More than 10,000 Warwickshire residents given part of grant to help them to afford food and other necessities this Christmas

Warwickshire County Council has made payments to around 11,000 families struggling to afford food this Christmas.
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The council worked with schools to ensure every family with children eligible for benefits related free school meals received a voucher to use to buy food during the school holidays.

The funding has come from the government’s COVID Winter Grant Scheme which has been made available to each local authority to tackle food poverty on a local level.

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Warwickshire’s share of the grant, £1.4m, is being administered by the council’s established Local Welfare Scheme which helps people in crisis find ways to afford essential food, fuel or other necessities.

Families eligible for free schools meals were automatically included and further support - via application to the scheme - is being offered to families and individuals facing hardship as a result of the pandemic or due to winter pressures.

Since the grant scheme launched locally earlier this month just over 400 applications for support have been approved. The majority of these, around 70 per cent, are for food for siblings of children eligible for free school meals with other applicants receiving support for energy and water bills, hygiene and winter clothing.

Warwickshire County Councillor Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Heritage & Culture, said: “Winter is a time of increased strain for many people and the financial and social consequences of the pandemic are adding to people’s problems.

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“I’m so pleased that Warwickshire’s Local Welfare Scheme is able to respond to support those who need help most.

"The Scheme’s work with other council services and schools to distribute the government’s winter grant to vulnerable families, and to raise awareness of wider support available to others, is to be commended. It was a significant undertaking, conceived and rolled out ahead of the school Christmas holiday giving families time to plan.

“The council’s Local Welfare Scheme offers support to those in unavoidable crisis with no other means of help either directly or through extensive links with a range of support services in the county.

"I strongly encourage people to look online and get in touch, either for themselves or on behalf of someone else, to find out what help there is.”

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The Local Welfare Scheme can offer help and signposting to other public, community and voluntary services around the county. 

This includes debt and money management advice, family information and support, help to access food and household essentials and putting people in touch with local emotional health and wellbeing services.

People can contact the Warwickshire Local Welfare Scheme team on 01926 359182 or 0800 408 1448 or visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/localwelfarescheme 

For information about wider support from the council and other services, go to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/facinghardship

To find out more about supporting your local community visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/coronavirusvolunteering