Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have carried out an analysis of the geographic distribution of Household Support Fund recipients.

The Household Support Fund is allocated to all 153 upper tier Local Authorities in England. The distribution of the funding is targeted at the areas of the country with the most vulnerable households, on the basis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) local population estimates and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) scores. Allocation amounts for upper tier Local Authorities in England are therefore reflective of population size and relative deprivation.

Management Information (MI) was published for HSF1-3 following the completion of each scheme. The latest MI covering HSF3 was published in August 2023. This MI shows the amount allocated to Local Authorities and how it was spent. We will similarly look to publish MI for the entirety of HSF4 following scheme completion and subject to quality assurance processes.