust and confidence in them from the people they support, can provide what people need:

• The Winter Warmers scheme – energy efficient items to low income households, helping reduce their energy costs (more than £1million saved for almost 1,000 families in the lifetime of items they received)
• Funding for the Fuel Bank at Wokingham Foodbank for those with payment meters in energy crisis
• Direct funding as outlined above

We urge you to follow the advice of the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee from November 2023 to continue this vital local safety net for vulnerable and low-income residents.

Your attention and an update on this matter is vital for the council and its partners.

Despite questions from MPs in the House of Commons in early in 2024, Government ministers continue to state “government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review” when asked about the future of the HSF. This continues to be vague and unhelpful.

We appreciate and understand the complexity of these budgetary decisions, but the lack of information on this creates a cliff edge for our residents and the infrastructure we have set up to support them through the HSF.

Time is running out to give clarity on this situation. We urge you not to wait until the Spring Budget announcements to set out the future for the HSF.

This cost of living crisis continues to have an enormous impact on the lives of our residents.

This crucial support must continue to support our most vulnerable residents or risk forcing further pressure on the council and local voluntary sector, which is already dealing with heightened demand.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Stephen Conway, leader, Wokingham Borough Council

Cllr Rachel Bishop-Firth, executive member for equalities, inclusion and fighting poverty, Wokingham Borough Council

Amy Garstang, chair of the Hardship Alliance and manager of Wokingham United Charities

(sent 5 February 2024)

CC: The Rt Hon Mel Stride MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Return to news story

Return to cost of living help