Norfolk County Council is to receive £2,74 million from government for food and supplies for vulnerable households as part of £170 million package.
An extension of school holiday programme providing food and activities for young people was also announced.
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 Norfolk County Council receiving £2,740,592.35. This funding will prevent children from going hungry this winter and ensure local families get the help they need. The funding will be ring-fenced, with at least 80% earmarked to support with food and bills, and will cover the period to the end of March 2021. Local Authorities will receive the funding at the beginning of December 2020.
It will allow councils to directly help the hardest-hit families and individuals, as well as provide food for children who need it over the holidays. Local councils understand which groups need support, and are best placed to ensure appropriate holiday support is provided – which is why they will distribute the funds, rather than schools, who will continue providing meals for disadvantaged children during term-time. It builds on the £63 million already provided to councils this year to assist those struggling to buy food and essentials which saw Norfolk receive £1 million.
A further £220 million will be invested in extending the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, meaning that children eligible for Free School Meals will have the option to join a holiday-time programme that provides healthy food and fun activities next year.
James said, "No child should ever go hungry and I welcome this new funding to ensure local families that need extra support with food and bills this winter can access it.
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 major impact on disadvantaged young people, to cover Easter, Summer, and Christmas next year.This is part of our commitment to targeted action to support low income families and activities that give children the best opportunity to succeed – this is a better approach than just asking schools to provide vouchers at times when they are closed.”
Healthy Start scheme payments are also set to increase from £3.10 to £4.25 a week from next April, 2021.
This scheme supports pregnant women or those with children under four who have a low income and are in receipt of benefits to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. This will help people boost the long-term health of their children.
The Government has also pledged additional funding of £16m for food distribution charities, with conversations with FareShare and others ongoing as to how this is allocated.
To support people during this challenging time, the Conservative 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.
