Dorset Council hardship fund closes within hours of opening

People were eligible to apply if they had an annual household income of less than £30k and savings of less than £16k

A hardship fund to support those struggling with the cost-of-living crisis closed within hours of opening because of "unprecedented" demand.

Citizens Advice invited applications for Dorset Council's Household Support Fund (HSF) on 9 January and closed it later the same day.

The support, which is funded by central government, comes in the form of supermarket vouchers.

Dorset Council received £600,000 for the January 2023 spending round.

Households with an income of less than £30,000 and savings of less than £16,000 were able to apply for the funding.

But due to the sheer number of applicants Citizens Advice closed the fund by the end of the day.

Councillor Laura Beddow said there was "huge deprivation" in areas of Weymouth and Portland

"The fact the HSF was open and closed in a day tells us there's huge demand," Councillor Laura Beddow, cabinet member for culture, communities and customer services at Dorset Council, said.

"I do think demand is unprecedented. Anecdotally, you only have to look at social media to see we're living in pretty unusual times."

She added there was "huge deprivation" in areas of Weymouth and Portland, but also "pockets of rural need around Shaftesbury and Sturminster Newton, which would surprise people".

Citizens Advice in Dorset, which runs the fund on behalf of the council and is issuing vouchers to residents, said demand for its service had almost doubled in a year.

Figures for east Dorset and Purbeck, Bridport and central Dorset showed for the three months from September to December 2022 the agency helped 7,709 people compared with 3,901 during the same period in 2021 - an increase of 98%.

The support comes in the form of supermarket vouchers and is allocated by Citizens Advice

The centre said the majority of the top three inquiries related to charitable support and foodbanks, followed by debt and issues with utilities.

A Department of Work and Pensions spokesperson said the fund existed to help "the most vulnerable through this period of rising prices".

"Funding, combined with equivalent money for devolved governments, has increased to £2.5 billion," they added.

"Along with raising benefits in line with inflation from April, we will be sending up to £1,350 directly to those most in need throughout 2023-24."