Salford could be plunged into an “absolute crisis” if a cost of living fund from the government ends in March, according to the city Mayor. The Household Support Fund is a payment given to town halls around the country to help the most vulnerable residents. It is due to end on March 31 this year, which Mayor Paul Dennett said would mean a loss of £5.5 million for the council. The local authority is currently in the process of deciding its budget for the next financial year, and it is facing a funding gap of nearly £5m according to a council report. Salford’s proposals to balance the books were debated at a scrutiny meeting yesterday, which was attended by the Mayor. Mr Dennett said: “The thing that really concerns me is Household Support Fund. At the moment potentially we’re going to lose this fund which would mean a £5.5 million loss to the city of Salford. “We’re the 18th poorest local authority in the country, if this happens it will cause an absolute crisis in our city, there’s no doubt about it. “The impact it will have on third sector organisations will be phenomenal. The third sector organisations are doing a lot of work, we’re all very familiar with what happened during Covid and the spirit of Salford that we saw, and the role these organisations played. “The Household Support Fund is in a sense has been a continuation of that, and helps support some of the great work going on within the Food Share Network, within the city of Salford, and all the other great stuff that is happening. “If that is pulled, there will be a crisis. One of the thing’s we’ve tried to do through the overall budget of the council is think about how we can mitigate some of that. Mitigation is part and parcel of the revenue budget, specifically some of the stuff we do during school holidays for children. “What that means is other things are de-prioritised in the hope that we will be able to have some sort of system to support children and young people in our city who are entitled to free school meals.” Leader of Salford Conservatives, Councillor Robin Garrido, joined calls for the Household Support Fund to be continued. He said: “We are totally in support of that being retained. We accept the fact that it was a temporary fund in the first place and at some stage something will have to replace it, a more permanent scheme. “Our view is that it has got to be extended for the next 12 months and we then have to see what is being proposed beyond that.” The Household Support Fund was first introduced in October 2021 to help vulnerable residents with essential costs. In Salford, it has been used to offer support to households to cover food, fuel, and energy bills. Last month, the three MPs representing the city of Salford wrote to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions calling for the Household Support Fund to be maintained and increased. Rebecca Long-Bailey wrote on X: As the three MPs representing the city of Salford, we are calling for the Govt to maintain and increase the Household Support Fund as a crucial lifeline for those facing a crisis.” A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: “We have invested over £2 billion in the Household Support Fund over the last two years – with almost £800m already paid to families with children to help with the cost of living. “The current Fund is available up until March 2024 as part of wider cost of living support worth on average £3,700 per household, including raising benefits by 6.7 percent from April and increasing the Local Housing Allowance.”
