The fifth round of the Household Support Fund (HSF) funded by UK Government was announced recently, as the council looks to continue the work that saw 86,000 households provided with much needed financial support last year.
The fund started in 2021 to help with the rising costs of living, and provides emergency support to those across the county who have needed financial support most. It is just one of a number of community investment funds that enable Surrey County Council to put funding at the heart of communities and ensure that no one is left behind.
By working closely with our communities, we are able to target the funds provided to the heart of where it makes the biggest difference. This latest round of funding equates to £5.3million and will be distributed across a network of Surrey based organisations – see Household Support Fund pages for more details.
Last year’s HSF helped Surrey County Council to provide 86,000 households with much needed financial support including 53,000 households with children, 10,000 households with pensioners and nearly 10,000 households with a disabled person(s). Knowing that school holidays can be a stressful time for families financially, nearly 26,000 children received food vouchers during school holiday periods. Over 2,000 families were supported with living essentials including school uniform and toiletries. Whilst energy bills became a concern for many, the HSF provided 795 care leavers with additional support towards their energy bills. With foodbanks reporting a 300% increase in demand £400,000 was made available to this important provision. Over 630 children with a disability were supported with the additional costs of their disability and food vouchers were distributed to nearly 400 households with a disabled person(s).
In addition to the HSF the second round of Sparks Funding totalling £160,000 has been provided to five charities in Surrey to support small scale, community-led initiatives focusing on health and wellbeing. These have been concentrated in areas known as key neighbourhoods which have been identified as geographical areas which experience the poorest health and wellbeing outcomes in Surrey. More information is available here.
Surrey County Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities Denise Turner-Stewart said:
Yet again by working closely with our partners out in our communities, we are ensuring that funding gets to where it is needed most, to ensure no one is left behind. By working with Citizens Advice we are also helping to ensure our most vulnerable residents are getting all the financial support they are eligible for and are managing their finances for maximum benefit.
Details of other community funding available in Surrey can be found here.
As there is uncertainty around whether the UK Government Funded Household Support Fund will continue past September 2024, we want to ensure that everyone in Surrey who may be struggling financially is getting the benefits, tax credits and financial support they are entitled to, such as debt relief. The Community Helpline continues to be available to talk to someone to help residents check that they are getting all the financial support they are entitled to and maximising their income. The Community Helpline is available on 0300 200 1008 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday except bank holidays. The online Health and Welfare support hub is also there so people can check what they are entitled to.
