The government has announced further household support funding until the end of March 2025 to help households that are struggling with the costs of energy, food, water and other essentials.

Devon County Council (DCC) will receive a share of the Household Support Fund, as it has each year since 2021. This allocation, like previous ones, is a little over £5 million. 

DCC is now agreeing how to distribute the funding, working with Devon’s eight District, City and Borough councils and voluntary and community partners.

Citizens Advice Devon will be one of the recipients to receive Household Support Funding, so that they can continue to support people who are struggling to meet their energy needs.  

Support comes in the shape of fuel voucher payments, and longer-term relief of fuel poverty through initiatives that help homes become more energy-efficient, and that help people stay warm at home – heated throw, body warmer or rechargeable hot water bottle, for example.

With energy costs rising again this winter, the charity expects to see more households seeking help with their energy needs.

The Devon Community Foundation will also continue to receive Household Support Funding to help communities that are under-served by other support programmes, and are likely therefore to be impacted more severely by the cost of living crisis.

Since DCC first gave Household Support Funding to the Devon Communities Foundation in 2022 the charity’s ‘Food, Fuel and More’ programme has distributed more than £1.3 million in grants.

This latest round of Household Support Fund allows DCC to continue to provide Free School Meal holiday vouchers to families whose children are eligible for benefit-related free school meals during term time. 

The holiday vouchers will help pay for food shopping for around 22,000 pupils during the October Half Term, Christmas, and February Half Term holidays.

Pensioners and households receiving welfare benefits will also have access to the Household Support Fund. Devon’s eight District Councils are discussing how to best make the funding available to those households in greatest need this winter. Final details will be published on each District Council’s Household Support Fund webpage as soon as arrangements are finalised.