Food voucher scheme 'paused' due to high demand

One-off supermarket vouchers have been paused by a council due to a high demand in applications.

North Northamptonshire Council said they had paused new applications for a three- week period due to a large number of people applying since 23 June.

Low-income families, pensioners, and people with disabilities were able to apply, with the amount dependent on the size of the household.

Gregory Wilcox, Reform UK councillor and executive member for communities at the authority, said: "The Household Support Fund (HSF) applications are currently paused due to high demand and to enable our staff to work through the existing waiting list."

The vouchers were funded by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and were available due to the seventh tranche of the HSF.

A single person could apply for a £150 voucher, a two-person household £260 and a household with three people or more £320.

It comes as prices rose by more than expected in the year to June, pushing inflation to 3.6% in UK, the highest it has been since January 2024.

Higher prices for food and clothing, air and rail fares - and a lower drop in fuel prices than this time last year - contributed to higher inflation, official figures show.

Mr Wilcox added: "This means new applications may not be accepted immediately while the authority processes existing requests and manage their allocated funds."

The authority said residents who had applied for the "wider essentials support" since 23 June did not need to apply again.

North Northamptonshire Council said applications were expected to take two months to process and would be dealt with in order of the date they were received.

Applications were due to re-open on 4 August.