Pensioners to get supermarket vouchers this winter

The money will come from the recently-extended Household Support Fund

Nearly 6,000 pensioners in the Telford area will receive supermarket vouchers worth £100 to help them during the winter.

Telford and Wrekin Council said the £600,000 would come from the government's Household Support Fund.

It said it would be available to those eligible for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction and it would include pensioners who fall just outside of the threshold for claiming pension credit.

The council will write to pensioners who qualify to give them further information.

Last month the Labour government announced the extension of the Household Support Fund, following criticism of its decision to scrap winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners in England and Wales.

The fund was launched in 2021 and was designed to help with cost-of-living pressures over the winter.

The money is distributed to councils, who can use the scheme to give struggling households small payments.

The leader of the authority, Lee Carter, said it was "the easiest way of getting support to pensioners quickly".

The council said it would also give pensioners energy efficiency advice, leisure discounts through winter, and promised to continue a number of other hardship schemes.