Our Cabinet agreed today how it will allocate a smaller pot of national funding to help families struggling with high costs of food, energy, and other essential household items.
We have received funding to operate a Household Support Fund (HSF) since 2021. Last year, it totalled £10.1 million, but this year (2025/26) the funding has fallen for the first time, to £8.9 million – a decrease of 11.87 per cent.
Funding is allocated to support households across Devon in various ways. A large proportion of it goes in providing free school meal holiday vouchers to children and young people who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals during term time. Around 22,500 children and young people are eligible for benefits-related free school meals in Devon.
It’s also shared among Devon’s District Councils to support households struggling to afford essentials, helping those approaching them directly for support and/or targeting households in receipt of some benefits who they already know will be struggling with the cost of living.
Some of it is used by Citizen’s Advice Devon, helping households struggling with high energy and water costs through an Energy and Water Relief scheme.
And Devon Community Foundation operates a Food Fuel & More, HSF-funded, grant scheme to support voluntary and community organisations, helping vulnerable people who are less like to access support through the other available support gateways.
Councillors today (Wednesday 25 June) agreed to continue funding free school meal holiday vouchers, to the same level – £15 per child per week during school holidays.
The decision effectively commits half this year’s total Household Support Fund (HSF7) for free school meal holiday vouchers, compared to around 26 per cent of last year’s (HSF6).
The rest will be allocated proportionally to Devon district councils, Citizens Advice Devon and Devon Community Foundation.
In addition, councillors agreed to set up a vulnerable families’ contingency fund, to give the council flexibility to provide additional support for households later in the year, in response to cost of living issues – as a consequence of wider political and economic pressures.
Councillor Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin, our cabinet member with responsibility for Rural Affairs, said after the meeting.
“We know that many families whose children are eligible for benefits-related free school meals during term time also rely on the holiday food vouchers, and therefore we will continue to support this at the same level as the council has done previously. We will also continue to operate the Holiday Activities & Food programme.
“It leaves less for the remainder, but we will continue to allocate funds proportionally to our District colleagues and partners.
“The costs of food and energy are likely to remain turbulent for the time being, in response to conflict and other economic drivers, and therefore we will set up a contingency fund for consideration later this year, to help to reduce the impacts of the reduced funding made available from Government.
“This is the final year of the Household Support Fund, with the Government indicating a move to a new Crisis and Resilience Fund from April 2026. It’s not clear what the impact of that decision will be on households in Devon, who rely on the Household Support funding to help with high and rising costs of food, fuel, and other essential household items.”
“The Government’s previous decision to stop the Rural Services fund, and instead direct funding to urban areas of deprivation, is a decision that impacts negatively on vulnerable households in our rural county.
“We will be writing to central government and lobbying them via bodies such as the Local Government Association, highlighting our concerns about the impact of their policy decisions on vulnerable households, and of the lack of clarity about the new Crisis and Resilience Fund.”
