Cash to help struggling households in Torridge increases

£268,000 to be given out for food, fuel, clothing, white goods and boiler repairs

More people struggling to pay their bills in Torridge will get a share of a £268,000 grant from the government over the next six months in the sixth round of the Household Support Fund.

Torridge District Council has received more than £70,000 than in the previous period.

Grants will help people in need to buy food, pay utility bills or meet other essential living or housing costs.

This includes pensioners who may find it hard to pay fuel costs following the government’s axing of the winter fuel payment to everyone except those who get pension credit.

Previous assistance from the Household Support Fund has already allowed people to buy clothing and blankets, service boilers or have them repaired.

Applications can also be made to meet the cost of purchasing or repairing white goods such as fridges, freezers and ovens, which might otherwise be beyond the means of struggling households.

From March to September this year Torridge distribute £194,000 from the fund.

Devon County Council has since received a little over £5 million from the government to dish out to borough and district council until March.

Local authorities are unsure if grant funding, brought in after covid to help with the cost of living crisis, will continue beyond that time.

Torridge District Council has employed a full time officer to handle the fund and a campaign is ongoing to encourage people to apply for the money.

Cllr Philip Pennington (Non Aligned, Monkleigh and Putford) said most people in financial hardship went to Citizens Advice but the local branch for Torridge, North, Mid and West Devon is so busy it is only managing to answer 40 per of calls.

Around 6,000 of the district’s residents are on universal credit (UC), half of whom are out of work, and around 800 residents who are eligible for pension credit (PC) do not claim, he said.

Cllr Pennington asked if the council could help people receiving universal credit, but as it is administered by the Department of Work and Pensions he was told the council doesn’t have access to their details.

But the council is aware of people on low incomes who receive a council tax reduction.

Each person who applies for the Household Support Fund is means tested, head of governance Staci Dorey said.

The fund has to be spent by next March. Cllr Ken James (Ind, Milton and Tamarside) said all other funding rounds had been spent within the deadline and he praised officers for getting the money out.