A new Fairness Fund is to be set up for food vouchers, discretionary payments, support for food banks and funds to community groups that help those most in need.
Brighton and Hove City Council deputy leader councillor Jacob Taylor announced the fund to address the potential loss of the government’s Household Support Fund.
The council is still waiting to see if the government will continue to fund the project put in place last year to help struggling households during the “cost of living crisis”.
At the moment funding is in place until the end of next month.
At the budget council meeting today (Thursday, February 22), Councillor Taylor told councillors that the £614,000 put aside for the scheme came in part from a likely underspend on this year’s budget. The rest would come from contingency funds that are no longer needed.
He said:
“We’ve managed the budget so tightly this year, bringing down a forecast £15 million overspend to come in on budget.
“Well, in fact, we are now on course to do better than come in on budget for 2023-24, we are now likely to achieve an underspend.
“That’s why tonight I’m announcing that, subject to the final underspend position at outturn, we won’t just be allocating the £307,000 that I mentioned.
“In fact – we’re going to double it. We are going to create a new Brighton and Hove Fairness Fund of £614,000, to support people who are most struggling in this broken Tory economy.”
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