According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, to apply, residents would need to provide basic financial information, including a recent bank statement, their latest energy bill and an estimate of their monthly income and expenses.

Read said the council had committed more than £1 million to its Home Support Fund this winter “to make more crisis payments available to more residents than ever before”.

“Whatever your age, if you simply can’t keep up with your gas or electricity bills this winter, get in touch and see if our crisis plan can help you,” he said.

The council spokesperson added that additional support was available through the government’s pension credit scheme for residents aged 66 and over.

They said other financial support was also available for low-income working-age people and their families.

That included top-up council tax payments for eligible residents and free school meals for schoolchildren during the winter school holidays.

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