Council leaders and charity bosses have welcomed a Budget announcement that a fund which has helped tens of thousands of Norfolk people will not be axed.
More than £30m from the government's Household Support Fund has been used in Norfolk since 2021, with the county council providing more than 620,000 awards of support for struggling families.
It was set up in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic and continued during the cost of living crisis.
The fund has been used to give cash grants or vouchers to help people with energy, food and other essentials.
But the scheme was due to end on March 31, sparking pleas from Norfolk County Council leaders and bosses of charities in the county to keep it going.
Charities had said the fund was a 'lifeline' and families would have risked falling into poverty had it not continued.
Andrew Jamieson, deputy leader of Conservative-controlled Norfolk County Council, had twice written to minister Mims Davies, who has responsibility, urging that it continue.
And, in the Budget on Wednesday afternoon, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the fund would be extended for six months.
He told the Commons: “I have decided that – with the battle against inflation still not over – now is not the time to stop the targeted help it offers.
"We will therefore continue it at current levels for another six months."
County council leader Kay Mason Billig said: "I am pleased the chancellor has extended the household support fund for another six months, from the end of March.
"This means we can continue to provide support for families that need help, until the autumn."
David Powles, chief executive of Norwich-based Norfolk Community Law Service, said: "This will be welcome news for the many thousands of people for whom this extra bit of money can often be the difference between feeding their families or not.
"Charities like ours will now wait to find out what this means for the financial support services we offer to help people in the long term.
"However, it's a sticking plaster and we need a proper plan from all parties ahead of a potential general election outlining how they intend to tackle the growing problems of poverty, hunger and malnourishment in our communities."
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