Families at risk of 'starving' after council's support voucher delays

Fears are growing that Stockport families could be left "starving" after delays to the council's voucher support scheme.

Some struggling households in the borough receive family support vouchers to help pay for essentials such as energy bills and school uniforms, but people use the payment to buy food too.

The vouchers are given to those with children who receive free school meals, local council tax support, or housing benefit, and can be exchanged for £105 in cash for each eligible child at post offices.

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But residents have told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that they have not received their email vouchers for the period up to September 30 - and that there could be "hundreds" of others in the same situation.

It has sparked concerns that families may go hungry if the delay is not resolved soon.

Nicola, 43, from Offerton, has not received her voucher, and said the council is asking worried residents to fill in a form and wait 14 days for a response.

She said: "We've not been able to find one person who received these vouchers by email.

"Everyone I've spoken to says they don't have them, and they've checked their spam inbox but it's not there either. People are really worried about it.

"People can use it for whatever they want, things like school uniforms, fuel, and food. I'm worried people won't be able to feed their children because of this.

"It's a lot of money and it would go very far for a family. No one [at the council] seems to be taking any responsibility for it, we're being fobbed off and people could be starving in 14 days, but I don't think they see it as a problem."

Another resident said: "There are