Latest news on the government’s Household Support Fund
The government’s Household Support Fund is there to support households in the most need, especially with energy costs, food, water bills and other related essential items.
The current round of funding is open until 31 March 2024 and is available to a broad range of low-income households across the borough, including families with children of all ages, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers and disabled people.
If you haven’t already applied for support through the Household Support Fund, there is still time to do this. To find out if you’re eligible to apply, visit:
www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/household-support-fund
For families of children in receipt of free school meals the usual £15 school holiday food voucher, per week, per pupil, will be issued by your school before the February half term break.
There is currently no confirmation from government that the Household Support Fund will be continuing beyond 31 March 2024.
Additional support and advice is available for anyone who is struggling to pay their bills, requires debt advice or who’s health has been affected by the rising cost of living.
www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/cost-of-living
Help with paying for your childcare
Currently, all 3 to 4-year-olds in England can get 570 free hours of early education per year. It’s usually taken as 15 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year.
This can be increased to 30 hours free childcare if you (and your partner, if you have one) are: in work, on sick leave or annual leave or on shared parental, maternity, paternity, or adoption leave.
There is also 15 hours of free early education available for the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds to support the child’s development.
In March 2023, the Government announced it would be extending childcare support to include 30 hours a week of free childcare for eligible working parents of children aged nine months to three years in England. This is to support parents returning to work by reducing the cost of childcare. Parents working the equivalent of 16 hours a week or more (earning the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage) and earning up to £100k per year will be able to benefit from this offer.
Families can now check their eligibility and sign up to receive a newsletter and updates through the Childcare Choices website.
www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/
The roll out of the expansion is happening in the following phases
- From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare a week (38 weeks a year).
- From September 2024, working parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds will also be eligible for this.
- From September 2025, this will increase to 30 hours a week for working parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds.
Eligible families will be able to access the new entitlements from the term after their child turns the appropriate age. You will need to apply for an eligibility code via HMRC and share this with your chosen childcare provider, to access your funded hours. You will also need to revalidate your code every 3 months.
Eligible working families with 2-year-olds can apply for their code from now until 31 March 2024 to access the new 2-year-old entitlement from April 2024.
The new entitlements can be stretched over the year depending on the number of weeks your chosen childcare provider is open. This would mean fewer hours per week are accessed over more weeks of the year, so the same total number of hours are accessed over the course of the year.
Whilst the childcare hours are free, providers can charge for meals, snacks, consumables, and additional services. Families are advised to contact their childcare provider to ask about their funded offer.
Employment Directions
Employment Directions is a service that provides all-round employment support to adults with a physical or mental health condition. Helping people to find, stay in, or return to work.
What support does Employment Directions offer?
Employment Directions gives people individualised support for up to 12 months to get a good-quality job and thrive in work. The majority of participants have found the service boosted their confidence, their job search capability, and their motivation. Employment Directions provides:
- Regular face-to-face, online or phone appointments with an employment specialist to help individuals find work, continue working, or manage a health condition at work.
- Help with job applications, CVs, and interview skills.
- Help with talking to an employer about health needs at work, and support in work if needed.
- Support with better off in work calculations. This includes guidance with finding support for housing and debt advice and much more.
For more information, visit: www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/employmentdirections
To get support from Employment Directions, individuals should speak to their GP or self-refer by emailing: IPS@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
What customers say about Employment Directions
‘My employment specialist helped me to build my confidence and return to work after long term sickness.’
‘After struggling to stay in my job due to my health condition, my employment specialist has found me a new job with an employer that is really supportive.’
‘My medication has really affected my work over the last 6 months, with help from my employment specialist and support from my employer, I now have reasonable adjustments in place and flexibility around my working day to help me manage my condition.’
Employment Directions is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions and delivered by Cheshire West and Chester Council with local NHS partners.
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World Book Day Fancy Dress Swap
Do your bit to help save the environment, and perhaps some money too, by donating unwanted children’s fancy dress at participating libraries. All donated clothes must be clean and in good condition.
If you need fancy dress, choose from what is available in the library when you visit or come back another day. Taking an outfit for your child is free and you do not need to have donated to do so. Any items not chosen by anyone will be kept by the library, donated to charity, or recycled.
The scheme runs from Thursday 1 February to Wednesday 6 March.
Participating Libraries include Barnton, Blacon, Frodsham, Hope Farm, Lache, Little Sutton, Neston, Northwich, Sandiway and Wharton.
For opening times and locations, visit: www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/findalibrary
Breathing Space – a government initiative to help people take control of their finances
Being in debt can be a frightening situation for many people particularly if you are being pursued by creditors and penalties are mounting.
Breathing Space, also known as the Debt Respite Scheme, allows you to take time out, seek financial advice and take control of your finances.
There are two types of Breathing Space:
- Standard Breathing Space – a period of 60 days where no creditor action can be taken to pursue or enforce qualifying debts, and all interest and penalties will cease to accrue on those debts.
- Mental Health Breathing Space – entitles the person to the same as stated above but with no strict time limits until after the person has recovered from their mental health crisis. To qualify for Mental Health Breathing Space, the individual must have been assessed by an approved mental health practitioner as being in a mental health crisis.
Those seeking to enter the scheme must meet specific criteria and comply with scheme rules whilst in it. To enter, an individual will have to:
- access free debt advice from a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) accredited debt adviser
- be assessed as being in problem debt by a debt adviser
- not have already been in a Standard Breathing Space period in the previous 12 months (those in mental health crisis will be exempt from the 12-month restriction).
