Seven in 10 councils are struggling to support people hit by the cost-of-living crisis, according to new research published today.
A commitment to long-term funding for the local authority-administered Household Support Fund was among the recommendations from the University of York’s cost of living research group.
The report found four out of five councillors surveyed said children in low income families were at risk of destitution in their area, while the figure was 70% for people in receipt of unemployment benefits and 60% for pensioners.
Yet researchers found the effectiveness of the Household Support Fund (HSF) had been hit by ‘austerity-driven limits to administrative capacity, uncertain funding and discretionary decision-making’.
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