School holiday supermarket vouchers WILL be made available to struggling families at Christmas, county councillors have been told.

But they will NOT be made available during the October or February half-term holidays.

The vouchers, for families eligible for benefit-related free school meals, are part of a package of measures, funded from the county council's allocation from the Household Support Fund (HSF).

But according to county council officials, the council's 2025/26 allocation is 12 per cent lower than last year – and not enough to cover all periods of school holidays.

It has already been used to fund vouchers for £30 for eligible families during the Easter holidays, £10 during the May half term, and £60 over the summer.

And over the Christmas break, councillors heard that parents or carers of the county's 32,000 eligible children will receive a further voucher for £30.

But unlike previous years, £15 vouchers for the October and May half terms will not be available.

Presenting the county's HSF spending plan to the council's children's social care cabinet panel on Wednesday (September 10), development and commissioning manager George Gearing told councillors they had had to "scale back" during the half terms.

Commenting on the reduction, Conservative  Cllr Fiona Thomson said that the removal of the half-term supermarket vouchers "really is worrying" – suggesting that eligible families would still have the need.

Acknowledging the concern, executive member for children's social care Cllr Anthony Rowlands said: "The reduction is regrettable. The need is still no less than it has been – and in some cases, we know it's probably greater."

But he stressed that the council has "done our utmost to ensure that the money that we have received has been used where it needs to be used".

According to data presented to councillors, the cost of the school holiday supermarket food vouchers issued during the 2025/6 year is expected to account for £4.8m of the council's HSF allocation.

The overall allocation made to the county council from the Fund for 2025/26 is £10.8m.

The Household Support Fund, which was launched in 2021, is designed to provide crisis support for vulnerable households.

And councils can allocate the funding to support households with the costs of food, energy, water and other essential living needs.

In Hertfordshire, in addition to the school holiday supermarket vouchers, plans also include the provision of 'winter essentials support' for low-income families in crisis.

Typically worth between £50 and £65 per claim, this can include vouchers or other items – such as blankets, slow cookers, children's shoes – to low-income families in crisis. And the council's 2025/26 plan allocates £144k to this.

The plan also includes a range of measures such as financial support for food banks and energy trusts, and welfare assistance for low-income households, as well as support for homeless persons and survivors of domestic abuse and vouchers for pensioners on low income and for care leavers over 19.

Since it was launched in October 2021, the county is reported to have already received around £42m from the Household Support Fund.

But at the meeting, councillors heard that from the end of this financial year, the fund was due to be replaced with the Crisis and Resilience Fund.

The service manager for strategic partnerships, Tina Powell, expressed concern that residents in the county may now be dependent on the funding.

"We know this is the final round of the Household Support Fund as well," she said.

"So there is a concern that due to the length of time that the Household Support Fund has been supporting our vulnerable residents, a dependency on the support will be there.

"And we need to manage this going forward.

"The government is introducing a Crisis and Resilience Fund. It's currently in consultation phase with local authorities, and eligibility criteria are expected by the end of the year ."