Inspiring change together

The Council, alongside Edsential and a range of community partners, is running a wide range of fun activities for four days of the school Christmas holiday.

HAF is a national programme, funded by the government’s Department for Education, for children from reception to year 11 inclusive who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals (FSM).

Benefits-related free school meals are available to pupils if their parents are in receipt of one of the qualifying benefits, and have a claim verified by their school or local authority.

Find out if your child is eligible for free school meals

With a network of 67 clubs spread across the borough, children and young people who are eligible for free school meals between the ages of 5 - 16 are in for a festive treat. The programme will feature a diverse range of activities, including trips to see a pantomime, ice skating, graffiti art workshops, sports and much more. Alongside these exciting activities, everyone will receive nutritious festive meals to keep them energised throughout the Christmas holiday.

Youth Zones are available to 11–16-year-olds (up to 25 years for SEND young people) and will be providing eligible children and young people with a Christmas themed HAF offer.

Activities for Children with SEND - A number of organisations across the borough including the Council’s Youth Service and Brio Leisure, will be delivering SEND specific HAF sessions (available for ages up to 25 for SEND children and young people). Some sessions will also be offering places for siblings.

A full list of all activities is available on the Holiday Activities with Food Cheshire West web page. Please note all activities must be booked in advance.
Holiday Activities with Food

It’s a difficult time for many households due to the cost of living crisis so the message from water company United Utilities is to give them a call if you’re struggling with your water bill so they can help.

They have lots of ways to make your water bill more affordable, call their bill support team on 0800 072 6765 or complete their online form using the link below and they will call you back.

https://www.unitedutilities.com/difficulty-paying-bill

Some of the ways United Utilities can support you with your water bill payments include:

• Help to Pay: if you’re on Pension Credit and receive the Warm Home energy discount then it’s likely you are eligible for a lower water bill too.
• Back on Track: if you’re either receiving benefits or on a low income and finding it difficult to pay your water bill following a change in financial circumstances, this scheme can reduce the amount you have to pay.
• Cheaper with a Meter: the majority of customers who switch to a meter save at least £150 a year. You can trial a meter for two years and during that time the company guarantees that you won’t pay more. Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis says a meter could save you money if there are more bedrooms in your home than people, or even the same number. Read more here https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/cut-water-bills
• Payment matching: if you’ve built up a lot of debt, the company has a scheme which will match your payments pound-for-pound to help you clear the money that you owe.
• WaterSure: if you have a water meter, receive benefits, and use a lot of water due to ill health or having a large family, they can cap your annual bill regardless of how much water you need to use.
• Trust Fund: if you’re in real financial difficulty, you may qualify for a one-off payment from the United Utilities Trust Fund to help clear your debts.

Full details about United Utilities’ support schemes can be found at https://www.unitedutilities.com/difficulty-paying-bill or call their team on 0800 072 6765.

Support when you need it most

We can all benefit from a bit of extra help at some stage in our lives. This could be due to age, ill health, disability, mobility needs, mental health problems, financial worries, or language barriers. Registering for Priority Services with United Utilities is FREE and means you’ll benefit from additional services to support your needs including:

• A dedicated team on hand to listen and help.
• You can nominate a carer, family member or friend to talk to United Utilities on your behalf.
• Have your water bills in Braille, large print and ‘talking’ bills and text relay service.
• Add a password to your water account so you can always be sure the caller from United Utilities is genuine.
• Translation services.
• Notice of interruptions to your water supply.
• Additional support if you have a medical need for water.

So, if you or someone you know would benefit from extra support with their water services, please register online using the link below or give United Utilities a call on 0345 672 2888.

unitedutilities.com/priorityservices

Cheshire West Crowd empowers people to create projects that will make a positive difference to their community.

Hundreds of different community projects have used the Cheshire West Crowd to run crowdfunding campaigns, collectively raising millions from thousands of supporters.

The Council has also pledged its support to many projects, helping them on their journeys to reaching their crowdfunding targets.

If you have an idea and a project in mind that you believe will make a difference to the people around you, consider sharing it with a local organisation. Any community project can kickstart their crowdfunding campaign on the Cheshire West Crowd.

Cheshire West Crowd – Home (spacehive.com)

The Cheshire West Crowd website has a range of information, including projects that are up and running and those that have already successfully used the platform, as well as details of how people can support them. You can filter the projects to Funded to see which ones are live.

Discover projects on the Cheshire West Crowd (spacehive.com)

Cheshire firefighters are offering advice on how to stay safe when trying to keep warm this winter.

