No October half-term vouchers: what support remains in Ealing

Families in Ealing preparing for the October school break should note an important change: school holiday meal vouchers are no longer available. They ended with the Household Support Fund. Ealing Council says other help remains available, including one-off crisis payments, a free benefits calculator and free or low-cost activities for children.

Since April, local support has been provided through the UK Government-funded Crisis and Resilience Fund. It is not a like-for-like replacement for the previous fund. The scheme is intended to help people facing an immediate financial crisis and connect them with support that may reduce the risk of another crisis.

Residents may apply for a Crisis Payment if they cannot afford food, essential utility bills, housing costs or other basic living expenses. It is a one-off discretionary payment. Each application is assessed by the local welfare assistance team, which considers the applicant's circumstances and supporting evidence.

The main conditions include living in the borough of Ealing, having no savings that could resolve the crisis and receiving one of the listed benefits. These include Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit. The council says it may still consider an application outside the usual criteria after a disaster such as a fire or flood.

A second practical step is to check entitlement through the council's free online benefits calculator. A short indicator takes about 30 seconds, while the full calculator can estimate possible benefits and show how a change in work, hours or family circumstances might affect payments. Accurate results require information about income, savings, housing costs, childcare and council tax.

The council says almost 70 per cent of people who have used the calculator so far discovered that they were missing financial support. The result is an indication rather than a guarantee of an award, but it can help families identify which applications may be worth making.

The Holiday Activities and Food programme continues to provide activities and meals for children from Reception to Year 11 who receive targeted free school meals. However, it runs during the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays, not the October half-term. For the coming break, the council directs families to a separate list of free and low-cost local activities.

Applications for a Crisis Payment and details of other help are available on Ealing Council's website. Anyone under financial pressure should check the criteria early and prepare evidence of income, benefits and the immediate crisis. The council's welfare team may also offer budgeting, debt or employment support where appropriate.