£13.8m Household Support Fund announced in Norfolk

Norfolk County Council has today (14 March) announced how it will allocate its share of the fourth round of the Household Support Fund, which will start from the beginning of April.

The council will receive £13.4m  from central government and will add an additional £400,000 to make the total programme of support worth £13.8m. This funding covers a 12 month period to the end of March 2024.

This is the fourth round of funding from the Household Support Fund, with the council having received over £20m from the government, with the council supplementing this with almost £2.5m since October 2021. By March 2024 the council will have spent £36.35m on Household Support, working closely with district, borough, and city councils, VCSE and public sector partners to identify and implement a range of support measures to meet the needs of vulnerable households, as well as providing more robust and joined up information and advice to those who need it.

Cllr Andrew Proctor, leader of Norfolk County Council, said:

"Our Household Support Fund has already provided direct support to over 162,000 households over the last 18 months. We have been working hard with the Norfolk Community Foundation and now have 15 food hubs up and running throughout the county.

"We are taking a special focus on fuel costs this time, as uncertainty around energy costs continues. We'll continue to provide cost-of-living support for families with free school meal eligible children, and we'll be investing more in the Norfolk Assistance Scheme. We are keen to ensure that everyone accesses the support they need, especially further education students, who may not be aware that they are entitled to help."

The breakdown of how the funding will be distributed is:

• £7.2m for cost-of-living support for families by providing those on low incomes with vouchers of £15 per child each month, plus an additional £30 in the summer and in December
• £3.3m to continue the Norfolk Assistance Scheme
• £2m of funding for district, borough, and the city council to target support to those in need
• £800,000 of support through voluntary organisations, via the Norfolk Community Foundation, to support hard to reach communities
• £200,000 to fund our 47 libraries to continue to deliver period poverty and hygiene grab and go bags
• £300,000 to provide debt and financial advice