Sumi Rabindrakumar, head of policy and research at the Trussell Trust, welcomed the government’s extension of the household support fund, adding that the fund has enabled local authorities in England “to provide vital crisis support”.
“We’ve heard first hand from people given a lifeline through this support, with families being able to replace mouldy bedding, pay their energy bills, or no longer having to worry about affording a bus fare to work. An extension will mean people no longer face a cliff edge in support in their community ahead of another difficult winter,” Rabindrakumar said.
“However, the effectiveness of this support has been undermined by repeated short extensions leaving local authorities unable to design and deliver support well, and people in limbo and consumed by worry.
“The time for temporary measures is over and the new government must use the time allowed by the latest extension to urgently develop a long-term strategy for crisis support.”
Lynn Perry, chief executive of children’s charity Barnardo’s welcomed the decision to extend the fund to help the “more and more families struggling to make ends meet”, however stressed that more must be done to help those most in need.
“While this is a positive first step, much more needs to be done: our research has found families increasingly reaching crisis – with applications for help buying children’s beds or bedding quadrupling in just five years,” Perry said.
“Growing up in poverty can mean going to school hungry and returning to a cold home, and it affects children’s health well into adulthood. We urge the Government to use the October budget to take bold steps so that every family can afford the essentials.”
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition explained, however, that the extension to the household support fund is the “bare minimum” the government needs to do in order to help the most vulnerable this winter.
“The extension of the Household Support Fund is the bare minimum the Government needed to do this winter and it is a positive first step that ministers have indicated it will continue,” Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, told the Big Issue.
“But as the Winter Fuel Payment axe plunges more pensioners into fuel poverty, the fund may prove to be inadequate as more vulnerable older people turn to local authorities for help and assistance.
“Ministers must now look to introduce a help to repay scheme for those in energy debt, expand the Warm Home Discount and restore Winter Fuel Payments to more pensioners.”
London Councils added that the fund is “life-changing”, and its extension is “hugely welcome news”, but that “long-term funding” is needed.
Councillor Anthony Okereke, London Councils’ executive member for communities, said in a statement: “In London, boroughs have used the fund to provide meals for thousands of children during school holidays, help low-income households pay for essentials such as gas bills or school uniforms, and open warm hubs to support residents struggling with heating costs.”
Okereke added: “With so many Londoners still facing immense cost-of-living pressures, the extension of the Household Support Fund to March 2025 will boost boroughs’ ability to assist them through the winter months.
“London boroughs will also continue to engage with the government over the future of local welfare provision, making the case for long-term funding that better enables us to help those residents at risk of financial hardship.”
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