We know this winter will be tough for many people and we’ve seen the Chancellor act to bring in a package of support to help us deal with rising energy bills and global inflation.
Here in West Berkshire, we’re good at supporting local people. In fact, we’ve distributed tens of millions of pounds of government support to help households, families and businesses since the pandemic hit a couple of years back – and we are among the highest quartile in the country for getting the help out there in a timely manner.
Whether it’s providing laptops for disadvantaged students; distributing free school meal vouchers; making tens of thousands of pounds available to improve access to physical activities and mental well-being; or the £150 grants for council tax support (as well as the £150 energy rebate payments); it shows what a good Conservative Council can do, working in partnership with local community groups and government.
Now, we are launching our new Cost of Living Support Hub to help people in financial hardship this winter. The whole idea behind the hub is to provide a single point of contact, a one stop shop, for residents struggling with their bills and the rising cost of living. It will bring together different agencies, skills, and knowledge — who will work together to provide advice and point struggling residents to a comprehensive range of support this winter.
The hub is launching this month, it will be run by West Berkshire Council in partnership with Greenham Trust and the Volunteer Centre West Berkshire.
More information about the hub and an online contact form can be found on our website https://www.westberks.gov.uk/cost-of-living.
We recommend people make initial contact using the online form so that we can best process and give the right advice to respond to their query, however if necessary people can also call the team on: 01635 503333 or email: costofliving@westberks.gov.uk
