Hackney,
08
February
2021
|
11:48
Europe/London

Rebuilding a fairer Hackney - Fuel vouchers available for families in need this winter

Shared lives carers

Fuel vouchers are now available to help residents in need pay for their bills over winter, as part of a joint initiative between Hackney Council and East End Citizens’ Advice Bureau. 

The vouchers will be provided through Citizens Advice Hackney to families and individuals who are unable to pay their bills, as part of ongoing Council efforts to ensure that residents have the financial support that they need over the winter period. 

A maximum of two fuel vouchers will be provided per household. This will be funded through the Government’s winter grant funding which the Council is distributing to residents in need this winter. This funding has also been used to provide free school meal vouchers to every pupil in Hackney eligible for free school meals, along with extra support for 2,200 low-income families with younger children, as part of Council efforts to ensure that no child goes hungry this winter. 

However, as the Government funding will not provide for every resident in need, extra support is being provided through Hackney’s Community Partnerships Network - a partnership between the Council and local voluntary and community organisations set up to ensure continued support for vulnerable residents affected by the wider impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Residents who are unable to pay for their bills can apply for fuel vouchers by contacting Citizens Advice Hackney on 020 3855 4472, Monday to Friday, 10am-12pm, and 2pm-4pm. 

 

Cllr Chris Kennedy, Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care and Leisure
Ensuring that our vulnerable residents have the help and support they need has been our number one priority throughout the pandemic, and our partnership with Citizens Advice Bureau will continue this important work. 

Whilst we welcome the Government’s winter grant funding, it provides a short-term solution to the long-term issues that have been caused by a decade of austerity measures, which have penalised some of the most vulnerable people in our society for a global crisis that they didn’t cause. We cannot allow a repeat of this after the coronavirus crisis. 

We will continue working to rebuild a fairer Hackney during and after this pandemic - and calling on the Government to create an economic system that will lift residents out of poverty, not drive them further into it.

 
Cllr Chris Kennedy, Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care and Leisure