Leader vows to continue poverty support in Cambridgeshire ahead of expected cuts
It comes as more than 23,000 holiday food vouchers were handed out
The leader of Cambridgeshire County Council has said supporting children living in poverty will continue to be a priority.
It comes as more than 23,000 holiday supermarket food vouchers have been distributed to families in need this February half-term.
The county council has pledged to invest £3 million into the scheme in this year's budget, as the current round of government funding from the Household Support Fund is due to end on 31st March.
Councillor Lucy Nethsingha is the council's leader:
"Focussing the support we can offer on those families is a quick way of getting quite a significant additional amount of help to families who are likely to be really struggling," she said.
"The impact of child poverty is vast and very long-lasting; children who go to school hungry are hungry in the holidays, so focussing our support on that particular group seems like a good thing to do."
86 per cent of families say vouchers helped them cope
The council said eligible families were given £15 supermarket food vouchers to spend for the week, with the voucher valid to use at 11 supermarkets.
A survey sent by the authority to families receiving the supermarket vouchers found that over 86 per cent of families said the vouchers had helped them cope with the rising cost of living.
The survey also found more than 74 per cent of families said the scheme had reduced the need for them to seek other sources of support in the school holidays such as food banks.
In January, councillors were told that parents would expect to receive a lower amount in free school meal holiday vouchers if the government removes its funding for the scheme.
At the time, Cllr Nethsingha said the county council’s contribution to funding the vouchers was increasing “significantly” and that it was the government’s contribution that was “disappearing”.
"I think the most important message to get to people is come and talk to your local council," she added.
"There are things we can do, particularly in supporting people to make sure they are getting the maximum income that they should be."