How you can get a share of £25m in cost-of-living help if you live in Preston, South Ribble or Chorley

That is how much in total was handed to Lancashire County Council and the local authorities covering Blackpool and Blackburn as part of the latest round of the Household Support Fund.

County Hall has now finished allocating shares of the money to all the corners of the county for which it is responsible, passing it both to local councils - like Preston, Chorley and South Ribble - and other partner organisations that work with those in financial difficulty.

The pot - which covers the period from April this year until the end of March 2024 - has enabled the creation of discretionary funds within all 14 Lancashire district and unitary council areas, which can be used to assist households in meeting a range of basic needs.

These include paying food and domestic energy bills and buying warm clothing and white goods such as fridges, freezers, ovens, slow cookers. The cash can also be used to fund advice services and, in some circumstances, people may be eligible for help with housing costs.

Support is also available under the initiative for families or individuals who have not been entitled to help from other cost-of-living schemes.

The process of applying is different in each area, with Preston and South Ribble councils administering applications themselves and Chorley Council working with community organisations and voluntary groups.

For information on how to apply in each here, click on the links below:

Preston

South Ribble

Chorley

The £19.3m allocated to Lancashire County Council for 2023/24 is the third tranche of funding for the authority’s patch since the Household Support Fund launched in 2021, with the County Hall area having received £48.3m across the period to date.

Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen councils were given allocations of £3.4m and £3.2m, respectively, for the current financial year – bringing the Lancashire total to £25.9m in 2023/24.

County Cllr Alan Vincent, the deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, said: "The Household Support Fund is just one strand of a series of support measures available to Lancashire residents.

"It is designed to catch those families who may not be eligible for other government funding but who are nonetheless struggling to cover essential costs.

"It's really important that we don't let people slip through the net and we're thankful to our district councils and other partners who are helping to support our communities.

"If anyone is in need of support I would urge them to visit lancashire.gov.uk/costofliving, which we established as a one-stop signpost for residents to enable them to more easily access help from Lancashire County Council, the government and our local partners, including links to your district council as the first port of call for enquiries for assistance."