Changes to Peterborough supermarket voucher scheme after staff abused
Staff and volunteers faced abuse from members of the public trying to gain extra vouchers
Changes to the delivery of Peterborough’s supermarket voucher scheme will be made after staff faced “highly abusive behaviour”.
The Citizens’ Advice Peterborough (CAP) charity has declined to continue running the scheme, saying its staff and volunteers faced abuse from members of the public trying to gain extra vouchers or who were unhappy they didn’t qualify for them.
The vouchers, which are funded by the government’s Household Support Fund (HSF), are available over school holidays for families with children who would ordinarily receive free school meals.
They’ll continue to be handed out this year – with £10 vouchers per pupil proposed over May half term and £50 vouchers over the summer holidays – but will no longer be administered by CAP.
Peterborough City Council (PCC), which oversees the scheme, says demand “significantly outstripped” CAP’s capacity to provide the vouchers, meaning it wasn’t always able to promptly respond to enquiries, leading to complaints and residents unable to access support.
It says that as it only received notice that the HSF would continue in the recent Spring Budget and is still awaiting confirmation of its allocation, it hasn’t been able to find another provider and will instead look at “alternative models” for passing on the funds in future.
This could include using them to reduce council tax bills for qualifying households from September.
The HSF’s origins came during the pandemic as a way to alleviate pressure on struggling households and it has since been extended several times, most recently for an extra six months from 31st March.
Locally, it’s available to Peterborough residents who receive or are applying for any means tested benefit such as universal credit, income support or child tax benefits as well as personal independence payments or disability living allowance.
It’s also available to people on low incomes: single people earning less than £25,500 per year, couples earning less than £43,400 together – including those in houses of multiple occupancy – or anyone deemed to be experiencing hardship by the council or one of its partners.
PCC has also confirmed that HSF money will again be granted to community hubs where people can receive support and advice.
The amount they receive will depend on the funding allocation from government.