Support available for Peterborough families in need of help in pandemic

The fund – which runs from 6 October until the end of March 2022 - is provided by the Government but distributed by local authorities.

The original Winter Support Grant – on which the Household Support Grant is based – provided food vouchers to children eligible for free school meals in the school holidays.

Peterborough City Council plans to continue providing help via the Direct Voucher Scheme, which offers parents a voucher for a choice of supermarkets. These vouchers are sent to eligible families automatically using school data and information held by the local authority. Those eligible for the voucher will be pupils who meet the following criteria:

Early Years Pupil Premium

Children that access funded two-year-old education

Eligible for Free School Meals

Students eligible for 16+ bursary.

The scheme would fund vouchers during the October half term next week at £15 per eligible child for the week, the Christmas holiday at £30 per eligible child for the holiday and during the February half term at a rate of £15 per eligible child.

Cllr Lynne Ayres, Peterborough City Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, education, skills and the university, said: “Peterborough families have already benefitted enormously from the Direct Voucher Scheme – it has been a lifeline to many. I am so pleased that we are able to continue offering it.”