A £80,000 Hardship fund to provide emergency help for low-income and vulnerable families living in Calderdale could be extended until 2018, if given the go ahead.
The council’s cabinet is due to discuss tonight how to continue to providing the service when funding under the government’s Local Welfare Assistance Scheme ends in 2015.
One of the options is to provide further funding for vulnerable people in hardship.
But despite the range of options available, Calderdale Council is expecting that demand for assistance will actually increase during 2014/15.
Civic officials fear that, coupled with other cutbacks, the situation will mean 12,500 residents are worse off due to changes to the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
Calderdale Cabinet Member for Communities, Clr Steve Sweeney said: “We want to use the money remaining in the local welfare assistance scheme to continue providing much needed financial support and advice to the most vulnerable people.
“Our priority is to strengthen the financial resilience of our communities and ensure that they are sustainable. We will enable them to develop the essential skills which they need to adapt to changes within the welfare system.
“This is about fairness and breaking the cycle of need, debt and dependency. We will help people to adjust and we will continue to provide additional financial support and relief for those who are in greatest need.”
The recommendations to cabinet include:
A Council Tax Hardship fund of £130,000 for Calderdale residents who are in need of short term support whilst taking steps to sort out their finances.
A small loan pilot scheme, run by Calderdale Credit Union with £10,000 of funding.
A £6,000 pilot project run by the Credit Union to provide vulnerable people with the money management skills they need to avoid getting into debt.
A £99,000 financial inclusion grant programme for voluntary and community groups to develop innovative solutions that address the root causes of personal financial crises and debt to reduce demand for emergency support.
A decision on the scheme will be made when Calderdale Council’s Cabinet meets at 6pm tonight at Halifax Town Hall.
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