Norfolk County Council to offer £7.7m worth of support to struggling families
Almost half of the cash is going towards helping struggling families pay for food
Norfolk County Council is to offer support worth a total of £7.7m to struggling families in the county over the coming months.
It comes as many are facing financial difficulty amid soaring energy bills and increases in the cost of food and fuel.
Borrowers are also going to have to pay more with increases in the Bank of England base rate of interest yesterday (May 5).
The Norfolk Cost of Living Support Scheme will run until October. It includes £3.6m to pay for meal vouchers for children from some of the poorest backgrounds.
It comes after the local authority controversially decided to cut back on meal vouchers over the holidays.
Each child will be eligible for a total of £120 worth of vouchers over the course of the scheme. Those who get free school meals will be able to access the funding.
£1m is going towards the Norfolk Assistance Scheme, which helps families in hardship but who aren't eligible for free school meals.
£2.2m will go towards offering support for those aged 65 and over to help with things like the cost of bills. The council will be teaming up with Anglian Water to offer vouchers to customers facing hardship.
£840,000 will be used to help others in need, with cash going to district, borough and city councils to address issues with local housing.
Cllr Andrew Proctor, Leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “The main challenge facing us all is the spiralling cost of living which is hitting a wide number of households hard."
"That’s why we’ve created a new scheme that is flexible and can reach a broader range of people than previous hardship schemes. This includes families in need, older people and other vulnerable households.
“Previously the focus of our support has been on helping those facing hardship as the economy recovers from the pandemic and providing a bridge between the end of furlough and the Universal Credit top-up.
"Our new Cost of Living Support Scheme builds on what has worked previously but is able to reach a much wider group of residents, in-line with Government guidance.
“Some of the money is directed to the Norfolk Assistance Scheme, which is a robust and proven welfare offering to help households meet their immediate and longer-term needs, as well as channelling funding through our partners in the voluntary sector and other local authorities to expand capacity for wider support needs.”
“We’ve also topped up the funding from government with an extra £1m, so that our fund can reach even more households facing hardship.”
If you're struggling with the rising cost of living, you can contact Norfolk County Council on 0344 800 8020