DORSET Council says its cost of living programme, which supports vulnerable individuals as well as families, will continue, with guaranteed funding of £500,000 a year for the life of the existing Lib Dem administration at County Hall.

The fund for the current year, until April 2026, is £2million.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The programme will continue for the term of this administration with funding of at least £500k a year, plus whatever comes from Government.

"When this report was written, we were concerned about the future of the government's Household Support Fund, which we have used for some of our cost of living activity.

"Since then, the Chancellor made announcements in the Spending Review last week, which included mention of a longer term settlement till 2029 proposed to cover Holiday Activities and Food / discretionary housing payments and strengthen local support systems for our more vulnerable residents with an emphasis on longer term sustainability and resilience.

"We are waiting for further detail on this from the government, but it gives some assurance of continuation of funding."