Stockport Council continues Holiday Support Vouchers scheme for eligible families this May half term

Funded by the Department for Work and Pensions Household Support Grant, the HSV scheme will support those families with school-aged children in receipt of income-based free school meals, and those in early years with equivalent eligibility.

A £15 voucher will be issued per week per child for the 2022 May half term holiday: in Stockport this equates to £30 for primary-aged children and those in early years with equivalent eligibility and £15 for secondary-aged children due to the length of the school half term holidays.

Vouchers will be distributed via email for those that the council holds an email address for. Where this is not possible, vouchers will be posted to eligible families. All vouchers will be Post Office Payout vouchers, meaning they can be redeemed for their cash value at any local Post Office branch. This is different to previous schemes where some families received supermarket vouchers in the post.

HSVs will begin to be distributed from Monday 30th May. Families then have until 30th June 2022 to redeem their vouchers, which expire after this date.

Councillor Wendy Meikle, Deputy Leader of Stockport Council and Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Families commented: “I am pleased to confirm the extension of the holiday support vouchers scheme to cover the May half term. We know that the cost of living crisis is affecting all of our residents in Stockport, and we want to do the most we can to help support vulnerable families with the cost of food and fuel, particularly over the school holidays when parents may feel the pinch more.”

“Please make sure you redeem your voucher before the expiry date so you don’t miss out: it’s as easy as taking your electronic voucher on your mobile phone, or your letter, to your local Post Office.”