Cost of living support hailed as “transformational”

In the last year Dorset Council has supported hundreds of people through its £2 million cost of living support initiatives.

A special report to the People and Health Scrutiny committee last Thursday (19 June 2025) shone a light on the huge difference the support has made to people.

And that support will continue.

The council has pledged a further £500,000 every year for the next four years.

Cabinet member for Customer, Culture and Community Engagement, Cllr Ryan Hope, said: “This programme was truly transformational. It supported our most vulnerable residents across Dorset and helped shift focus from emergency response to prevention.

“Just one example has seen social supermarkets give people a route out of food poverty, helping reduce reliance on foodbanks and supporting long-term food security.

“And now, for the first time, this work is being supported by a dedicated, recurring budget. This gives long-term focus and reassurance to residents, officers, and the voluntary and community sector who have played a huge part in supporting our residents.”

In the last year 188 households were financially supported to prevent homelessness – resulting in a return of investment of £19 for every £1 spent.

And an early help housing campaign led to a 12% increase in people contacting the council before reaching a crisis.

More than 50 low income and vulnerable households received energy saving home adaptions and Citizens Advice supported 903 individuals with complex casework, resulting in debts worth hundreds of thousands being written off.

The cost of living grants helped to fund foodbanks and social supermarkets, supporting around 7,000 households every month.

And the grants were also used to fund community cooking sessions, workshops for adults with learning disabilities and helping hundreds of older people apply benefits they were entitled to.

Daniel Cadisch, of Dorset Citizens Advice, said: “The cost-of-living support funds provided by Dorset Council have made a huge difference to the work we do.

“By supporting people, we can give them real hope to work through the problems they face and to look forward to a more positive future.

“We’re really pleased that the council has pledged to continue supporting communities as times are still very tough for so many of us.”

Any resident that would like to find out what cost of living support is available to them can go to www.dorsetcouncil.cost-of-living-help or call Citizens Advice on 0800 144 8848.