Hardship Fund slated as a ‘postcode lottery’
THE Household Support Fund for people struggling with rising bills has been criticised as a postcode lottery that offers only piecemeal handouts.
The fund was given an extra £500million in Wednesday’s Budget and it was extended after its original March 31 end.
Within 30 minutes of Chancellor Rishi Sunak announcing the extra cash, online searches for “Household Support Fund” exploded by 1,338 per cent.
It was an unprecedented spike in people Googling for support.
But campaigners criticised the fund, saying people in some areas of England get more than others and those who qualify in one place may not in another.
The fund was launched last October with an initial £500million to help hard-up Britons with their heating and food bills as inflation began to rise and higher energy bills kicked in.
It is run by local authorities, who decide how they will spend the money and who qualifies for it in their area. Jan Shortt, of the National Pensioners’ Convention, said: “While £1billion is a headline grabbing amount, it is not going to be enough to help everyone in need by the time it is divided up among every local authority. As each authority operates differently it will be a postcode lottery as to what, if any help you receive.
“The Government must provide the public with a clear understanding of how much funding each local authority will receive, what they can use it for, how people can apply for it and the process of selection.
“Piecemeal handouts from the Government do not deal with the underlying problem of poverty.”
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “As local councils are being given the job of distributing the fund it is important that this doesn’t produce an unfair postcode lottery.
“Support should be targeted towards the households in greatest need everywhere. We also call on the Government and local authorities to ensure that the fund is well publicised.
“Older people are often stoic in the face of adversity and may be reluctant to come forward, so local councils must ensure that they actively identify those in need.
“Where possible we would like local councils to allocate funds automatically to older people, without them needing to ask.
“They must also take care to support older people who aren’t receiving all the benefits they are due, so this means they can’t simply rely on a list of everyone in receipt of Pension Credit when they distribute this funding.” There
are different kinds of help being offered by councils. Some are giving vouchers worth £125 to pay for food and other essentials.
Others like Barnsley Council are giving up to £200 in vouchers to spend at shops including Aldi, Asda,Argos and Currys.
Phil Andrew, chief executive of the charity StepChange, said: “The additional £500million is a drop in the ocean in terms of addressing the scale of need among the most
financially vulnerable households. We are really worried that there will be an increase in the number of households who simply won’t be able to make ends meet.”
Personal finance analyst Myron Jobson, from Interactive Investor, warned that applicants may have to battle “with large amounts of red tape to get financial support”.
Google searches for “energy bills cost” shot up by 820 per cent and “energy bills rebate” by 318 per cent after Mr Sunak’s speech. A Government source said: “We recognise the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, which is why we’re providing support worth £22billion across this financial year and next to help.
“This includes the £1billion Household Support Fund, which is helping the most vulnerable with essential costs.”