Residents hope Budget will help with cost of living

John Rouse said he had been living in his vehicle for over two months

People in the South Wye area of Hereford have called on the Chancellor to provide more help for inflationary energy, food and fuel prices, in Wednesday's Budget.

Diners at a free Sunday lunch at St Martin's church in Hinton said the community needed more help with the cost of living.

The meal, for anyone in the community, is one of more than 60 free events being put on by organisations across Herefordshire.

Funding for the "Winter of Wellbeing" scheme, provided by the Department for Work and Pensions, is due to end on 31 March.

"Help from London? From Whitehall...? A lot more funding to communities," said John Rouse, who said he had been homeless for more than two months

"They've got to spread it around the country, to local councils", he said.

He told me he was currently sleeping in his vehicle, while he waited for Herefordshire Council to provide a place in temporary accommodation.

For him, the hot meal at St Martin's in Hinton is invaluable.

"It’s fantastic. Without it, a lot of people would go without dinner, including myself", he said.

The free hot meal at St Martin's in Hinton is one of more than sixty 'Winter of Wellbeing' events across Herefordshire

Pensioners Heather Williams and Jean Davis said they hoped the Budget would ease higher household bills.

"You’re almost too nervous to put on the heating. I just use a halogen heater by the side of me, just to try and save," said Heather.

"It’s the food prices mainly. I think I could manage on what I’m getting but for a big thing like a washing machine breaking down. It’s the unexpected," said Jean.

"It's tough for everybody," said mother Kim Griffin, who had come with her two-year-old daughter.

“It’s the basics, just help me to top up until I get to the end of the month," she said.

Emily Lowe from Talk Community said free events like the hot lunch were helping to strengthen community ties

The free Sunday lunch at St Martin's is being organised by the council-run initiative Talk Community.

It is one of more than 60 "Winter of Wellbeing" events set up to help families during the cost-of-living crisis, in addition to preventative work such as energy advice, emergency payments, and financial health checks for young families.

"It is people who haven’t been struggling before," said Emily Lowe, Talk Community's development lead.

"Often it's where both parents might be working but where their gas and electric has continued to go up, or where their mortgage or rent has gone up".

Since being launched, around 9,000 households in Herefordshire have received support.

But its source of funding, the government's Household Support Fund, is due to end on 31 March.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said it had invested more than £2bn in the Household Support Fund.

The department added it will continue to keep all existing programmes and cost-of-living measures under review.