Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet has today agreed a comprehensive package of continuing support for residents struggling with cost-of-living pressures.

The council has been allocated a further £4.8 million of Household Support Fund money from the Department for Work and Pensions to provide support until March 2024. It’s now set out how the funding will be used to provide the best help possible to residents who need it most.

The council recognises the cost-of-living pressures have not gone away and high inflation and recent annual bill rises are continuing to impact households across the county. The council is pleased the funding is for a full twelve months of support and today the Cabinet has agreed to continue with a range of initiatives to help local households, including its flagship Helping Hand service.

The Council will spend the new tranche of money in the same way it has done previously, by providing food vouchers to eligible residents, direct support through the Helping Hand service and using the funds to support local organisations like foodbanks, which are providing vital community-based support.

The full support to run until end March 2024 agreed this morning is as follows:

• £700,381 will fund direct support through the Helping Hand service – that residents can contact if they’re facing financial hardship

• £2.25 million will be spent on food support through food vouchers for eligible children and young people through school holidays and other eligible groups including Afghan and Ukrainian refugees

• £400,000 will help fund voluntary and community organisations that provide free, essential support to residents such as foodbanks

• £500,000 will be made available as grants or direct support in regard to utility arrears, administered via applications to the Helping Hand Fund managed by local charity ‘Heart of Bucks’

• £600,000 will provide targeted support for other vulnerable groups such as care-leavers, pensioners and residents with disabilities and/or caring responsibilities; this will be available through digital vouchers or other appropriate support

Martin Tett is Leader of Buckinghamshire Council. He said:

“Working out the best and fairest way to allocate these funds so they reach those most in need is critically important to us, so I’m really pleased we’ve agreed this further package of support today. Councils are able to devise their own schemes to spend the Household Support Fund so long as they are within the parameters set out by government, and here in Buckinghamshire our priority is to use the funds so they really make a difference. We’re among those with the most far-reaching range of support available including setting up the Heart of Bucks crisis fund, unique to Buckinghamshire.

Through our Helping Hand service we’ve been able to provide really tailored solutions to really make a difference. No two cases or referrals are the same and are often complex; from helping a young man with living costs who had fled domestic abuse, to helping a father and 15-year-old son whose mother had died and who were subsequently struggling financially. I’m proud of the collaborative work our Helping Hand service and community organisations are doing to make a vital difference to families and individuals in Buckinghamshire who are facing significant need and hardship.”

Notes to Editor

• To contact the Helping Hand service go to www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/helping-hand or call 01296 531 151

• For general advice and support on the cost-of-living please go to the dedicated pages on our website: www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/cost-of-living

• For full details of the range of support the council offers, please see the council’s website. This includes details of the ongoing ‘Holiday Activities and Food’ (HAF) programme, providing free, high quality holiday activities and clubs for children and young people in Reception to Year 11 inclusive, who receive benefits-related free school meals. A hot meal is provided at every session. Find out more and check if you are eligible:buckinghamshire.gov.uk/haf-summer

• During 2022/23, Buckinghamshire Council’s Helping Hand service has:

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• Managed more than 11,000 applications for help
• Provided help on more than 9,000 occasions with food and fuel assistance
• Provided 1,538 white goods
• Enabled other essential goods to be purchased on 990 occasions
• Issued or managed 434 grants
• Delivered nearly 83,000 school holiday food vouchers

• Join Buckinghamshire’s Community Food Chain and donate to your local foodbank if you’re able to. Volunteers are always needed to help run these vital organisations; check www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/help-your-community if you’d like to help

• Another way to help manage your finances is to switch to paying Council Tax by Direct Debit; it means you’ll know exactly how much money will be leaving your bank account, and when, making it easier to keep up to date with payments. It also helps spread the cost with the option of making twelve monthly payments instead of ten plus there are six different monthly payment dates to choose from. Go to www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/council-tax to find out more

• To interview Martin Tett on the new tranche of measures to tackle the cost-of-living pressures, please contact Claire Perry, claire.perry@buckinghamshire.gov.uk