Keep up to date with what the Executive Mayor of Mansfield, Andy Abrahams, is focusing on.
Latest blog post: Supporting our communities through turbulent times
Since I was elected in 2019, we have faced multiple challenges and changes such as COVID, the war in Ukraine, the cost-of-living crisis, changes in national and local leadership, setting up and working with the East Midlands County Combined Authority, Local Government Reorganisation, and now the potential consequences of the war in Iran.
As a result, the services delivered by the Council have had to adapt to cope with rapid change and to ensure they continue to deliver the support needed by our residents.
Throughout these turbulent times, Mansfield District Council has responded with a mix of direct financial help, energy and housing support, warm spaces, advice services and partnership schemes. We created a dedicated cost-of -living web hub which signposted residents to resources such as the GOV.UK Cost of Living Hub and “Help for Households”. We also worked with Mansfield CVS to produce a consolidated document of local support, contacts and services so residents can easily find help with food, bills, debt and welfare.
The Council web pages bring together information on national schemes such as winter fuel and cold weather payments, cost of living support, and the warm home discount, targeted specifically at older people and low‑income households. The council promotes schemes like Severn Trent’s Big Difference water tariff and the government’s Fuel Direct scheme, and points residents towards benefit checks, income maximisation and specialist debt advice services.
We also run a Council Tax Support and a discretionary Council Tax reduction scheme to help low‑income households with bills, alongside Housing Benefit support for eligible renters, and our tenants facing financial difficulties can speak to financial inclusion officers directly for tailored advice on rent, budgeting and benefits claim.
Since 2022, the council has helped administer successive rounds of the National Household Support Fund locally in partnership with Nottinghamshire County Council. Eligible Mansfield households have been able to access food and energy vouchers and other essentials, with recent rounds targeting people on Pension Credit and families with children on free school meals. Mansfield’s own Household Support Grant Voucher scheme offered additional help to local households, although applications are paused pending new funding.
To tackle high energy costs, the council works with the Fuel Bank Foundation to provide emergency fuel vouchers to pre‑payment meter users at risk of disconnection, typically £49 in winter and £30 in summer. It also offers a range of grants aimed at improving home energy efficiency and reducing fuel poverty among low‑income, vulnerable residents.
Key schemes which we administer include the Warm Homes on Prescription Grant, which funds heating system repairs or replacements for people with cold‑sensitive health conditions and low incomes. The Green Homes Grant programme has supported external wall, loft and cavity wall insulation for eligible households, with grants up to £15,000 depending on works.
Mansfield also promotes “Food and Wraparound Support” timetables, bringing together community food provision and related activities to help households stretch budgets and avoid isolation. We also support events such as cost of living roadshows to guide residents with face‑to‑face advice and referrals. These events bring together council teams and partners to discuss benefits, debt, energy, food support and housing issues, aiming to ensure that residents who might not seek help online are still reached.
My aim has always been to keep calm and carry on with the things we can do to help and make a difference, with my priority to ‘Protect and Care for our Communities’ always being the driving force. To that end, we are setting up a ‘Neighbourhood Board, so that communities can have a shape and control how the government’s £20m Pride in Place, which is spread over the next 10 years, can make the most improvement in their lives from their choices.
Thanks for reading,
Mayor Andy Abrahams