To reduce costs, many people will be looking for alternative ways to heat their homes - opening themselves up to dangers and greater risk of fire in the home.

Please follow the advice to stay safe.

• If you have a log burner or solid fuel fire, make sure you get your chimney swept regularly so there's no build up inside and the space is free from bird nesting materials. Stack logs by the side of a fire and use a fireguard where possible to prevent embers falling out.

• Make sure candles are secured in a holder and away from materials that may catch fire – like curtains. Never leave candles unattended around pets and children. Always put them out before you go to bed.

• When using a wheat bag, always follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully and ensure it is not heated in a microwave for too long, or at too high a temperature.
  
  
• Camping stoves and barbecues should never be used indoors.
  
  
• Install a smoke alarm on every floor of your home and regularly test and maintain them – smoke alarms save lives.

Sitting room temperatures are recommended to be kept at 21°C and bedrooms should be 18°C. If you’re feeling the chill, use a blanket or layer your clothing to trap heat better.

For more information and advice about staying safe and preventing fire, visit: cheshirefire.gov.uk/keepingwarm

You can boost your digital skills, or help someone you know to get online, by borrowing an iPad from your local library. This can allow you, a friend, or a family member to access Council services and much more.

With the Library iPad Borrowing Scheme, you can borrow an iPad for six weeks. You can collect the device from any Cheshire West and Chester Library, you just need a library card and a form of ID. You can even join the library service online in advance.

Join the library - Cheshire Libraries Catalogue (koha-ptfs.co.uk)

Each iPad comes with mobile data so you can access the internet even if you don't have Wi-Fi at home. The iPads include a getting started guide and instructional video. Our library staff are also there to help you get online.

The iPads come with pre-installed apps, such as eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines, as well as links to resources and support with job searching, accessing Council services, or getting in touch with family and friends.

eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines | Cheshire West and Chester Council

For more information on the scheme or to check availability, contact your local library.

Find a library | Cheshire West and Chester Council

The great British summer has been and gone, and we are now heading towards Autumn and Winter where we all need to consider how best to get through the colder months in the cheapest possible way.

Many of you who receive benefits will already have received a cost of living payment of £301.00 after April to assist you in paying your gas and electricity bills. However, don’t forget, there will be two more payments coming.

To add up to a total of £900.00 for the year the government will issue the next payments as follows:

Autumn 2023 £300.00 (payable between 31 October and 19 November 2023)

Spring 2024 £299.00

To qualify for these payments, you have to be receiving one of the following benefits:

• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income Support
• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit

For these benefits you will have had to have an active benefit claim between 26 January to 25 February 2023 for the first payment. The government has not yet released the dates for the spring payment but if you met the criteria for the first two payments then it is likely you will receive the spring payment unless your circumstances and finances change.

If you are in receipt of Universal Credit, you are eligible for the Cost of Living Payment of £300 if you were entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 18 August 2023 to 17 September 2023.

For those of you in receipt of disability benefits you should also be eligible for an extra £150.00 which was due to be paid this summer.

Also, if you are entitled already to a Winter Fuel Payment then you should also get either an extra £150.00 or an extra £300.00. The £300 is called the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment and will be automatically paid to people in receipt of State Benefit / Pension Credit.

You should receive a letter letting you know how much you will be getting for your Winter Fuel Payment around October to November this year.

The Warm Home Discount Scheme will also start again this winter for those who qualify. Those who should automatically qualify are people in receipt of:

• Housing Benefit
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income Support
• The ‘Savings Credit’ part of Pension Credit
• Universal Credit

Other people on a low income and those receiving Guarantee Pension Credit may also be eligible.

The Warm Home Discount will not be paid directly to you but will be paid to your utility supplier to help reduce your bills.

If you are on a prepayment meter then your electricity supplier can tell you how you’ll get the discount if you’re eligible, for example a voucher you can use to top up your meter.

You should be sent a letter sometime between October 2023 and early January 2024 if you are eligible. If you do not receive a letter but think you should qualify you can call their helpline on 0800 107 8002

You can find more information on all of the above as it is updated at the following website.
GOV.UK/cost of living payments 2023 to 2024

Also, if you are struggling to pay your bills, National Energy Action has lots of useful advice and guidance on their website. If you are not on the internet, you can call them on 0800 304 7159
National Energy Action Advice and Support

Pregnant people, or those with children under the age of four, could be eligible for the Healthy Start scheme and receive help with buying food and milk.

