A Holiday Activity Fund will provide thousands of free places for children from low income households with sports and other clubs – including a meal – across the borough this summer.

The scheme is being co-ordinated by Richmond Borough Council under its 'Achieving for Children' services provider and is designed to help families through the cost of living crisis.

A government grant of £395,280 will be used to provide free places to children from low income households to take part in sporting, drama and other activities 

A wide range of summer camps and clubs happen every year in Richmond and these generally come with significant fees. Under the scheme, children who normally rely on free school meals will get free places and food.

The scheme's partners include Richmond Rugby, The Harlequins Foundation Healthy Holidays Programme, KICK Summer Camp, SCL Active football coaching, KOOSA Kids Holiday Activities and Food Programme, Fit For Sport, Energy Kidz, Marble Hill Playcentres, The Cycle Coach, ML Coaching, Sport4Kids, and OHM coaching.

A number of Youth Centres are also participating in the scheme during the long school holidays.

Details of how the scheme works including booking details are here - https://kr.afcinfo.org.uk/pages/community-information/information-and-advice/fuel-holiday-activities-and-food-programme/fuel-programme-in-richmond-summer-2022

A Council report states: "Richmond has received funding from the Government's Holiday Activity Fund totalling £395,280 to support the delivery of the programme during 2022/23.

"This will cover provision throughout the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays for children and young people aged 5 to 16 years old and is expected to support over 13,500 spaces with over 9,000 of those set aside for this summer.

"It is proposed to use the funding to continue with FUEL, the borough's holiday activity and food programme coordinated by Achieving for Children.

"Children who receive benefits-related free school meals have the opportunity to attend free activities during the school holidays, with a hot meal also being provided.

"Achieving for Children has partnered with different holiday clubs, youth centres and sports groups across the borough to make sure there are activities that will appeal to a broad range of interests and ages. Provision ranges from local voluntary and community groups to after school providers, rugby clubs, football clubs, playcentres, cycling provision, drama based programmes and more.

"All the providers offer spaces for children with additional needs/SEND."

Separately, Richmond Council has been given a grant of £1.673m from the Government's Household Support Fund (HSF) in the current financial year to support families, pensioners and others unable to meet spiralling food, energy and other must pay bills.

To some extent these grants are designed to help the low income households that lost out when the pandemic £20 a week uplift in Universal Credit was removed by the government.

A Council report sets out details of the how of the money will be spent between April and the end of September –

* £305,000 will be distributed to pensioners in receipt of Council Tax Reduction. Some 3,054 pensioner households will receive £100 each.

* £423,000 will be spent providing food vouchers for those in receipt of Free School Meals to cover the school holidays .

* £70,000 will be distributed in hardship grants through a partnership with Richmond AID and Citizens Advice.

* £40,000 in support for families with Children in Need, Care Leavers and Looked After Children 40.

Another tranche of £836,357 will be distributed between the beginning of October and March 2023, however the government has not yet set out its criteria for which groups should be supported.