It's the time of year when we all look forward to getting together with family and friends. And that usually means some form of over-indulgence.

But this Christmas we are confronted with so many uncertainties. Despite the halving of inflation this year, many people are still struggling with the cost of living crisis and the prospect of even higher energy bills in 2024.

And globally there is so much uncertainty with Putin's continuing war on Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza.

So, many families will struggle this year but the county council is doing its best to help. Many schools will be breaking up for Christmas this week and we will be supporting families to help put food on the table for children who would normally receive free school meals during term time.

It's a mark of the economic situation we're in that this year the number of children eligible for free school meals has risen to a record high. It's gone up from 10,000 in 2018, well before the pandemic, to some 21,000 now. That's around a fifth of the total number of pupils in Devon's schools.

So we are providing families with a £45 supermarket voucher for every eligible child - that's £15 a week for the two weeks of the Christmas holiday and the February half-term.

We're doing it in one lump sum now to allow families some flexibility on how they spend the vouchers and to help with the additional pressure the festive period puts on household budgets.

The programme's being funded through the Government's Household Support Fund.  Earlier this year we secured £10 million from the Government to cover the period from April 2023 until March 2024 and we’ve supported more than 38,000 households so far.

This month we'll be providing more than £900,000 worth of supermarket vouchers over Christmas and half-term.

If you are expecting to receive the vouchers but haven't yet, get in touch with our team as soon as possible by emailing freeschoolmeals@devon.gov.uk

People’s circumstances change all the time, so if you didn’t previously qualify for free school meals but your income has recently reduced or stopped, please apply though our website www.devon.gov.uk

Since October 2021 we've worked with our colleagues in Devon's district councils to distribute around £25 million of Household Support Funds from the Government.

Our current grant goes up to Spring 2024 and, as well as meals vouchers, it's designed to support households in most need. So people who are struggling to pay for food, energy, water bills and other essentials will qualify as well as those who may not be eligible for other government support.

As they did last winter, our libraries and the winter support programme will once again provide warm and safe spaces as well as providing companionship and  access to specific information to help navigate through the cost-of-living challenges.

We’re also working with the Devon Community Foundation to provide grants to voluntary sector organisations supporting communities that don’t always get the help they need. Their ‘Food, Fuel and More’ grant scheme was very well received earlier this year and this winter there’s a further funding pot of over £260,000.

The scheme will offer large grants of up to £25,000 to organisations that support homeless people or people in temporary or insecure housing. Groups supporting households with disabled residents or those suffering ill-health, which has a direct impact on household income and an ability to meet food and energy bills, are also encouraged to apply.

This is my last column until 2024 so I will close by wishing you the very best for Christmas and the New Year.