Fury as vulnerable people miss out on winter crisis payments after council website crashes
Vulnerable people missed out on cost of living crisis payments when Dudley Council's website crashed due to the demand.
Desperate residents tried in vain to apply for a slice of the £390,150 from the Government-funded Household Support Fund, which is administered by Dudley Council, to help those struggling with their winter bills.
The website went live at 5pm last Wednesday but crashed at 7pm after 924 applications - then on Thursday the website worked for just 45 minutes before collapsing under the weight of 952 people applying.
Grants for £300, £250 or £100 were supposed to be available for destitute residents to help them keep up with rising rent, utility bills and the cost of food, which have all rocketed due to recent rampant inflation.
Those who missed out on winter payments will now have to wait until the next allocation in the new year.
Councillor Shaukat Ali, Labour's Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, is furious that poor families, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers, and disabled people trying to cope with the cost of living crisis during the upcoming winter months may miss out on essential financial help.
He said: "I am deeply concerned that a significant number of vulnerable people in need of support during the winter months may have potentially missed out due to difficulties accessing the website or lack of awareness about the funding.
"The 1,876 applications received in such a short span of time is the tip of the iceberg, highlighting pressing need within our community. We don’t want vulnerable people to be in a position to have to decide between eating or heating."
He added: "Unfortunately, no additional support such as frequently asked questions or a contact number was available for those struggling to submit their applications.
"While assurances have been provided for rectifying these issues in the next round of funding, it is important that such considerations are made from the outset.
"We cannot afford for those who need help and support the most to go without it at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet."
The Household Support Fund includes three rounds of funding, to help residents from April to September, October to March and then the final payment in the New Year.
Eligible households will get a one-time payment of £250 (£300 if the house includes someone disabled) if they were not successful in the summer scheme and £100 if they were.
Dudley Council posted on its social media channels on Thursday evening explaining the online glitch which saw countless residents fail to log on to its website.
It said: "We experienced an extremely high volume of visits to our website when applications to the Household Support Fund opened last night which unfortunately caused the website to crash.
"We received over 900 applications but we know that there are people who didn’t manage to apply."
The Department for Work and Pensions has given more than £2 billion to local councils in England in the last two years through the Household Support Fund.
Each councils decide how best to spend their allocation with most giving the poorest in society direct grants of up to £400.
Dudley Council has been approached for a comment.
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