Council to use £5.6 million grant to help support Hucknall's most vulnerable

The latest funding boost from Whitehall will have “a greater emphasis on supporting households with energy bills”.

Councillors will also be asked to approve the spending of £159,654 to cover eight jobs for administrative costs

Already £900,000 of the new funding, which was released on April 1, has been used to fund free school meal payments for families during the recent Easter holidays.

The money, which is from the Nottinghamshire Household Support Fund, will be discussed during the authority’s Communities Committee meeting on April 20.

Council documents published ahead of the meeting stated: “There is a pressing need for support in communities that the funding should be used toalleviate as soon as possible.

“It was confirmed on 1 April 2022 that a further £5,646,450.03 has been allocated to Nottinghamshire County Council.

“The extension to the fund is to cover the period from 01 April 2022 until 30 September 2022.

“Guidance provided outlines that county councils are to use the fund to provide support to those most in need and that at least one third must be spent on families with children and that at least one third must be spent on pensioners

“The funding must be spent by 30 September 2022.”

Some of the funding given to the authority in October 2021 was used to fund free school meals, food and energy vouchers and vouchers for domestic appliances.