While nearly 300 more eligible people in west Cheshire are now claiming Healthy Start compared to the start of 2023, more than £13,500 worth of support was still unclaimed in September 2023, meaning many people are missing out.

Through the Healthy Start scheme, you can use your card to buy:

• plain liquid cow’s milk
• fresh, frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables
• fresh, dried and tinned pulses
• infant formula milk based on cow’s milk.

You can also use your card to collect the following.

• Healthy Start vitamins – these support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
• Vitamin drops for babies and young children – these are suitable from birth to four years old.

How you could qualify
You can access the Healthy Start scheme if you’re at least 10 weeks pregnant, or you have at least one child aged under four, and receive any of the following.

• Child Tax Credit (only if your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less)
• Income support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension Credit (which includes the child addition)
• Universal Credit (only if your family’s take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment)

What you’ll get

• £4.25 each week of your pregnancy (from the 10th week of your pregnancy)
• £8.50 each week for children from birth to one year old
• £4.25 each week for children between one and four years old

How to apply
You’ll need to apply online to access Healthy Start, even if you previously used paper vouchers through the scheme before it went digital.
Apply online today

Help spread the word
The Council and a range of partners have worked together on a local flyer to promote the scheme and highlight that some people in the area aren’t claiming what they’re entitled to.

Could you share this flyer through your own networks or encourage local organisations you know to place a copy in their community building?

Download a copy of the flyer

Citizens Advice has a dedicated energy team offering a range of services designed to help residents in Cheshire West with the ongoing energy crisis.

Their aim is to help those already in fuel poverty and to stop others from falling into fuel poverty. The energy project looks to help residents achieve affordable warmth by improving energy efficiency, increasing income, and providing energy advice.

Free energy advice appointments are available. Providing tips on how to reduce consumption and cut energy costs as well as signposting residents to available grants and schemes to help them maximise their income.

Free energy advice workshops are available to community groups, consumers and volunteers, at their place of work or venue. Here you will receive helpful energy advice and there will be leaflets and other materials to take away with you. These are delivered as energy talks directly to consumers at meetings or as drop-ins / pop-ups.

Free training presentations can be delivered to organisations who have officers or volunteers that work directly with residents who are either facing or in fuel poverty. These interactive training sessions include topics and information that can be used to help front line workers provide help and advice to others.

To find out more about energy advice services on offer from Citizens Advice Cheshire West, or to book an appointment or workshop, visit:
www.citizensadvicecw.org.uk

Alternatively, you can email the energy team, at:
energy-advice@citizensadvicecw.org.uk

Many people are struggling with the rising cost of living. If you’re one of those people, then the government’s Household Support Fund may be able to help you.

The Household Support Fund is there to support households in the most need, especially with energy costs, food, water bills and other related essential items. The fund is available to a broad range of low-income households across the borough including families with children of all ages, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers, and disabled people.

It’s worth noting that you don’t need to be getting benefits to receive help from the Household Support Fund and if you are receiving benefits the additional funding to help with the cost of living will not affect your benefits.

To find out more about the Household Support Fund and to check if you’re eligible to apply, visit: Household Support Fund | Cheshire West and Chester Council

You can apply to the Household Support Fund anytime between now and 31 March 2024.

There is also more information about food provision, money advice, and mental health and wellbeing support on the Council’s cost of living web page.
Cost of living | Cheshire West and Chester Council

The Council has teamed up with the Energy Saving Trust to bring you an app that will give you advice on how to use less energy in your home and save money.

The app which is available to download from both Apple and android app stores is simple and easy to use.

It takes you on a journey of a typical home. Simply click on the different rooms within the home, such as a bedroom or kitchen and you will be prompted to answer yes or no to certain questions relating to electrical items within that room – things such as ‘Do you turn off lights every time you leave a room?’. If the answer is No, then it will tell you what potential financial saving you could make if you change what you currently do.

Did you know:
• that by turning lights off when you don’t need them you will save around £25 a year on your energy bill

• if you line dry your clothes in the summer months instead of using a tumble dryer you could save £60 each year

• if you replace your showerhead with a water efficient one it can save you around £35 off your yearly gas bill.

Once you have completed your tour of the rooms in the house, the app will tell you the total potential saving you could make by making a few minor changes. You can also ask for a report that shows you where you could save energy and money.

Not only will the suggested energy saving measures help to save you money, you will also be playing your part to reduce your household carbon emissions which in turn supports the borough’s ambition to become carbon neutral by 2045.

Download the app today by searching CWAC: Energy Advice Tool and start saving money as well as protecting the planet.