Brighton & Hove City Council leader Bella Sankey is calling on the government to restore the Household Support Fund to keep vital support in place for vulnerable residents struggling to meet food and energy costs through the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Councillor Sankey wrote to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt earlier this December to set out the serious cost and demand pressures facing Brighton & Hove and councils across the country following the chancellor’s autumn statement.
Since then, the local government funding announcement has confirmed Brighton & Hove City Council’s settlement is £1.4 million lower than anticipated.
The Household Support Fund is a government funded scheme introduced in winter 2021 as additional funding to support people impacted by the cost of living crisis.
In Brighton & Hove, the funding has been used to offer direct support for residents struggling to pay for food, energy and other essentials, as well as funding community and voluntary sector initiatives offering support through food banks, money and energy advice and more.
Councillor Sankey said: “The cost of living crisis continues and so I am extremely disappointed that the government has not yet made a decision as to whether it will continue the Household Support Fund.
“As we know from our work on our draft cost of living action plan, the Household Support Fund has been a mainstay of the support offered to the most vulnerable residents in the city through the council and our community and voluntary sector partners.
“From the Local Discretionary Social Fund helping with essential costs, free meals in the school holiday through to supporting food projects and energy measures, it’s been used to cover huge gaps in vital support.
“Its discontinuation from 1 April 2024 will remove a vital local resource to support very low income families through the cost of living crisis and creates both a cliff edge of lost support and even greater demand pressures on local government.
“I am strongly urging the government to restore the Household Support Fund. It has become critical in helping local authorities to stop residents – including children – from going hungry.”
