Household Support Fund after LGR

We know that Household Support Fund money from government will continue at a similar level for the next 12 months (until April 2024) - which means that there will be approx. £4m for Cumberland & £3m for Westmorland and Furness next financial year.

For at least the first six months, spend will continue to be similar to it is now - for example, there'll be Free School Meal Vouchers through the Easter Holidays.

There'll still be hardship payments available through the Helpline team - they'll remain as a single team for the first six months or so post-LGR, hosted by Westmorland and Furness Council.

Nothing, including the contact details, will change dramatically on 1 April; all the current phone numbers, email addresses, etc, should work in the short term, and then there'll be a transition period when both old and new work.

So.......

Criteria for hardship payments will remain broadly as they are at the moment (i.e. the groups most likely to receive a payment, such as families with children under 16, are the same in the short term)

Payments will revert back to typically being around £100 (but with flexibility to give larger payments)

The existing Helpline number - 0800 783 1966 - will still work (and then new numbers will be advertised in time)

Online applications will still be the easiest option for many people - if people visit the current Cost of Living Webpages (https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/costofliving/financialsupport.asp ) they should be re-directed to the appropriate part of the new Unitary website as they go live.

Partner organisations can still use the same referral email (and form) healthandwellbeingteam@cumbria.gov.uk - emails will be forwarded in the short term, and you'll be informed when new email addresses are set up and running

In terms of the Cost-of-Living website more generally (https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/costofliving/) - again, the current link should get people to the information they need, redirecting them to information on the new Unitary websites (which, initially, is likely to just be a copy of the current information). This is one of the things we'll have a look at in the April meeting.

National Citizens Advice Webinar

There's also national Citizen's Advice Briefing/Webinar on the Cost of Living Crisis on 21 March that some of you might be interested in (thanks to Andy Auld & Joanna Coleman):

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/citizens-advice-march-cost-of-living-briefing-tickets-557702532287