The grant to local authorities was first introduced in 2021 to support vulnerable families through the pandemic but is now set to end next month

Tim Leaver is Enfield Council's cabinet member for finance — Tim Leaver is Enfield Council’s cabinet member for finance and procurement

Enfield Council’s finance boss is urging the government to extend its Household Support Fund (HSF) beyond March “to enable us to support our most vulnerable households through this crisis”.

Tim Leaver, the cabinet member for finance and procurement, has written to Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt warning of the escalating number of people turning to councils for help as the cost-of-living crisis persists.

In the letter, Cllr Leaver says Enfield residents are facing the largest fall in living standards and the highest tax burden since the 1950s and, as a result, it is imperative that they receive ongoing financial assistance from the HSF.

The HSF is a fund that aims to help those individuals struggling to pay for food, energy, or other essential items and to support them to resolve their financial issues. The fund has been awarded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to local authorities since 2021, at first to offer support during the pandemic but continued in recent years as the cost-of-living crisis has taken hold.

Cllr Leaver warns in his letter to the chancellor: “Instead of tackling these issues in the Autumn Statement and subsequent Local Government Finance Settlement, you are taking away the support for families most in need by cutting the Household Support Fund by the end of this financial year.”

He added: “We join calls by the Local Government Association and London Councils for you to continue the Household Support Fund to enable us to support our most vulnerable households through this crisis.”

In Enfield, the £5.6m fund has enabled the council to help low-income households with the cost of meals in the school holidays, school foodbanks, the cost of school uniforms and direct payments to low income households, as well as financial support for residents in temporary accommodation.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We have invested over £2billion in the Household Support Fund over the last two years – with almost £800million already paid to families with children to help with the cost of living.

“The current fund is available up until March 2024 as part of wider cost-of-living support worth on average £3,700 per household, including raising benefits by 6.7% from April and increasing the Local Housing Allowance.”

For more information on the support and advice available from Enfield Council:
Visit enfield.gov.uk/helpingyou

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