Winter payments re-jig to help the most at need

West Berkshire Council has re-jigged its payment system for the poor and needy in the district.

It is aimed at helping people most at need, and has allocated £227k to quick access funds for the winter months.

West Berkshire Council has been awarded £1,389,699 to meet the stated aims of the Household Support Fund of supporting the vulnerable or those that cannot pay for essentials.

The £227K underspend is to be distributed directly by the Housing Service before the end of March 2024.

The funding is designed to meet the “immediate needs and help those who are struggling to afford energy and water bills, food, and other related essentials".

Authorities can also use the funding to support households who are struggling to afford wider essentials including housing costs where existing housing support does not meet this need.

With less than four months to run on the current scheme a review has taken place to adjust the scheme.

Many requests made to the fund are for relatively small amounts for emergency situations such as emergency food supplies or energy top-ups.

Commonly these range from £30 to £50. Distributing this type of funding quickly is difficult for the council using current payment mechanisms.

Going forward one option is that the council hold stocks of food and energy vouchers for immediate distribution where the eligibility criteria are met.

Regular meetings are taking place with the voluntary sector and in particular those organisations most associated with assisting those who are facing financial pressures made worse by the current range of factors that make up the so-called ‘cost-of-living’ squeeze.

So far this year, 1,662 applications for financial help have been recieved by the council, of which 1,038 have been approved and 516 rejected.

West Berkshire Foodbank, The Community Resource Project and Newbury Soup Kitchen have all told the council of significant increases in demand.

Particularly for items such as replacement appliances and mattresses.

The foodbank reported a pressure in supplying self-heating food packs or those that can be cooked in a kettle.

They reported increasing numbers of complex mental health issues being identified requiring significant support too.

The fund has now been split to allow £30k for urgent enquires to the council for food and energy support.

Additionally, £19.5k is allocated to funding to support the provision of white goods, cookers, beds, furniture, utensils and more.

The scheme is provided by Newbury Community Resource Centre.

The contribution will be added to the £30K additional support already provided by joint Cost of Living fund.

There will be £10k to support those in emergency and temporary accommodation including the provision of hot food and/or food suitable for heating in an emergency accommodation setting.

There are 695 residents that are in receipt of Housing Benefit only, the majority are pensioners. They are not eligible for the national cost of living payment.

It is proposed to make one off winter payments of £150, totalling around £104k.

In addition, the recipients will be provided with information about the winter health campaign and advice about where targeted support can be obtained including the main fund.

Pensioners needing help are allocated a further £40k to fund subsidised hot meals, support with energy costs, boiler and other repairs, provision of microwave cookers and other goods.

And 200 children are identified as carers by the council (with more unidentified). No national funding is available for young carers, so £30k of emergency support has been allocated to them.