£3.4m lifeline for 26,000 households in fuel poverty

PEOPLE struggling to pay their bills as gas prices soar can now get help from a £3.4 million fund for Leicester’s poorest residents.

The city council has been given the cash by the Department for Work & Pensions to set up a Household Support Fund, which will help vulnerable people and families to pay their fuel bills.

People can now apply to the fund online through the council’s website. They will also be able to ask for help with food and water bills.

The scheme can even help people who need assistance to buy items such as white goods, clothing or bedding, or who have long-standing debts with utility companies.

Gas prices have been soaring globally, leading to many of the cheaper energy suppliers going bust and forcing their customers to accept much higher rates with other companies.

The city council estimates that about 26,000 households in Leicester will face fuel poverty this winter.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve provided support for those who need it.

“We delivered food boxes at the height of the lockdown, and we have run programmes to ensure 16,000 children from low-income families don’t go hungry in the school holidays. We welcome the chance to continue offering this support, which we know can be a vital lifeline.

“As winter approaches, we know that there will be families and individuals who are worried about paying their fuel bills and making ends meet, particularly with the recent rises in fuel prices.

“Using our local knowledge and the expertise that has served us so well during the pandemic, we will target support towards those who need it most, ensuring that this fund is used to help our most vulnerable residents. No-one should have to choose between heating and eating.”

Staff from Citizens Advice Leicestershire and professionals such as social workers, healthcare workers and housing advisers will be able to refer people to the fund if they don’t ask for help themselves.

To qualify for help from the fund, households need to have an income of less than £356.25 per week.

At least half of the funding will go to families with children, complementing funding for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, which was used to provide food vouchers for children on free school meals over the recent half-term, and will be used to provide support again over the Christmas holidays and February half-term.

The Household Support Fund will run for four months, throughout the winter months, or until the money runs out.

The city council is currently planning to close the fund for applications on March 14, 2022, with awards being paid out up to March 31.

To apply online, fill in the form at the website below.

Anyone who struggles to apply online should email the address below or speak to their local Citizens Advice office.

People with a council support worker can ask them to make an application on their behalf.

SUPPORT FUND FOR THE CITY’S WORST-OFF