A £30 million support package has been announced to help Manchester residents with the cost of living this winter.
Manchester City Council is set to spend the money on helping those facing hardship and poverty as the weather turns colder, and this includes £6.5 million awarded through the Government’s Household Support Fund to target support for those most in-need of help to pay for energy, water, food, and other essentials up to April 2025.
According to the Council, this will supplement the already-ongoing wider work to support residents at risk from the cost of living throughout the year.
Enhanced support for pensioners has also been announced this week.
Under the new scheme, pensioners who are not in receipt of pension credits – and therefore will not receive the winter fuel payment – but still need support over the winter, will now be eligible for payments of £150, or £200 if they are aged 80 or over.
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The cost of living is continuing to hit Mancunians. That's why we're announcing a wide range of support for those who need it.
All low income Manchester households in receipt of Council Tax Support, where at least one person gets disability benefits, will get an automatic payment of £100 from the Council, it has been confirmed – with an estimated 21,437 households across the city are expected to benefit from this.
£10 per week is also to be paid to around 350 care leavers, who are living in their own tenancies across the city.
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Families with children who are eligible for free school meals during term time will receive payments for each eligible child of £15 for the autumn half term, £30 for the Christmas holiday, and £15 for the spring 2025 half term to prevent holiday hunger – with payments distributed via Manchester schools.
A further £190,000 will also be allocated to the Council’s Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) to provide free activities for children during half terms.
A £30m winter support package has been announced to help Manchester residents with the cost of living / Credit: RawPixel
To round things off, £200,000 will be allocated to voluntary and community sector organisations working in the city to help make sure those who are harder-to-reach are still supported, and £20,000 will be added to funding for the Council’s existing welfare support scheme to provide grants for those facing hardship.
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Councillor Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council, says these targeted payments will “make a real difference” to tens of thousands of Manchester people who are struggling with cost of living pressures.
“The message is clear, if you are struggling this winter, please contact us and we will support you,” she concluded.
Residents struggling with costs and wanting to find out more about the range of support available are encouraged to contact the Cost of Living Advice Line on freephone 0800 0232692 between 9am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday.
Payments will be made from November onwards.
Featured Image – EthelRedThePetrolHead (via Flickr)
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Chester Zoo announces return of its £10 tickets for limited time only with extended opening hours
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo has announced the return of its popular £10 tickets deal for a limited time only.
You may remember that earlier this summer, Chester Zoo invited people from across the North West to visit for just £10, and as the offer proved so popular, they’ve now brought it back again for a limited time.
For the past three years running now, Chester Zoo has officially been named the UK’s best zoo thanks to tens of thousands of positive TripAdvisor reviews, and now as the summer draws to a close, you’ll get to see exactly what makes it such a special place worth visiting for a cut price.
With the offer only applicable to afternoons this summer, Afternoon Tickets allow entry to Chester Zoo from 2pm onwards – with the last entry being one-hour before it closes.
Chester Zoo is offering £10 tickets to visitors this summer / Credit: Chester Zoo
Without this offer, standard admission tickets to Chester Zoo usually cost up to £38 for adults, £37 for students, and £28 for children, all including a 10% donation to the zoo’s conservation efforts, while babies and carers go free.
So it really is worth making the most of these limited-time £10 tickets while you still can – with the offer now running until 6 September.
The best bit about the offer returning? The zoo is currently operating its extended opening hours until 6pm too, so included for the bargain price of a £10 ticket, you’ll even get to see all the animals while the sun goes down.
Afternoon tickets are only available online and must be booked in advance to claim the £10 offer.
Tickets can only be purchased online before 4pm on the day of your visit, and standard admission tickets can be purchased from our ticket office at the main entrance.
Find out more and book your £10 tickets online here.
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
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Manchester Airport releases statement after customer data stolen in ‘targeted’ cyber security attack
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has released a formal statement after data was stolen from 8.7 million customers in a ‘targeted’ cyber security attack yesterday.
Manchester Airport Group (MAG) – which operates Manchester Airport, Stansted, and East Midlands Airport – said the cyber security incident happened at around 1pm yesterday (Thursday 27 August), and that the data seized from 8.7 million customers included email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations, and postcodes.
The data that was stolen related to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings, and in-airport WiFi sign-ups, MAG stated.
It was initially confirmed that the system the hackers accessed did not hold customers’ bank or payment details, however, and that all other regular airport operations and customer parking continued uninterrupted.
Manchester Airport has now released a formal statement to reassure customers that they are taking the matter ‘extremely seriously’.
The statement reads: “Manchester Airport Group has been subject to a cyber security incident by an unauthorised third party.
“A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings and in-airport WIFI sign-ups at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports.
“We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisors and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems. We have informed and are working with the relevant authorities, and at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.”
MAG insisted that the incident had not resulted in any ‘operational disruption’, adding: “Airport operations remain unaffected and customer parking services continue to operate normally.
“Neither MAG nor the system accessed hold customers’ bank or payment details. The data that has been accessed includes customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.
“We would like to reassure customers that Manchester Airport Group takes the security of customer information extremely seriously, and we apologise for any inconvenience or concern caused.”
Emily Sergeant -
15th October 2024 
