Government extends Household Support Fund for another six months and eyes long term options

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced an extension to the Household Support Fund for the next six months enabling vulnerable households to receive support for the cost of essentials this winter.

In the official communication, the Government went some way to address the uncertainty surrounding the Fund: “the government is exploring options around how best to provide sustainable support to vulnerable households in the longer term while the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce develops an ambitious strategy to tackle the root causes of poverty".

Launched in October 2021, the Household Support Fund (HSF) is distributed to local authorities (and devolved nations using the Barnett Formula) to enable them to help families in need with bills including food and energy. Many councils have used funds to provide additional cash or voucher payments during school holidays to families with children eligible for free school meals. 

Sofia Parente, Head of Local Action, said:

“We welcome the extension of the Fund for another six months and the announcement that the Government is exploring options around long-term support.

The cycle of short-term extensions since 2021 has created unnecessary uncertainty among councils and other local organisations. Sustain and Sustainable Food Places are calling for the creation of a permanent fund to allow local authorities to continue to support our most vulnerable residents and allow a flexible allocation, including making provision for the use of cash grants, funding for advice services and collaboration with food partnerships, food poverty alliances and voluntary and community sector organisations.”

Barbara Crowther, Children's Food Campaign Manager at Sustain said:

"The Household Support Fund has enabled councils across the UK to provide vital support during school holidays to families with children normally eligible for free school meals. Many councils were already withdrawing these schemes, even though an estimated 2.7 million children were still facing food insecurity over the summer, due to lack of budget.

"However six months does not even provide for the whole of the next academic year, and still leaves longer term uncertainty for councils and schools alike. We hope the government's new Child Poverty strategy will look comprehensively across both term time and school holidays, and ensure every child has access to healthy food 365 days a year."

Earlier in 2024, Sustain joined with over 120 organisations in calling on government to give more advance notice of continuing funding, to allow councils to plan and budget in advance. It was following this that the Government extended the scheme for the fifth time. The coalition has also called for a permanent funding mechanism. 

Read Sustain's briefing on the Household Support Fund

Full press release from Department for Work and Pensions and HM Treasury