The government have announced that children and families will get extra support this winter, with councils given new funding to ensure vulnerable households do not go hungry or without essential items.

• £170m Covid Winter Grant Scheme to support children, families and the most vulnerable over winter
• Holiday Activities and Food programme to be expanded, covering Easter, Summer and Christmas in 2021
• Healthy Start payments set to rise from £3.10 to £4.25 a week from April 2021
• Suite of measures represents long-term plan to help tackle poor health, hunger and education.

A new £170m Covid Winter Grant Scheme will be run by councils in England. The funding will be ring-fenced, with at least 80% earmarked to support with food and bills, and will cover the period to the end of March 2021. Local Authorities will receive the funding at the beginning of December 2020.

The Holiday Activities and Food programme, which has provided healthy food and enriching activities to disadvantaged children since 2018, will also be expanded across England next year.

It will cover Easter, Summer and Christmas in 2021, and cost up to £220m. It will be available to children in every local authority in England, building on previous programmes – including this summers, which supported around 50,000 children across 17 local authorities.

Read the full press release here.