A six-month extension to a “vital safety net” helping the most vulnerable people struggling with the cost of living has been been welcomed.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had been under pressure to continue the Household Support Fund (HSF) beyond the end of March.

The Local Government Association (LGA) penned an open letter to the Tory minister ahead of yesterday’s budget asking him to extend the support which was co-signed by 176 local authority leaders across the country, including Medway Council leader Vince Maple (Lab).

It said the scheme has helped to provide for the growing number of people needing welfare support, and its removal would leave a gap many councils would be unable to fill.

The letter read: “The HSF continues to provide a vital safety net for residents who are struggling to afford the essentials and are facing financial crisis.

“A significantly reduced local welfare support offer risks more households falling through the gaps into financial crisis, destitution and homelessness and increasing pressure on already overstretched public services, including the NHS, social care and temporary accommodation.”

It added that councils want to shift to a longer term solution aimed at preventing the need for welfare schemes, but in the short term the HSF is essential.

The Strood Community Shop raises money for local causes and helps many residents who are struggling amid the cost of living crisis.

Steve Long, who runs the store, wanted to see more support available to those struggling in the government’s budget.

He told KMTV: “We just want it to be fair to everyone.

“And it seems to me in the last few years the wrong people have paid more in terms of the budget.

“It needs to be fair across the board. We’re not asking him [the Chancellor] to work miracles. We’re not asking him to change society, we’re asking him to be fair.

“What we’re asking him is just to be fair. That’s the big message I want to get across with him because at the moment it doesn’t seem fair.”

In his budget set out yesterday (March 6) the chancellor said he had “listened carefully” to concerns from anti-poverty charities and foodbanks and agreed to extend the HSF.

He told the Commons: “I have decided that with the battle against inflation still not over, now is not the time to stop the targeted help it offers.

“We will therefore continue it at current levels for another six months.”

Medway Council wrote its own letter in January asking for the HSF to be continued, a decision which received cross-party support.

The grant from central government provides money for things like free school meals, supermarket and school uniform vouchers, and energy cards.

The HSF was introduced in late 2021 and has been renewed in the years following, with Medway receiving £4.5 million in April 2023 to help residents struggling with the cost of living crisis.

There was no mention of the HSF in the Autumn Statement last year and the LGA and local council leaders encouraged Jeremy Hunt to confirm its extension.

The open letter included signatories from up and down the UK, including eight of Kent’s district councils, Kent County Council, and Medway Council.

The authority’s leader, Cllr Vince Maple (Lab) said: “It is welcome the Chancellor has extended the HSF, which has helped millions of households facing hardship.

“It is disappointing we had to wait until the very last minute for an extension, and that it is only for a short period.

“The government needs to use the next six months to agree a more sustainable successor to the HSF.

“Without this we risk more people falling into financial crisis as we head into Christmas and Winter.”

He also said the budget as a whole had missed a chance to significantly improve the abilities of councils to provide quality services.

He added: “It is disappointing the Government has not announced measures to adequately fund the local services people rely on every day.

“Councils need greater funding certainty through multi-year settlements to prevent ongoing decline but also to ensure key policies – such as boosting economic growth, creating jobs and building homes - can be achieved.”