Heating oil customers in Somerset will receive financial support through the new crisis and resilience fund following a recent government announcement.
The price of heating oil has sharply spiked in recent weeks due to the ongoing conflict in Iran, with one-fifth of the world's crude oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer MP announced on Monday (March 16) a £53m support scheme to support the 1.5 million UK households which use heating oil - with the support being targeted towards the most vulnerable in society.
In Somerset, £1.16m of funding will be distributed through Somerset Council's crisis and resilience fund, which will already provide around £21.5m of support over the next three years for households in significant financial hardship.
The crisis and resilience fund will officially launch on April 1 (replacing the household support fund) and will have five objectives:
- Providing immediate, cash‑first help to households experiencing financial
shock, including food, fuel and housing‑related costs - Supporting households to maintain or secure accommodation through the new housing payment
- Reducing reliance on emergency food aid by offering more dignified and
preventative support - Strengthening long‑term financial resilience through services such as debt
advice, benefit checks and income‑maximisation - Building stronger community‑based support systems through collaboration with partners in the voluntary sector
Councillor Heather Shearer, portfolio holder for children, families and education, welcomed the new fund when the council's executive committee discussed the matter in Taunton on March 11.
Ms Shearer (who represents the Mendip West division) said: "The work we can do through this fund touches people of all ages and from all communities.
"This three-year fund replaces short-term schemes and provides a more stable and strategic approach to crisis support.
"We aim to ensure every resident has access to the right support at the right time."
Council leader Bill Revans said: "We know worldwide events recently will lead to some significant pressures, especially around fuel, which will then trigger difficulties for families.
"I have already spoken to our officers to make sure that we look at the cost of living measures that we previously put in place, making sure they are still robust and available to be able to tackle anything that comes down the line."
More details about the fund and related support can be found by visiting www.somerset.gov.uk/care-and-support-for-adults/cost-of-living-support-for-somerset-residents or calling 0300 123 2224.
Rachel Gilmour, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Minehead, has called on the government to provide additional support for heating oil customers, labelling the £53m support announced as "a sticking plaster on a gaping wound".
More than 42 per cent of households in Mrs Gilmour's constituency are "vulnerable to the increased price of heating oil", with the MP stating the level of government support was not enough to make a "meaningful dent in spiralling costs for families".
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Mrs Gilmour wrote to exchequer secretary to the Treasury Dan Tomlinson MP on Wednesday (March 18), calling for the rural fuel duty relief scheme to be extended and backing her party's campaign for zero VAT on heating oil for a three-month period.
She said: "After leaving the south west out of their budgets and demonstrating a complete lack of understanding about rural areas during their 20 months in office, it is perhaps not surprising that this government has not properly grasped the severity of the heating oil crisis on rural communities.
“Far from addressing the key issues, the support announced was a sticking plaster on a gaping wound. The support simply will not go far enough to help many of my constituents in a meaningful way."
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