ELDERLY residents will benefit from a share of £250,000 to help them cope with rising bills and household essentials, Southend Council has announced.

Just weeks after the Winter Fuel Payment was slashed by the Labour Government, council bosses revealed older residents can apply for cash which has been ringfenced for pensioners.

The council is launching the next round of the Household Support fund and has allocated £250,000 of the £1.4million to help support pensioners with rising living costs. It aims to address immediate needs such as food, energy bills, and other household essentials.

However, Reform UK councillor Tony Cox fears funding won’t go far enough, claiming it will only result £11.37 per pensioner when divided among the 22,000 in Southend.

Announcing the funding, Daniel Cowan, leader of Southend Council, said: “We understand the challenges our most vulnerable residents face, especially pensioners and that is why we are ring-fencing this funding to support those who have concerns about rising costs. We have also introduced a new process to identify pensioners who are entitled to pension credit but not claiming and so far. We encourage all pensioners to check their eligibility.”

Estimates suggest around 10,000 of Southend’s approximately 32,000 pensioners would be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments through pension credit. Mr Cox said: “Councils are going to have to pick up the strain when the Government failed who are most vulnerable. I am pleased that some money has been made available. But it isn’t enough and won’t even scratch the surface. I would like to know if anymore of the other £1.2 million can be used.”

Mr Cowan added: “Many pensioners will not need to access support through the Essential Living Fund, so councillor Cox’s back of an envelope arithmetic is crude at best. The remaining fund can be accessed on a needs basis by pensioners. The failure to protect the vulnerable is that of the Conservative government who left a £22bn black hole in public finances and services on their knees.”