"It is the wrong time to be cutting this support and I call on the Government to reverse this decision. After 13 years of failure from the Tories it is clear the only answer to this crisis is a Labour Government." Damien Egan, Mayor of Lewisham
REVEALED – Major cuts to cost of living support to Lewisham families in Autumn Statement as taxes continue to soar
The Household Support Fund is an £842m fund to help families with food and energy costs. As the cost of living crisis deepens, driven no small part by the largest tax burden in 70 years, the Chancellor has abolished the fund – cutting over £13m in support for households in Lewisham. In the most recent round of funding Lewisham Council used the Household Support Fund for projects such as:
- £2m of support for 10,000 children during the school holidays who receive Free School Meals
- £900,000 of support to school children not eligible for Free School Meals targeted at schools with the highest levels of deprivation
- £200,000 to assist those with their energy bills including debt repayments and fuel vouchers.
Due to this stealth cut by Jeremy Hunt this vital support is now set to be taken away.
Under the Conservatives families in Lewisham have faced 13 years of stagnation, low growth, falling wages, rising taxes and crumbling public services. Last year, the Conservatives recklessly crashed the British economy, setting off run-away inflation and hammering working families further. The Autumn Statement was an opportunity to fix the mess the Tories have created.
The household support fund provides much needed assistance to those who need a little help to make ends meet through the cost of living crisis your party helped create. Taking that support away is an attack on hard working families in Lewisham who are doing everything they can to get through this Cost of Living Crisis.
The Conservatives have utterly wrecked the British economy – and they are asking families in Lewisham to pay the price.
Mayor Damien Egan said,
“The Household Support Fund has been essential in supporting people through this Conservative Cost of Living Crisis. In Lewisham, we have used this funding to reduce child hunger and to provide families with support with their energy bills.
Household finances remain stretched for so many. It is the wrong time to be cutting this support and I call on the Government to reverse this decision. After 13 years of failure from the Tories it is clear the only answer to this crisis is a Labour Government.”
END
Notes to editor
The Housing Support Fund was created to help the most vulnerable households across England with essential food and energy costs.
Following the Autumn Statement it has emerged that the Government will be ending the scheme
Lewisham Council’s report on the distribution of the fourth round of funding from the Household Support Fund