PARENTS in Bishopston and Redland can get food vouchers over the school holidays to help feed their children if they receive free school meals. The vouchers are for £15 per week per child with almost £4 million put aside by Bristol City Council this year.
Vouchers allow parents and carers to choose which supermarket they wish to purchase food over the holidays. They should contact the child’s school to find out about how to access the vouchers, which are paid for from the government’s Household Support Fund.
In March Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, slashed the budget for the Household Support Fund by £100 million. That leaves Bristol with about £1 million less to spend this year, with a total of £7.1 million left over.
Around 60 per cent of this will be spent on food vouchers, which won’t face budget cuts — although other support such as debt advice will receive less funding this year.
By Alex Seabrook, LDRS reporter
Bringing books to your doorstep
RESIDENTS who are unable to visit their local library, can benefit from a special service which delivers books to their doors.
The Home Library Service, as part of the Royal Voluntary Service and commissioned by Bristol City Council, is free for any adult in Bristol who wants to keep using the library service, but has difficulty getting to the library either due to a disability, age, or caring responsibilities.
Organisers are always looking for volunteers to help run the project and deliver books to isolated readers.
If you know someone who could benefit from this service, or if you would like to volunteer, email BHLSVisits@royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk or call 07714898558.
Share views on disability cuts
BRISTOL Central MP Carla Denyer is urging local residents to make their voices heard about the government’s proposed disability cuts.
Her call comes two weeks before the government’s consultation closes and after meeting with disabled people from Bristol to hear about their experiences of the welfare system, and how the planned cuts will affect them.
The cuts to support for disabled people were first announced by the government in March. In response, Carla Denyer MP called for the government to rethink the plans, highlighting that the government could raise five times more by taxing extreme wealth than it hopes to save through the cuts, which she says will push an estimated 400,000 disabled people into poverty.
The ‘Pathways to Work’ consultation can be found here: tinyurl.com/4hxrw4en