Almost £2.4 million handed to region's councils to help families in need

Government chiefs announced the areas would receive a slice of the national £50 million boost to the Covid Winter Grant Scheme.

The scheme – which has been extended over the two-week Easter period – was set-up to help families most in need amid Covid-19.

Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey said: "This scheme has helped thousands of vulnerable children stay warm and well-fed during the coldest months of the year.

"While circumstances remain difficult, it is right that we extend it to cover Easter, and I want any worried parent to know there is help at hand."

Dudley will receive £367,847, Sandwell will receive £488,307, Walsall will receive £394,491 and Wolverhampton will get £369,174.

And a further £772,271 will be handed out in Staffordshire and £558,760 for Worcestershire as part of the scheme, which runs until April 16.

Grants are primarily for helping families buy essentials – with at least 80 per cent of funds ring-fenced to be spent on food, energy and water bills.

The further 20 per cent available is for other associated essential costs. Councils can also offer support to vulnerable people and households without children.

'Bridge the gap'

Councillor Maria Crompton, Sandwell Council’s deputy leader, said: "We will be extending our programme to support all children on Free School Meals over the two week Easter period.

"This means that 17,466 children will receive vouchers to the value of £15 per child per week – £30 in total. The cost to the council is £525,000 and we will bridge the gap in funding between Government funding using other council resources."

Staffordshire County Council confirmed the funding would be used to provide more than 25,000 £30 eVouchers for families most in need over Easter.

Mark Sutton, Staffordshire County Council's cabinet member for Children and Young People, said: "This winter we have delivered one of the biggest support schemes in the country to the families worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We will help again at Easter in the same way as before and then for summer and Christmas we can look forward to giving parents additional help by providing good food and organised activities to keep children safe, healthy and happy. Through no fault of their own the last 12 months have been difficult for families and we know from the feedback from our work this winter that our support has made a real difference to the lives of many people.

"We hope that life will soon start returning to normal and we are determined to carry on helping where we can by delivering over £700,000 of support during Easter, and a further £2.2 million of support over Summer and Christmas as Staffordshire focuses on moving forward."

Helpline

Councillor Ruth Buttery, Dudley Council's cabinet member for children and young people, said: “We welcome this additional funding from the government to support our vital work with families across the borough during these difficult times.

“We will use the extra money towards the cost of providing vouchers to families who are eligible for means-tested free school meals during the Easter holidays so they can provide heathy and fulfilling meals to their children. We’re pleased we can extend the support we’ve already provided to families in previous school holidays.

“We also extend our support to anyone who is struggling to afford food and other essentials as a result of the pandemic through our Covid-19 emergency assistance grant. Further details can be found on our website or by calling the Covid Helpline number on 0300 330 2152.”