Cllr Jason Brock
If you’re anything like me, you will have been adjusting some of your usual behaviours over recent weeks and months in response to rising costs.
Almost all of us will have also been making small changes to our food shopping – maybe seeking out cheaper items and forgoing certain things – and turning the thermostat down a few degrees.
There is little doubt the rise in the cost of living has changed people’s habits, and that’s entirely understandable. For many, though, it’s a lot more serious than making a few lifestyle adjustments. The choice between heating and eating is very real for an increasing number of people in Reading.
As inflation reached a 41-year high at 11.1%, the Council announced its latest package of support for households in Reading who we know will struggle this winter.
These are people who struggle ordinarily, even without the huge rises in energy and food costs.
We have designed a package of Council support which squeezes the most out of the limited funding available and gets help to those who need it the most.
Around 3,800 vouchers, worth £125 each, will be sent to the families of school-aged children who are eligible for pupil premium free school meals, including vulnerable children up to nursery age. Care leavers will receive the same £125 voucher.
While our year-on-year funding pot from the Department of Work and Pensions hasn’t changed despite soaring inflation, changes made to the grant conditions have allowed us to be more flexible. So rather than send out separate vouchers to help residents with food and with energy costs, we have instead consolidated the process into one simple cost of living voucher for the October 2022 to March 2023 period. It’s important to say here that the same groups of people are being supported as in previous funding rounds.
We hope making one lump sum payment in this way will provide households with more flexibility to budget as they need to.
We similarly know that rising costs are causing extreme worry for some of our older residents. In response, around 3,700 older residents receiving state pension and who are also on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (or in receipt of housing benefit) will be sent a £100 voucher. If you are one of 500 or so older residents receiving state pension and pension credit/savings credit, but not on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, you will also receive a £100 voucher to help with bills this winter.
The Council has contact details of all eligible residents and these are continually updated. Letters will be sent to all eligible recipients in the post before Christmas with instructions on how to redeem the cost of living voucher at a local post office.
In the new year, around 350 Reading households receiving Housing Benefit and who are on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, but on no other DWP benefit, will receive details of how they can claim a £650 payment per household.
This payment brings these residents into line with residents who received £650 directly from the DWP.
The numbers of recipients for all these packages of support are estimates. The sad fact is that as this cost of living crisis deepens, more and more residents will inevitably become eligible for vouchers and these figures will almost certainly rise.
Whether it’s families struggling to put food on the table or older people rationing their heating, we hope the Council’s vouchers will provide some help.
I’ll take the opportunity to remind residents that if their personal circumstances change, you can check if you are eligible for the Council Tax Support Scheme at any time at: www.reading.gov.uk/council-tax/.
A reminder also that we have collated a whole host of information on support and advice for residents during the cost of living crisis. Please take a few minutes to look at: www.reading.gov.uk/money-matters/.
Cllr Jason Brock is the leader of Reading Borough Council, and ward member for Southcote