The debt adviser is responsible for determining the debtor’s eligibility to enter the scheme. They will also notify creditors of individuals entering and exiting the scheme.
If you feel that the weight of your debt is becoming too much to bear it’s important to seek free debt advice from a FCA accredited debt adviser as soon as possible.
Free debt advice is available from:
Citizens Advice
- Call the debt helpline: Tel: 0800 240 4420 available 9am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9.30am to 1pm Saturday. The debt helpline is not available on public holidays.
Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.
Relay UK – if you can’t hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 240 4420 You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it.
Find out how to use Relay UK – www.relayuk.bt.com/how-to-use-relay-uk.html
Pennysmart – if you’re facing a financial crisis, Pennysmart can support you with budgeting, benefits, and debt advice. Tel: 01244 651210
Welcoming Spaces
Expect a warm welcome when visiting one of many Welcoming Spaces across the borough
Welcoming Spaces are available to all residents of Cheshire West. They offer a safe and warm welcoming space where people can connect with others in their community and make new friends.
The network of Welcoming Spaces includes Council libraries, churches, community centres and more.
The Council’s libraries team have been welcoming thousands of people into libraries this last year, providing residents with an opportunity to use free library services and take part in activities.
Library information and opening hours are available on the Council’s website.
www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/findalibrary
It’s important that during the colder months, everyone has a warm place to go to, particularly if you’re struggling with the rising cost of energy bills.
Welcoming Spaces are for everyone. They are also there for people who may be feeling alone or isolated, and who fancy a change of scenery from their own home. It’s a great opportunity to meet others in your community for a nice friendly chat over a cup of tea or coffee.
To find your nearest Welcoming Space, visit: www.warmwelcome.uk/#map
The Council continues to work with Cheshire Community Action and the wider voluntary and community sector, to explore opportunities to expand the network of Welcoming Spaces and provide additional support services to residents.
A Welcoming Spaces Fund aimed at creating warm inclusive spaces for residents facing cost of living challenges is available to organisations wishing to set up a Welcoming Space for their local community. Grants of up to £2,500 are available.
More information including details of the application process can be found using the link below.
https://cheshireaction.org.uk/category/news/
The final deadline for applications is 1 March 2024
The fund is administered by Cheshire Community Action on behalf of Cheshire West and Chester Council.
KidsBank Chester – offering a helping hand
Back in 2018, Cathy Pettingale was watching a television interview of a young mother. The young mother talked about being forced to decide whether she should spend her remaining money on food so her children could eat, or heating so her children could keep warm. Overwhelmed with compassion, Cathy was compelled to do something to help families experiencing similar circumstances within her community – that’s when KidsBank Chester was formed, taking the first referral in May 2019.
KidsBank offers support to families with children aged between 0-12 years. Support can be accessed through:
Self-Referral – a family can self-refer for clothing (including school uniform), toiletries and nappies by simply filling in a form on the KidsBank website.
https://kidsbankchester.com/refer-yourself/
Professional Referral – a professional, such as a midwife, health visitor, social worker or other front-line professional can complete a form with the family. The referral can be for clothing, toiletries, nappies, as well as other equipment such as feeding equipment, bedding, changing mats, prams, and safety gates. A professional referral form is available on the KidsBank website.
https://kidsbankchester.com/refer-a-family/
KidsBank collects new and pre-loved items for babies and children – clothes, equipment, school uniform, toys, and toiletries. We distribute these items to struggling families across Cheshire and Flintshire.
A team of 30 dedicated volunteers manage the day-to-day processing of donations, preparation of referrals, and deliveries.
KidsBank’s mission is to alleviate the impact of childhood poverty by providing practical help as quickly as possible. Cathy’s hope is that the children KidsBank help will not have to go without essentials and that parents know there is support available from people who care.
Over 151,000 items have been gifted to KidsBank families since it was set up.
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Helping residents to stay warm and well, tackling energy bills during the cost of living crisis.
Green Doctors offer free, impartial advice to help people take control of their bills, save energy in the home, and access other services and initiatives available. We work with public and private partners to ensure support reaches those who need it most in local communities.
Our support is available to a wide range of people, many of whom are struggling for the first time so don’t be shy about reaching out for help. In the UK, changes to energy prices and ongoing financial pressures as a result of the cost of living crisis has left many people finding it hard to heat their homes. If you or someone you know are worried about energy and water bills, then we might be able to help.
Some of the reasons people ask for help
- Struggling to pay energy bills
• Finding it hard to manage fuel and water debt
• Worrying about keeping warm or choosing between eating and heating
• Feeling that the home is cold, damp or draughty
• Have a health condition affected by the cold such as respiratory problems and mental ill health.
Our support includes the installation of small energy saving measures such as draughtproofing and radiator foils, help with boiler and heating controls, smart meters, water meters, fuel and water debt, registration on suppliers Priority Services Register, grants, behavioural change advice, referrals for free gas safety checks and financial assistance where available.
The scheme is open to residents across Cheshire West and Chester with a focus on families and individuals who:
- have a low household income
- are living with debt
- are aged over 65
• are living with a health condition affected by the cold
• are living with mental illness
• are living with dementia - have a disability
- are young people and families containing children under the age of 5
- are pregnant
• are in emergency accommodation - are living in poor housing conditions.
To find out more about our service please visit www.groundwork.org.uk/greendoctor
Email: greendoctor.CLM@groundwork.org.uk or
Phone: 0330 1740 863