A HARDSHIP fund - to help vulnerable people in the city struggling with money before they receive Universal credit payments - will be set up after it was backed by councillors.

It means Worcester City Council’s existing exceptional hardship fund will now be extended to help those waiting weeks for Universal Credit payments and in desperate need of money to pay bills and rent and buy food.

The new hardship fund, approved by the council’s policy and resources committee at a meeting on Tuesday (March 19), means payments could be made to people within three days of applying.

The communities committee had already backed the plan to extend its existing hardship fund to include those claiming Universal Credit where help with paying council tax is not the main reason for applying.

Councillor James Stanley, chairman of the communities committee, said there was “unity around the table” on the issue of helping Universal Credit claimants struggling for money before payments were made.

The plan also includes a yearly £15,000 grant to Worcester Foodbank for the next three years.

Grahame Lucas, manager of Worcester Foodbank, said the money would help provide a sustainable safety net for its clients.

He said: “We are already witnessing the hardship that Universal Credit is bringing to bear in a growing of clients who are being held in crisis due to the length of payment delays or reduced income. Having the backing of the city council will help us to withstand the mounting pressure this is putting on our supplies and finances so we can provide a sustainable safety net for our struggling clients.”

Mr Lucas said despite the yearly grant from the council, the foodbank would still need more donations so it could cope with an expected 50 per cent increase in demand.