A fund to help needy families still has tens of thousands of pounds up for grabs with just six months left to claim it.

Medway Council made changes to simplify the application process for the Household Support Fund (HSF) - which seeks to aid families in need - at a cabinet meeting in September after a low uptake.

The aim was to give a helping hand to struggling families to pay for food, school uniforms and utility bills.

However, two months after the problem was identified residents still don’t seem to be applying for the cash, as the lion’s share of it - 86% - remains unspent with less than six months to go.

Of the £1.6 million allocated to the HSF, only £256,256 has been spent - up only £54,233 from mid-August - helping 832 households.

Any money that is still in the pot a year after it was first allocated will be returned to the government.

The fund was part of a £4.5 million grant from central government for initiatives to help people struggling with the cost of living.

The grant as a whole included money for free school meals, supermarket and school uniform vouchers, and energy cards, and Medway Council also allocated part of the fund to Medway Food Partnership - an organisation which makes sure everyone has access to sustainable and healthy food - for distribution among its members.

In September, the cabinet decided to make the process to apply easier, so that people could just supply bank statements for officers to evaluate for eligibility, rather than having to submit their income and expenditures.

They also increased the amount paid out in school meal vouchers during school holidays from £15 to £25 per week for the winter months.

Other sections of the £4.5 million grant have had greater uptake, with £1.5 million of the £2.5 million budget for free school meals already having been spent.

The authority also increased spending on advertising the fund to bring greater awareness of the scheme to try and engage more residents.

Medway Council said it will continue to monitor the HSF and look for ways to expand its reach. It said it will ensure the full amount is spent to benefit those who need it by next April.

You can find out more by searching online for Medway HSF.