A fund to help struggling households with bills and essentials has been extended to cover the winter period after councils warned that the most vulnerable were facing a support “cliff edge”.

The Household Support Fund, which was due to expire at the end of September, will run for another six months in what the Government described as a multimillion-pound “boost” for local authorities.

Campaigners welcomed yesterday’s news although some warned it is the “bare minimum” needed and that it “puts a plaster on poverty”.

The Department for Work and Pensions said the £421 million extension for councils across England would run to April 2025.

The Household Support Fund, a fund to help struggling households with bills and essentials, has been extended to cover the winter period after councils warned that the most vulnerable were facing a support "cliff edge". Credit: Jacob King/PA Wire

Last month, the Local Government Association (LGA) said an overwhelming majority of councils (94 per cent) wanted the Household Support Fund to continue.

Pete Marland, chairman of the LGA’s economy and resources board had described the fund as a “vital safety net for vulnerable residents struggling with the cost of living”.

He said it was “very positive the Government has acted in response to our campaign to extend this vital fund, which will help millions of vulnerable households at a time when demand for support is expected to increase over winter”.

The Government said the fund can be used by councils to go beyond emergency support, including working with local charities and community groups to provide residents with key appliances, school uniforms and items to improve energy efficiency.

Rachel Reeves said: “The £22 billion blackhole inherited from the previous governments means we have to take tough decisions to fix the foundations of our economy.

“But extending the Household Support Fund is the right thing to do – provide targeted support for those who need it most as we head into the winter months.”

The Salvation Army said the funding has been “a lifeline that’s helped people keep the lights on and put food on the table in an emergency, but it only puts a plaster on poverty”.

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said it is “the bare minimum the Government needed to do this winter and it is a positive first step that ministers have indicated it will continue”.

It added: “But as the Winter Fuel Payment axe plunges more pensioners into fuel poverty, the Fund may prove to be inadequate as more vulnerable older people turn to local authorities for help and assistance.”

The confirmation of the Household Support Fund extension comes after the condemnation of the Government for axing winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has faced criticism from opponents, campaigners and some of their own MPs over the decision to means-test the payments worth up to £300.

He told reporters yesterday: “I don’t want to cut the winter fuel allowance … but we’ve got to fix the foundations of our economy … and then, having done that, that we can build a better future that pensioners and so many other people voted for in this election.”

Commons Leader Lucy Powell said the UK could have faced a run on the pound and an economic crash if Ms Reeves had not axed the payments to fill a black hole in the public finances.

Household Support Fund: government extends cost of living support amidst Winter Fuel Payment backlash