Families that have been hardest hit by the pandemic and need extra support this winter with food and bills will benefit from a new £170 million scheme unveiled by the Government.
The Covid Winter Grant Scheme will see councils across England share £170 million in additional, ring-fenced funding to help vulnerable families and individuals, with Bedford Borough receiving £482,306 and Central Bedfordshire receiving £587,054.
This will prevent children from going hungry this winter and ensure local families get the help they need. It builds on the £63 million already provided to councils this year to assist those struggling to buy food and essentials.
A further £220 million will be invested in extending the Holiday and Food Programme until Christmas 2021. This will mean all children eligible for Free School Meals will have the option to join a holiday-time programme that provides healthy food and enriching activities during the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays. The government has also pledged additional funding of £16m for food distribution charities.
Commenting, Richard said: “No child should ever go hungry, and the extra money for both local authorities in my constituency will ensure local families that need extra support with food and bills this winter can access it, which is very welcome news. This is in addition to the increase of over £1,000 per year to the Working Tax Credit and Universal Credit standard allowance - the amount that everyone is entitled to if they're accepted onto Universal Credit - for 12 months, which was announced at the start of the pandemic.
“I’m also pleased that the Prime Minister has announced the extension of the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides healthy food and activities for children during the school holidays and has a massive impact on disadvantaged young people in our community, to cover Easter, Summer and Christmas next year.
To support people during this challenging time, the government has invested more than £200 billion to protect people’s jobs and incomes through the furlough scheme, grants for the self-employed and other support for business and a £9.3 billion injection to strengthen the welfare safety net this year.
