Letter to the Chancellor regarding Household Support Fund

This letter, dated Tuesday 27 February 2024, was signed by Councillor Adam Hug, Leader of Westminster Council; Mark Linehan, Chief Executive Officer, The Abbey Centre; Mehfuz Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer, Age UK, Westminster; and Joanna Cain, Chief Executive Officer, Citizens Advice Westminster.

Dear Chancellor,

Re: Household Support Fund 2024/5

Westminster Council is deeply concerned about the future of the Household Support Fund (HSF) which has been a vital lifeline to supporting our 31,000 most vulnerable households through the cost-of-living crisis.

Since April 2023, over 8,400 children and young people have received supermarket vouchers during all school holidays. Our most vulnerable children have been receiving £17.50 per week during the holidays, to ensure they have access to sufficient food through this period.

For the children most in need, the end to the HSF will result in families having a direct reduction to their food budget of £238 per year, per child, which will likely result in children not having access to sufficient food during the school holidays.

For an unemployed person over 25, even taking account of the uplift in benefits the end of the HSF and cost of living payments will result in an annual reduction of 15% of entitlements or around £853 per year. For a couple with three children this will mean a 6.1% reduction of around £932 per year, which could mean having to choose between food and bills.

The cost-of-living crisis is continuing to impact residents and the HSF has provided direct funds for over 1,000 households who are working with our partners. It has also been used to
provide supermarket support to 2,400 low-income households including 1,000 pensioners and 700 people with disabilities who are hit hardest by the crisis. If the HSF is ended, then this will be a withdrawal of crucial support from these residents.

The HSF has been used to support organisations such as the Abbey Centre and other food charities to provide free and low-cost food and household essentials to over 2000 households. The Citizens Advice Bureau and Age UK have been providing to provide advice, and referrals to financial and wellbeing services. Without the HSF our partners will
struggle to be able to provide these services in a time in which the CAB has needed to help over 5000 households to access the emergency funding. Age UK has also faced a 33% increase in complex cases to help residents access their entitlements, food and energy support. As the cost-of-living crisis clearly continues to affect our residents, it’s vital we are able to continue to provide support and access to services through the HSF.

Without the continuation of the crucial lifeline provided by the HSF, it is likely that this will result in less support for our most vulnerable families.