Cost of living emergency declared by Stroud District Council

Stroud District Council has agreed to allocate £100,000 towards supporting those struggling most with rising costs

A district council has allocated £100,000 to help people struggling with the rising cost of living.

Councillors in Stroud voted unanimously for the financial support which is in addition to £252,000 of funding from Gloucestershire County Council.

The council also resolved to declare a "cost of living emergency".

Leader Catherine Braun said it was so important people were aware there was local help available to assist them with their cost of living pressures.

Stroud District Council said it had been working with community and voluntary sector groups to help some of the people most in need, and the new package would allow this effort to be stepped-up.

Councillors of all parties also agreed to write to the government and local MPs calling for immediate financial support for the vulnerable and a clear plan to deal with the crisis.

Ms Braun said: "I was delighted to see unanimous support for our cost of living response plan, which will mean an investment of £100,000 to support the council's frontline work across the district, in partnership with the fantastic voluntary and community sector."

'Times extremely tough'

The meeting considered a report from Stroud District Foodbank, which showed that usage had gone up by 90% in the past year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Community services and licensing committee chairman, Chris Brine, said: "We are responding to peoples' concerns and using the limited resources that we have to best effect."

Conservative deputy group leader, Nick Housden, said allocating the £100,000 was the "right thing to do".

"We accept that times are extremely tough for a huge wave of people," he added.