I am very pleased the Government is making £842 million of additional funding available from 1st April to help the most vulnerable households across England.
The funding is an extension of the Household Support Fund and has been allocated by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to English councils, who will then use it to support people in their local area pay for energy bills or groceries.
You can find out what is available to you by visiting Essex County Council's website or by contacting your local council office.
Councils in England have the flexibility to decide how best to spend their allocation to support people in their local area quickly and efficiently, drawing from local knowledge and direct contact with people in the community. This builds on the similar support provided over the past 18 months, with the Household Support Fund now worth over £2 billion across its lifetime.
This comes on top of extensive support for those in need in the coming months. The most vulnerable will receive direct payments in 2023/24, which include up to £900 delivered in three payments to those on means-tested benefits, a £150 payment for those on disability benefits, and £300 on top of Winter Fuel Payments for pensioner households.
Benefits and pensions will also increase by 10.1% in April, with the minimum wage seeing its largest ever cash rise, hitting £10.42 an hour. And more widely, the Energy Price Guarantee will save the typical household £500 in 2023/24.
