More than £2m is being given out by the Government to support Staffordshire families facing a struggle to afford food and heating during the winter.

The £170m Covid Winter Grant scheme was announced last week to assist vulnerable people throughout the coming months and Staffordshire County Council has been allocated £2.2m to pass on to residents.

The majority of the funding will be earmarked for families with children, Staffordshire County Council's cabinet was told at its meeting on Wednesday (November 18).

The authority's director of corporate services John Tradewell said: "We have had a significant amount of money from the Government to support people in Staffordshire during the winter, primarily children, young people and families. We need to make sure we can distribute this money as quickly as possible so that it gets to those who need it."

Council leader Alan White said: "The Department of Work and Pensions has announced a significant package of financial support for those most in need of help with the cost of food, energy and water bills and other associated costs this winter.

"The £170m Covid Winter Grant scheme will be available from December until 31st March 2021, with the county council receiving just over £2.2m to support people in Staffordshire. The county council will determine who is eligible for support within the scope of conditions set out by the Department of Work and Pensions, targeting the people we know are in greatest need.

"However, we must ensure that at least 80% of the total funding will be ring-fenced to support families with children, with up to 20% for other types of households including individuals. For Staffordshire this equates to £1.77m for children and £440,000 for adults.

"The county council is proposing to target those most in need of support, including children eligible for free school meals, and children and adults who face financial exclusion. We will use local discretion for those who can demonstrate they are facing financial challenges due to Covid-19.

"We also want to work with our partners, such as community organisations that are well-placed to support children, families and communities."

Cabinet members were also given an update on the current Covid-19 situation in Staffordshire, almost two weeks after the country went into a second lockdown.

Dr Richard Harling, the authority's director of health and care, said: "The number of Covid cases in Staffordshire continues to increase slowly – it has plateaued in some districts and boroughs but is still rising in some of the others.

"Our case rate remains quite considerably higher than the England average, which is some cause for concern, and we have two weeks remaining of the national lockdown to try and get the number of cases down."

Cabinet members paid tribute to the efforts of Staffordshire residents helping to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

And Dr Johnny McMahon, cabinet member for health, care and wellbeing, offered some wellbeing advice.

He said: "To help us all get through it, it's worthwhile being reminded of the Mental Health Foundation recommendations during the first wave that are equally applicable now. Acts of kindness to one's self and others is good for the soul and the spirit.

"Avoid speculation – be careful of your sources when you read about Covid. WHO (World Health Organisation) and NHS are good sources. Limit your exposure to it because it can be really quite depressing and difficult. Social media is compulsive, one has to be careful of that.

"Keep in touch with the outside world. Even if you can't, even seeing the outside world from your window, or bringing the outside world to you through a bird table is recognised as being good for the soul and good for mental health.

"Focus on what you can control, like eating well and constructive hobbies. Put structure into the day, because being left at home for a considerable amount of time we can lose structure and it's important to maintain that."