Cost of living: Essex County Council unveils £50m support fund

A council has announced a £50m package of measures to help people tackle the increasing cost of living.

Essex County Council says the support would help feed vulnerable households and keep them warm.

The local authority also wants to fund activities, some of them in public buildings, to offer somewhere warm for people to go during the winter.

However, a local Labour Party councillor and a local charity said the measures did not go far enough.

Louise McKinlay, the council's Conservative deputy leader, unveiled the support package on Wednesday from the Daily Bread community cafe at St Peter's Church in Brentwood.

She said: "It's designed to help people who, in this current climate, are really struggling.

"So if you are thinking about what it costs to put the heating on as we get into the colder winter months, what that's going to mean around food as well, then we want to ensure that there is support for people who need it most."

The money in the announcement is derived mostly from various pots of funding from central government.

The local authority says £17m from government will help households pay for insulation and other energy-saving improvements in homes.

Another £9.4m over the next six months from the government's Household Support Fund will pay for food vouchers, as well as other living essentials.

A further £7.9m will fund maths and finance training that will be offered free of charge to 14,000 residents.

The authority, along with several other UK councils including Southend, said it was also planning to set-up so-called "warm banks". for people struggling with heating bills.

Ms McKinlay said: "We recognise that the cost of heating is going to be very difficult for many families, so rather than say, 'That room is very warm, go in there,' we're actually saying we need a proper offer for people, so what is the need locally?

"Can we put on activities and entertainment? What can we do to encourage people in?"

The Michael Roberts Charitable Trust, a food bank in Harlow, said demand for its services had doubled in the last year and it was referring 115 people to health professionals each week.

Andy Thornton, chief executive at the charity, said: "Some of this announcement [from Essex County Council] is a bit long term.

"People are in desperate need right now, so we would like to think there would be more initiatives taken to give people higher wages and support them in that respect."

The charity has set up its own supermarket, offering a bag of fresh food for £2.50 to anyone who queues up.

Frank Armstrong, 59, from Harlow, is one of about 400 people it feeds each week.

"My bills have gone up over 200%, the gas and electric, it's a crazy situation," he said.

Harlow Labour councillor James Griggs, who also volunteers at the food bank, said of the council's proposals: "It's probably not enough to help people, but I'm not going to be churlish about it.

"We need to welcome anything that's coming in because there are people in desperate need."

Essex County Council said it had set up a dedicated website to help people with the rising cost of living.

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