THE government has announced further household support funding until the end of March 2025 to help households that are struggling with the costs of energy, food, water and other essentials.

Devon County Council will receive a share of the Household Support Fund, as it has each year since 2021.  This allocation, like previous ones, is a little over £5 million. 

The council is now agreeing how it will be distributed, working closely with Devon's eight District, City and Borough councils and voluntary and community partners.

Citizens Advice Devon will be one of the recipients to receive Household Support Funding, so that it can continue to support people who are struggling to meet their energy needs.

Support comes in the shape of fuel voucher payments, and longer-term relief of fuel poverty through initiatives that help homes become more energy-efficient, and that help people stay warm at home - heated throw, body warmer or rechargeable hot water bottle, for example.

With energy costs rising again this winter, the charity expects to see more households seeking help with their energy needs.

The Devon Community Foundation will also continue to receive Household Support Funding to help communities that are under-served by other support programmes, and are likely therefore to be impacted more severely by the cost of living crisis.

Since Devon County Council first gave Household Support Funding to the Devon Communities Foundation in 2022 the charity's “Food, Fuel and More” programme has distributed more than £1.3 million in grants - primarily through the Household Support Fund, but also through private donations - to groups whose work supports households with disabled residents or those suffering ill-health which has a direct impact on household income and their ability to meet food and energy bills; homeless people and those in temporary or insecure housing; Asian, Black and other ethnic minority communities who are not accessing support through other channels; and Traveller, Gypsy and Roma communities.

This latest round of Household Support Fund allows the County Council to continue to provide Free School Meal holiday vouchers to families whose children are eligible for benefit-related free school meals during term time. 

The holiday vouchers will help pay for food shopping for around 22,000 pupils during the October Half Term, Christmas, and February Half Term holidays.

Since 2021, vouchers to the value of around £11.8m have been provided to eligible households.

Pensioners and households receiving welfare benefits will also have access to the Household Support Fund.

The County Council and District Councils are discussing how to best make the funding available to those households in greatest need this winter.

Final details will be published on each District Council’s Household Support Fund webpage as soon as arrangements are finalised.

Devon’s Early Help team will continue to provide support to families with children who are struggling financially.

Referrals to the fund will be made via the professionals who work closely with families.

And young adults who have been in the care of Devon County Council - care leavers - will continue to receive financial support towards their energy and food costs, as part of the County Council and District Councils’ joint commitment to supporting care leavers.

Councillor Roger Croad, the Council's Cabinet Member with responsibility for communities, said: "We're pleased that the government has been able to provide another Household Support Fund through to next Spring, which will be welcome news to a lot of households in Devon who are struggling with the cost of living.

"As the new fund was announced only recently, we haven't yet finalised exactly how we're going to make this latest round of funding available to households, but we will continue to work with our partners to make sure it's used to support those in need who are struggling to pay for energy, food, water and other essential items.

“We’ll confirm the arrangements as soon as it’s been agreed with our partners.”