A COST of living fund to help people with rocketing energy bills has been underspent by half a million pounds.

The Cost-of-Living Crisis Support Fund had £3 million available to spend on projects to help people with rising bills.

One of the main programmes was the Glasgow fuel support project, which was funded with £1m made available for families experiencing or at risk of child poverty.

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The scheme was to pay for vouchers to help with the rising cost of bills and to offer advice on dealing with increasing costs.

When the fund was set up, household bills were going up by more than 50% as a result of the energy price rises.

However, the fund has been underspent, with only 50% of the £1m funding used.

The council said that while uptake was high to begin with, when bills were no longer as high as they were, the demand reduced.

Richard Bell, city treasurer, said in a report to councillors: “While referrals reached 2650 in January, levels began to fall in March 2023 with only 117 in May and June combined.

“This represents a 97% reduction in demand.

“This declining demand has meant that to date, 50% of the budget has been spent on this project, leaving a balance of £500,000.”

It has been decided that continuing with the project is not the best value for money.

It is recommended the unspent cash be used for other existing projects to continue to get help to families who are in need.

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The plan is to give £200,000 to the Integrated Joint Board to invest in further innovative Children Services initiatives such as cash-first solutions for families.

The remaining £300,000 is earmarked for the Child Poverty Pathfinder.

Funds that have been spent include £500,000 for benefits and money advice given to parents, accessed through schools across the city.

There was £550,000 spent to provide fruit as a mid-morning snack in both primary and secondary schools.

Another £200,000 was spent on support for people fleeing violence and then setting up a new home.