City Council pledges £5.5 million-pounds to help struggling households through the cost-of-living crisis

The City Council has extended cost-of-living support for the city’s residents in its 2023/24 Winter Plan which was agreed at Cabinet on Tuesday 7 November.

This comes as the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that a staggering 1 in 5 people in Great Britain say they are ‘occasionally, hardly, or never’ able to keep comfortably warm, and 1 in 20 cannot buy enough food.

The funding will help residents who are facing financial hardship by investing in preventative help that will also relieve some of the growing pressure on struggling health and care services over the winter.

The City Council’s expanded support includes:

Help for children and families: Families of children who are entitled to free school meals will receive a £15 supermarket voucher per child each week of the two-week Christmas holiday and one-week February half term. Extra activities will also be put in place this winter from 2-5 January 2024 which will ensure fun activities and free hot food.

Funding for Parish and Town Councils: The City Council will be providing even more funding to help Parish and Town Councils run warm spaces this winter, which will include social clubs, community cafes, and other informal activities.

Help with energy and housing costs: Thousands of pounds has been allocated to provide financial support for tenants and private renters to help people who are falling into rent arrears.

Funding charities to help their work go further: Charities across the city such as MK Food Bank and Citizens Advice will receive a financial boost so they can reach more people.

Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequalities and Child Poverty, Councillor Jane Carr, said:

“High energy prices and rising food costs continue to devastate the city’s most vulnerable residents, all whilst the Conservatives sit by and watch people suffer. That’s why for the second year running we have put a Winter Plan in place to support our residents through serious financial hardship.

“Providing funding for those who need it the most, will put the City Council and our local partners in a better position to help manage demand. We are only able to make this commitment thanks to years of handling our finances responsibly and carefully planning ahead, which has put us in a better position than many other local authorities.”

Last year, Lib Dem Councillor Sam Crooks proposed a motion which declared a cost-of-living emergency, the City Council then spent £3.3 million pounds to support projects that provided food, reduced energy bills, and gave other financial help and support to the city’s residents.

Read the Winter Plan and find other cost-of-living support here.