HBC Labour Group writes to Green leader calling for residents to be able to access Household Support Fund grants

Today the Hastings Borough Council Labour Group has written to HBC Green administration leader Cllr Julia Hilton calling for residents to be able to access the new tranche for Household Support Fund grants released by the Labour government in September. Despite having access to a share of the further £421m released on 2nd September, aimed at helping the poorest residents over winter, there has been no update on the HBC website, leaving funding hard to access for those most in need.
The Labour group has called on Green leader Cllr Julia Hilton to rectify this apparent oversight at the earliest possible opportunity.

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Dear Cllr Hilton

Two months ago the Labour government extended for a further year the Household Support Fund. This substantial grant enables local councils to support residents struggling with the cost of living crisis and was earmarked for the period from 1st October 2024 to 31st March 2025.

Despite the money being announced on the 2nd September, Hastings Borough Council has still not made it available to residents through its website (https://www.hastings.gov.uk/benefits/hsfund/). We are calling on you to ensure that this is rectified so that the fund is more accessible to those need.

We wish also to know:
– What the current uptake has been from this new funding scheme (running 1st October – 31st March 2025)?
– What steps HBC has taken to increase awareness of the fund to all of those who are eligible?
– Whether officers are routinely signposting this support when residents find themselves in difficult financial situations, such as council tax arrears?

As Labour councillors, we urge you to act quickly to promote this support and follow other administrations across England that have made the moneys more easily available to residents.

At the full council meeting in September, Labour Group leader Cllr Margi O’Callaghan proposed the creation of a Poverty Champion, as we have in our Shadow Cabinet. This was voted down by the Green Party and its allies in other parties. This was despite Hastings topping the chart for deprivation in Sussex and being one of the poorest boroughs in the country (source: Sussex Community Foundation 2024).

A Poverty Champion would have ensured there was a focus on poverty by the council and given someone the opportunity to better support our most vulnerable residents and avoid situations such as this with the Household Support Fund.

Hastings residents deserve better. This grant was given by the Labour government to relieve the stress faced by our poorest households, but in Hastings those struggling the most have been denied help available elsewhere.

Again, we urge this situation be rectified immediately and that it is made easier for local people to apply for a share of the £421 million that other local authorities have made immediately available to their residents.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Margi O’Callghan – Group Leader, Braybrooke Ward
Cllr Helen Kay – Deputy Group Leader, Wishing Tree Ward
Cllr James Bacon – Old Town Hastings Ward
Cllr Billie Barnes – Silverhill Ward
Cllr Danuta Kean – Hollington Ward
Cllr John Rankin – Ashdown Ward
Cllr Judy Rogers – Castle Ward
Cllr Trevor Webb – West St Leonard’s Ward
Cllr David Whitehill – St Helen’s Ward.
Hastings Borough Council Labour Group