Councils in England will get more funding to help vulnerable households from early April.
The Household Support Fund will give every local authority in England a £842million share to try and help those struggling most as prices rise.
Information on receiving the new funding should be updated on each council website in the coming weeks.
How they spend the money is up to each council, with very different approaches being taken.
One has in the past opted to order affordable grocery boxes, while another has supplied energy-saving packs of air fryers and slow cookers.
A sum of money has been made available to councils every six months since October 2021 to help fill the gaps in support for struggling households.
This latest government grant is scheduled to last a year, but in some areas the demand was so great that the money from the previous rounds was gone within a few weeks.
The rise in prices over the past year has put pressure on the finances of many households. Inflation – the rate at which prices are rising – still remains near a 40-year high.
- Who can receive the current cost of living statements?
- Why are prices rising so much?
Councils have chosen many different methods to allocate the money.
Blackpool Council set up a market voucher scheme where households with children and pensioners could receive fresh food vouchers from local markets.
Wokingham Council supplied 650 energy saving packs including air fryers, slow cookers, electric blankets, thermal clothing, draft excluders and LED light bulbs.
Blackburn Council has ordered groceries in bulk through an affordable grocery box distributor, while Derbyshire Council has sent out vouchers which can be redeemed upon application by schools and healthcare professionals for the neediest households.
Many communities have chosen to focus support, and in some areas, people with large families, single parents, the elderly on low incomes, or people with disabilities have benefited.
Agencies in the poorest areas receive proportionately more, and decentralized nations receive equivalent funding.
Birmingham get the most and are set to receive more than £25m in April, while £22m goes to Kent, Lancashire £19m and Essex £18m.
Although the April funding is double the sum provided over the past six months, it is set to last a year and there is likely to be higher demand as soaring food and energy prices over the winter mean more people are now than are considered endangered.
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