Winter support offered to city’s families in need
THE city council has announced plans to support vulnerable households this winter, starting with free school meals during the half term.
Leicester City Council is using £3.4 million awarded under the government’s Household Support Fund to ensure those on low incomes will not have to choose between food or heating this winter.
The authority is starting by offering £15 vouchers to every child eligible for free school meals for the October half-term, which will be valid in a selection of supermarkets. Details of how to get a voucher will announced by schools.
Deputy city mayor Councillor Sarah Russell, who leads on the council’s anti-poverty strategy, said: “With the funding arriving so late in the day, we’ve been unable to organise the half-term food scheme we would have liked to have run.
“The food boxes and recipe cards provided for children on free school meals during the half-term break last May were really appreciated by families, but the logistics of food distribution on that scale require weeks of planning.
“By offering families a £15 food voucher that can be used in a selection of supermarkets, we hope that children who normally have a free school meal won’t miss out on a meal this half-term.”
She said the council was already working on plans for Christmas, and the February break.
Leicestershire County Council has also committed to providing meal vouchers for eligible youngsters during the upcoming break.
The remaining money will be used to support the city’s most vulnerable households by paying for top-up cards for pay-as-you-go meters, or used to make payments directly to energy companies, with the precise details still being finalised.
Coun Russell added: “There’s been lots of publicity about the huge increase in energy prices this winter, and we know that this will have a significant impact on the most vulnerable families and individuals in our city.
“People are already in a tough situation, and many families on low incomes are only just about getting by, so bigger fuel bills will push some people into crisis. “The money we’ve received through the Household Support Fund means we can offer help to those most in need, so they don’t have to make the choice between eating and heating.” An estimated 26,000 families in Leicester will be facing fuel poverty this winter. People are considered to be in fuel poverty when the amount they need to spend on fuel costs leaves them with a residual income below the official poverty line.
Details on how to claim fuel support will be made available in due course.
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COUNCIL GIVEN £3.4 MILLION FROM THE GOVERNMENT’S HOUSEHOLD SUPPORT FUND
Many families are only just about getting by, so bigger fuel bills will push some people into crisis
Sarah Russell