Joint statement on the need to urgently extend the Household Support Fund following the Autumn Statement 2023
Barnardo’s, the Children’s Society, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Independent Food Aid Network, End Furniture Poverty, North-East Child Poverty Commission, Lloyds Bank Foundation and Turn2Us issued the following statement after the Chancellor did not extend the Household Support Fund in the Autumn Statement 2023. The fund runs out in March 2024.
In the statement the charities say:
“We are disappointed the Chancellor decided not to extend the Household Support Fund in the Autumn Statement today. This was a missed opportunity to provide certainty to local authorities with a long-term decision on the future of local crisis support. Time is now running out. The Fund ends in March 2024 leaving a major hole in support which neither local government, nor the voluntary sector, will be able to fill.
“The Fund provides a lifeline for people facing hardship, hunger, and unexpected costs. It enables councils to provide vital crisis support suited to the needs of their communities. As organisations on the frontline we see the impact of this work with the children, families and people we support. The Fund is a vital part of the social safety net that has been crucial during this period of rising destitution.
“In October many of us wrote to the Chancellor urging him to secure the future of the Household Support Fund in the Autumn Statement. We called for a multi-year settlement of funding and a long-term strategy for local crisis support in England. Today we are renewing our calls as a matter of urgency.”
Lynn Perry MBE, Chief Executive, Barnardo’s
Mark Russell, Chief Executive, The Children’s Society
Katie Schmuecker, Principal Policy Adviser, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Sabine Goodwin, Director, Independent Food Aid Network
Claire Donovan, Head of Policy, Research & Campaigns, End Furniture Poverty
Michele Deans Interim Chair, North East Child Poverty Commission
Duncan Shrubsole, Director of Policy, Communications and Research, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England & Wales
Thomas Lawson, CEO, Turn2Us
Helen Barnard, Director of Policy, Research, and Impact at the Trussell Trust