Thousands of £50 supermarket vouchers are being made available to families who are struggling during the pandemic.
Issued on a first-come, first-served basis, the vouchers are now available to any city residents who receive council tax support, after the criteria for who is eligible was relaxed.
They must apply over the next week, with applications closing at midnight on Friday, April 16.
The City Council has secured funds from the Government’s Covid Winter Grant Scheme to fund the supermarket vouchers.
Previously, vouchers were not available to families who were already receiving support through measures such as free school meals or self-isolation payments. However, these exclusions have now been removed for over 4,000 remaining vouchers.
Anyone who has already applied once can also now apply for a second voucher.
Cllr Rebecca Langton, Portfolio Holder for Communities, said: “We were pleased to be able to distribute vouchers over the Christmas, half term and Easter holidays for free school meals, using funding from the Government’s Covid Winter Grant Scheme.
“We know people are still struggling and so we have taken the decision to relax the criteria so more people can benefit from vouchers that will help put food on families’ tables. We have over 4,000 vouchers to allocate and are pleased to be able to welcome applications from any city resident on council tax support, before midnight next Friday.”
All households will have recently been sent their new council tax statement for the new year, which will hold their unique Council Tax Reference number needed as part of the application process.
People eligible for the vouchers can apply for them here.
