Council apology as Coventry residents wait weeks for cost of living help

Coventry residents needing help with daily living costs face long council delays. Fuel vouchers and home items paid for by the government's household support fund are affected.

The nationwide scheme is set up to support people who cannot buy essentials or are vulnerable. It is delivered by local councils and will run until the end of next March.

In Coventry the grant is being used mainly to help with energy, water and food bills. It can also be used to buy home applicances like fridges and ovens, essentials like toiletries and for repairs and "wider household support."

READ MORE:Families can claim cost of living support worth £500 from DWP fund - how to apply

READ MORE:Tesco issues 'ban' for staff in crackdown on habit that's annoying customers

READ MORE:

Families can claim cost of living support worth £500 from DWP fund - how to apply

DWP payments worth up to £1,630 that millions could receive by Christmas

But the support is taking its time to be delivered. The council's website states it is seeing a high level of applications for help.

It adds: "Awards for fuel are presently taking 5-10 working days to issue vouchers once an award has been made. Applications for other household essentials for example, kitchen appliances, beds etc are currently taking 4-6 weeks to be awarded.

"We apologise for this time delay." Asked for comment, the council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) soaring demand for help has contributed to the waits but claimed future changes would help bring the delays down.

A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: "We are currently experiencing delays with the Household Support Fund, and we apologise to residents for this and thank them for their patience. This has been caused in part by a rise in demand, and we are also working on a number of improvements to the system that will improve efficiency and help to support residents while reducing waiting times for those in need of financial support.

"We will continue to work closely with our partners and residents to ensure we have a system in place that enables them to access the support they need, when they need it." Coventry council's website also states that it wants to process applications "as quickly as possible."

It adds that delays in giving the right information and evidence means this will take more time. Types of support on offer from the grant include payments of between £120-160 to fund two months of fuel and utilities, and vouchers for toiletries of £20-30.

People can also access three emergency food parcels per household and up to two months of subsidised food support from the authority. Council help with home items is limited to one appliance per household and will only be provided when there is "exceptional need," according to the council's website.

Clothing and bedding support of up to £400 is available and can be applied for once every six months.

Sign up for our FREE daily newsletter here for all the latest news about Coventry .