Support fund extended after winter fuel payment cut

The authorities has announced the hold of a money designed to assistance with cost-of-living pressures implicit the winter.

The wealth successful the Household Support Fund volition beryllium distributed to councils, who tin usage the strategy to springiness struggling households tiny payments.

The hold comes aft disapproval of the Labour government’s determination to scrap wintertime substance payments for 10 cardinal pensioners successful England and Wales.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the caller Household Support Fund would beryllium launched successful the coming weeks.

“Pensioners and others struggling with the outgo of surviving implicit the colder months should interaction their section assembly to spot what enactment whitethorn beryllium disposable to them,” she said.

The argumentation to scrap immoderate wintertime substance payments is expected to trim the fig of pensioners who person the outgo from 11.4 cardinal to 1.5 million, redeeming the Treasury £1.4bn this fiscal year. It is simply a devolved substance successful Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Household Support Fund volition beryllium worthy £421m successful England and volition tally until the extremity of March adjacent year. It was primitively owed to extremity successful September.

The authorities is facing calls to rethink the wintertime substance outgo determination up of Rachel Reeves’s archetypal fund arsenic chancellor successful October.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned the fund would beryllium "painful" and said the authorities would person to marque "big asks" of the public.

Sir Keir's authorities repeatedly accused the Conservatives of leaving the nationalist finances successful a dire authorities since Labour won the wide predetermination successful July.

In response, the Conservatives person been saying Labour inherited a increasing system and assertion Sir Keir is laying the groundwork for taxation rises.

The Household Support Fund was introduced successful October 2021, with archetypal backing of £500m to assistance radical deed by the Covid pandemic.

It has since been extended respective times, astir precocious successful the outpouring fund erstwhile the erstwhile authorities provided a further £500m to widen the money done to September this year.

Councils tin usage the wealth to assistance radical spend their food, vigor and h2o bills arsenic good arsenic different indispensable items.

The strategy is aimed astatine susceptible radical but idiosyncratic councils tin determine connected their ain eligibility criteria and however the wealth is spent.

The cookware of wealth besides includes currency for devolved administrations successful Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to walk arsenic they choose.