Support on offer from council for people struggling financially due to pandemic in North Yorkshire
The authority has money available through its North Yorkshire Local Assistance Fund to provide targeted support to anyone in need.
Neil Irving, Assistant Director, Policy, Partnerships and Communities, said: “We have targeted funds that are available not just to children entitled to free school meals, but to anybody who is suffering financial hardship as a result of the pandemic or anything else. This support is provided through our Local Assistance Fund.
We have extended the fund during the pandemic to enable people to apply for up to three awards of emergency food and/or utility vouchers, and we may review that in future.
At the start of the pandemic, the county council recognised the pressures it would create for people, so allocated an extra £1m to the Local Assistance Fund. This has been supplemented by £150,000 from the Government.
In addition, during the pandemic the council has given more than £200,000 to a variety of food supply charities, including food banks and hot meal delivery services. This money has come from Government funding and individual county councillors’ locality budgets.
A grant of £80,000 has been awarded to the network of Citizens’ Advice Bureaux in North Yorkshire to create additional capacity for them to offer advice and support to people who may need help managing their finances or accessing benefits.
