Cost of living: Worcester Christmas meal vouchers available

The council has committed to providing schoolchildren with meal vouchers

Help with the cost of living crisis, including meal vouchers for nursery children and sixth form pupils, is being made available this Christmas.

Worcester City Council has said it will also donate £50,000 to the city's foodbank and provide another £50,000 of aid for people on low incomes.

The latter will be used to help people with their energy bills.

The meal vouchers are being provided by the authority to school-age children who qualify for free school meals.

To pay for the vouchers - available during the holidays - plus other schemes, the council is using £190,000 of funding from the government.

It said £30,000 was being provided to help people struggling to pay their rent, with £25,000 used to set up a crisis fund for people needing emergency financial assistance.

Stephen Hodgson, vice chair of the council's health and wellbeing committee, said: "The rising costs of living mean that many people will not be able to enjoy the Christmas they wanted, so I am very pleased that the City Council has been able to step in and offer this support."