There are already 36 local authorities who have closed their local welfare scheme, schemes to support people with food, fuel and furniture in a time of crisis, and a further eight say their scheme will also close on October 1st without additional government funding – cutting off 17.8m people from vital support.
The Household Support Fund was created by the previous government in 2021, to support families through the cost-of-living crisis with £1bn of funding given to local authorities and the devolved governments each year.
Most local authorities in England have used HSF funding to prop up their Local Welfare Schemes with 65% of all LWA funding coming from HSF, including 18 local authority LWA schemes that are 100% funded by HSF. So not only will the Household Support Fund end, but even more local welfare schemes will also vanish.
All of the data was gathered from Freedom of Information requests sent to all local authorities regarding both LWA and HSF, as well as FOIs sent to the devolved nations for their comparable schemes.
Claire Donovan, Head of Policy at the End Furniture Poverty, said: “We know the Household Support Fund is a sticking plaster, but we desperately need one last extension of funding while an urgent review of local authority crisis support is carried out.
“The government has much to do and we understand that funding is tight but investing in local authority crisis support is vital to save families from going under – and it is investment that saves the public purse across the NHS, social care and much more.”
If you would like to discuss the report or ask any questions, please email info@endfurniturepoverty.org
Read the full report below.
