At his Decision Day on 14 May 2024, Councillor Edward Heron, Hampshire County Council’s Cabinet Lead Member for Children's Services, approved the grant and said: “We are delighted that we can extend the Household Support Fund for a further six months to provide a helping hand for low-income households and people facing financial hardship. We will be targeting vital support to those most in need, including working households experiencing food and energy price rises but who may not meet the criteria for other Government help.
“We will continue to work closely with other local organisations including district and borough councils, education providers, charities and neighbourhood groups to ensure that eligible households receive support with food, energy and water bills and assistance with essential household items.”
The funding allocations include:
Hampshire-wide grants
- £550,000 to develop sustainable food support and grants for the community pantry network;
- £483,569 to Citizens Advice to support households with utility costs;
- £421,250 for services that support unpaid carers and young carers;
- £220,000 to the Environment Centre to provide guidance and support to households on energy-related issues as well as provision of practical household items;
- £57,155 for the Hampshire Library Service to extend and develop its current community offer.
Community grants
- £720,000 available as community grants for locally based organisations to support residents.
Grants to District/Borough Councils
- £1,835,527 to provide food vouchers;
- £525,525 for exceptional housing costs.
Grants through education settings
- £1,185,742 for schools, colleges and early years settings to offer support at their own discretion to families most in need of help.
Hampshire County Council social care support
- £143,000 in food vouchers to foster carers and connected carers;
- £88,700 in food vouchers for care leavers;
- £56,200 in food vouchers for families supported by the Disabled Children’s Team;
- £476,000 in fuel support for adults with social care needs not in residential accommodation.
For full details of the programme and grant allocations, see the Decision Day report here.
The Household Support Fund and the Department for Education funded Holiday Activities and Food programme are both administered through connect4communities.
The connect4communities website includes information for households seeking help and for organisations looking to deliver support. Information about applying for community grants will be added to the website in the coming weeks.