Donna Higgins, West Suffolk Council lead for families and communities, outlines plans for struggling residents during winter after fears support is lacking

A leader has outlined plans for struggling residents over winter after fears of lacking support.

Concerns were raised by Cllr Joe Mason during Tuesday’s West Suffolk Council cabinet meeting, who said the council’s way of communicating its support, through booklets and guides, ‘put people off rather than engage them’ – particularly pensioners.

He added: “In September, I called for action for a West Suffolk discretionary fund — my call remains the same, wo months have passed and nothing seems to have changed.

“I fear for all those pensioners who will this winter be choosing whether to heat or eat and I worry about those with co-morbidities who have to spend more on energy costs out of necessity and will not have the support they will need.”

Cllr Mason also said the council should be focusing on funding extra support and not ‘placing that responsibility on others’, pointing out outdated information on the council website — this has since been updated.

Addressing these concerns, Cllr Donna Higgins, the council’s lead for families and communities, first provided an update on the authority’s Warm Spaces scheme, which will see 26 groups awarded grants of £1,400 each toward their running costs this winter.

On Winter Fuel Payments, she said although the council would not create a separate fund as a result of the axing, its Local Welfare Assistance Scheme would still be available.

She said: “West Suffolk Council will continue to work with our partners to help all individuals and families who are struggling, not just in winter and regardless of their age.”

Cllr Higgins also pointed out some of the measures the council has put in place — these include:

• £245,000 for Citizens Advice’s core budget during this financial year, as well as £200,000 for the following years.
• £29,750 in winter-related support from county funds to be awarded to centres, village halls, libraries and other places to combat loneliness and reduce daytime heating costs
• £2,800 for each councillor to be spent on cost-of-living support

Cllr Higgins added: “We are continuing to help our residents through the ongoing cost-of-living crisis including through our partnership approach and our investment in voluntary, community, faith and social enterprises who work with individuals needing financial and other support.”