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Spring Statement: chancellor to increase Household Support Fund to £1bn
The Household Support Fund is set to double from £500m to £1bn, the government has announced.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the additional funding, which will be available from April and goes towards supporting vulnerable households, in the Spring Statement to the House of Commons on Wednesday.
The funding is given to councils in England and primarily used to support households with the cost of essentials, although local authorities have flexibility to best address local needs.
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At least 50% of it is reserved for households with children.
Of the existing £500m, £421m was allocated to the most vulnerable in England, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80m.
Mr Sunak told the House of Commons: “I want to do more to help our most vulnerable households with rising costs.
“They need targeted support so I am doubling the Household Support Fund to £1bn with £500m of new funding.”
The Household Support Fund was launched in October for struggling households to get through winter amid the cost of living crisis.
It came following the cut to the £20 a week Universal Credit uplift.
The extra funding announcement was one of three “immediate measures” that the chancellor said would “help people now”.
He also announced a 5p per litre cut to fuel duty and that homeowners will no longer have to pay VAT on installing energy efficiency measures in their home.
The Spring Statement comes amid soaring costs for households - energy bills, National Insurance, and inflation are all set to increase in April.
Social tenants will also be grappling with inflation-linked rent rises next month, now capped at 4.1%.
Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told the House of Commons that the government’s plan did nothing for people facing poverty or for pensioners who are facing a "real-terms cut" to their income.
