By Local Democracy Reporter Simon Finlay
Struggling residents can claim a one-off £100 food voucher this summer as part of a scheme to counter the cost-of-living crisis.
The government initiative will finish on September 14 or if the money runs out before that date.
The Household Support Fund, run by Kent County Council (KCC), is aimed at people in need but who have not been eligible for other recent government support.
Families who receive free school meals are not eligible to apply as they are issued with a voucher by their child’s school.
Help organisations such as Citizen Advice, NHS trusts and housing associations are also referring people into the scheme.
KCC leader Cllr Roger Gough acknowledged pressure on household budgets is “immense”.
He said: “Our priority is to ensure that no one in Kent is left behind as the cost of living crisis continues to affect so many families across the county.
“For some, the pressures currently being exerted on personal budgets are immense and we want to make sure this funding gets to those who need it, who might not be getting any other support.
“The summer voucher scheme is aimed at people who might not be entitled to other forms of support, and, in some cases, have no idea that any form of financial help is available to them.”
Successful applicants will receive the voucher by text or email, or by post as necessary, and it is valid for 31 days.
It can be redeemed at a list of participating shops which can be selected at the application stage.
Cllr Gough added: “We know there are a great number of people in Kent who are eligible for these vouchers but they have so far not applied, possibly thinking they do not qualify.
“Many of these residents are being significantly hit by the rising cost of living but might fall between other eligibility criteria.
“I’d like to thank all of our partners across Kent for their continued help in making sure that this funding will reach those who need it the most. Together we will do everything we can to ensure that anyone who needs it can be supported by this scheme.”
A proportion of the funding pot has also been made available for Kent’s district and borough councils to put in place support schemes which target specific local needs across the county.
Applicants for the £100 food voucher must:
– be 16 or over
– be a Kent resident, permanently living within one of the 12 local authorities covered by Kent County Council (this excludes Medway, Bromley, and Bexley)
– be in receipt of means-tested benefits, or household income less than £40,000 per annum before tax
– not have savings above £1000
– not be receiving free school meals support for any child within their household (they will be receiving a payment via their children’s school).
Visit KCC’s cost of living support page: https://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/cost-of-living-support
i used to get to get vouchers , they called them wages in those days for working hard
Correct 😥
It’s great to see that even a Tory government has a little bit of socialism about it.
What a desperate situation it would be if people, for what ever reason, fell on hard times and were unable to feed their children or themselves.
We come little way since Dicken’s times of the work house, but not a lot.
Sad to reflect that as the poor get poorer, the rich get immensely richer.
Wages are just getting less and less.
Blair’s Labour government introduced a minimum wage but that was way too low to really help and who checked and enforced it,anyway?
Then they actually acknowledged that many wages were too low and it was made possible to claim Benefits to make up your wages to something almost acceptable.
Employers loved this as it meant that they could pay a minimum wage but know they could get away with it as the employee could claim Benefits to top it up.
So the taxpayers were subsidising low -wage employers. The workforce get a barely acceptable wage by combining wages and benefits. But the employer only pays the wages bit. Everybody else pays the rest.
In a way, thousands of more people are now paid by the state, though they are employed by private companies.
Now, we see that even this Benefits top-up is not enough and even the Tory-run Kent CC realise that more is needed.
Sothey come up with this voucher scheme.
Meanwhile, others work hard to organise Foodbanks so that people don’t actually starve in order to have a home and pay utility bills.
All this working and organising and dreaming up different schemes, when all that is needed is for employers to pay PROPER WAGES!
Then we wouldn’t need all the top-ups.
Either employers set up workplaces with a proper business plan which includes adequate wages OR , in the end, local and national government will have to take over the job of paying all wages out of taxation. And allocate work to where its needed.