North Tyneside council has pledged to continue to help residents suffering most from the ongoing cost of living crisis.
A report from the council shows that one in ten residents in the borough, especially in the south, live in some of the most deprived areas in England. At present there are 7,300 children and young people who are entitled to free school meals, a situation that has been on the increase since the pandemic.
On March 31 2022, the council was notified it will receive a household support grant extension of £1.6m to be spent by September. The grant is designed to further assist households with fuel and food based expenses.
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£531,299 is dedicated to pensioners, £531,299 will be given to households with children with the remainder to be used to top up those groups or given to other households in need. With the grant the council proposes the following measures to mitigate the cost of living crisis.
The council will tackle holiday hunger by offering families who qualify for free school meals a £90 supermarket voucher. The council will also support families to join local ‘Bread and Butter Thing’ schemes.
The bread and butter thing is a registered charity distributing food to low income households in 60 locations across the country. To date it has delivered around 250,000 tonnes of food to those in need.
Those leaving care will be offered £100 to cope with the rise of fuel prices. Young people and children will also be aided with a £40 grant to help pay for school uniforms.
Council officers were praised by councillors for the work they have done to help residents cope with the cost of living crisis.
Chair of the housing committee, councillor Andy Newman said: “First off, I just want to say this is really fantastic, well done on your hard work. It is heartbreaking to see some of the hardship out there. What you and the team are doing is incredible.”
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