Cost of living crisis: Horsham Council earmarks £500,00 to help

The council has been working with Citizens Advice, Age UK and Horsham Matters to understand the impact of the crisis on the district’s residents and to identify how it can help.

And it has now drawn up a five-point action plan to include a £25,000 payment to support Horsham Foodbank; a £160,000 fund for two new Citizens Advice advisors over a two-year period; and £40,000 to fund a Low Income Family Tracker for a two year period to help the advisors target those people who are not claiming all the financial support they are entitled to.

It also aims to establish a directory of support services that people might need. And it’s also to create a £25,000 fund to support interventions identified through partnership work with community groups and voluntary organisations.

Horsham council leader Jonathan Chowen said: “The council’s paramount concern is to help the most vulnerable in our community throughout this cost of living crisis. We are therefore announcing a further £250,000 of funding to help our residents battle the crisis, particularly as we head into the winter months.”

This new proposed funding is in addition to £300,000 emergency support funding which was approved by the council in June.

Jonathan Chowen added: “As a council it is our primary focus to do whatever we can within our powers to take action and ease the current financial burden for many of our local residents.

“We are providing this additional aid to our key community partners so that they can continue the great work they are doing which directly helps those in most need.

“Financial prudence allows us to provide the necessary financial support to our people and their families in these critically difficult times, when many people will be concerned about ever rising costs and where they can seek help.”

Additionally, a series of community drop-in sessions have been introduced across the district to help residents who are struggling and need help accessing key services.

The sessions bring together a range of community partners to support residents’ access to relevant benefits and hardship support and also provide money management advice.

The drop-in sessions have been organised by the council’s community services team in partnership with West Sussex County Council Partnerships and Communities team.

The sessions started in August and will run until at least March 2023.

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Horsham District Council has also been successful as part of a consortium of local authorities in securing funding from the Government’s Sustainable Warmth funding competition, to offer fully funded measures to improve the energy efficiency of local eligible homes. These efficiencies will be delivered under a programme called Warmer Homes.

Funding under the Warmer Homes programme is available from October 2022 until March 2023, for energy efficiency measures such as insulation, solar PV panels and air source heat pumps.

People can apply online by visiting www.warmerhomes.org.uk/programme and click ‘apply now’ or call on 0800 038 5737(freephone).

Visit the Warmer Homes website for more information: www.warmerhomes.org.uk

To find out if you are eligible to access additional sources of funding to help with the cost of living crisis visit the Government website:

https://www.gov.uk/check-benefits-financial-support