Council leader Phil Riley has today welcomed the Budget announcement to extend the Household Support Fund for a further six months.

It comes after Cllr Phil Riley wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking for an extension of the fund, which was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Household Support, aimed at supporting the most vulnerable households will now be extended for another six months, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the Budget.

It has so far helped thousands of Blackburn with Darwen residents.

Cllr Riley said: “This will be welcome news for the many people for whom this extra moneycan often be the difference between feeding their families or not.”

The Household Support Fund, which has provided £2.5bn in Government funding for local welfare support over the past two and a half years, was set to end on 31 March.

The scheme will now be extended until September.

Cllr Riley said the fund provided ‘a vital lifeline for our most vulnerable residents during the rising cost of living’.

Responding to today’s announcement, he added: ‘It is welcome that the Household Support Fund will continue beyond the end of March following heavy lobbying from councils and charities.”

Cllr Riley said: “We know the need for this help will not end when the HSF ends in six months. “Continuing this funding is vital for our residents who are most vulnerable and have the lowest incomes.”

Since 2021 it has allowed the authority to provide millions of pounds in grants to more than 4,000 households struggling with the current cost of living, including food and bills.

Recipients include families with children, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers and people with disabilities.

It has also offered support through schools, to carers via The Carers Service and for older people through Age UK.