Bolton Council will provide financial support to families struggling this winter through the government’s £170m Covid-19 Winter Support Grant.
The authority has received £1.1m of funding from government to help vulnerable households in the following ways:
- To provide food vouchers to children eligible for free school meals over the Christmas holidays
- To provide food vouchers to pre-school age children of families in receipt of local council tax support over the Christmas holidays
- To support care leavers, troubled families and the homeless
- To support other vulnerable residents through the period of the grant
Those who qualify under the above criteria will automatically receive the vouchers, there is no need to apply. Vouchers for children who receive free school meals will be managed by the schools.
Qualifying families will receive a £40 food voucher per child over the Christmas holidays.
Approximately 14,200 children across the borough will benefit.
Cllr David Greenhalgh, Leader of Bolton Council, said: “We hope to ease some of the pressure on our most vulnerable families by providing these food vouchers. We want to ensure no child goes hungry over the Christmas period.
“The pandemic has left a lot of families in our borough struggling financially. This scheme allows us support the hardest-hit families and provide food for children who need it over the holidays.”
The Covid-19 Winter Support Grant is a national government scheme which runs from December 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.