Increased demand for household support in West Berkshire

West Berkshire Council has been awarded £1,224,650 for its Household Support Fund.

The cash is to support the vulnerable or those who would otherwise struggle to buy food or pay essential utility bills.

The council can also use funding to support households with housing costs where existing housing support does not meet this need and to supplement provision with signposting, advice and preventative support.

So far, 2,715 direct applications have been made to the council for support and assistance between April 2024 and March 2025.

This represents a significant increase in uptake on this grant from the previous year.

For the same period the previous year 1,781 applications were made.

A number of concerns have been reported to officers by the voluntary sector, including a significant demand for replacement appliances, mattresses, and food provision for food charities.

There has also been an increase in very specific demand caused by the number of people in emergency accommodation and an uptick in the number of complex mental health issues being identified requiring significant support.

‘Real-time’ debt issues with many individual and families struggling with day-today living costs are also showing up, with the voluntary sector reporting ongoing high running costs for all the organisations including energy, transport wages etc.

This is set to increase due to the recent living wage increase announcements.

Targeting assistance to pensioners has been a priority for delivery of the fund in previous schemes.

In the period April 2024 to March 2025 only 68 applications from pensioners were supported with financial assistance through the fund.

The grant will be used to support pensioners who may be adversely impacted by the loss of the Winter Fuel Payment to those who are not in receipt of pension credit or other means tested benefits.