Calderdale families get extended support with food and utility bills

The Government’s Covid Local Support Grant, first introduced in December 2020, has been extended through to September bringing it in line with the end date for furlough and other Covid-related support.

This is beyond the planned ending of restrictions, to help families get back on their feet as the economy recovers and the vaccine rollout continues.

Calderdale will receive £690,834 from this funding, in addition to the £1.16m previously received bringing the investment to a total of £1.8m.

To date, the grant has distributed almost £30m to Yorkshire and the Humber regional councils since it was introduced in December 2020 to create new programmes of support tailored to people’s needs in their area. The funding is ring-fenced so that 80% is used to support families with bills for food, key utilities and other essentials.

Minister for Welfare Delivery Will Quince said: “This grant is ensuring that thousands of families get help with food and essential utility bills as we move back towards normality.

“The new funding extends this lifeline to those most in need in the coming months as we continue to help families back on their feet, including supporting people back into work through our multi-billion pound Plan for Jobs.”

Across England, the total new funding is £160m, bringing the overall value of the support since December 2020 to £429.1m. Devolved administrations have received appropriate equivalent funding.

Between December 2020 and mid-April, almost 6.3 million payments went to vulnerable households in England.

Across England 92% of funding has been provided to families with children, and 94% of funding has been used to support households with food or utility bills.

The Covid Local Support Grant is in addition to the £220m Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, which has been scaled up to cover the whole of England across the major school holidays in 2021 – including this summer. The HAF will provide disadvantaged children across the country with healthy meals and enriching activities.