Asked by: Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how money from the Household Support Fund is allocated; and what criteria they use when deciding how much money each local authority is given.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England this financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion.
In England this is being delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. It is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.
The year-long Household Support Fund extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary cost of living support to those most in need.
The distribution of the funding is targeted at the areas of the country with the most vulnerable households, on the basis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) local population estimates and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) scores. Allocation amounts for upper tier Local Authorities in England are therefore reflective of population size and relative deprivation.