Monmouthshire County Council has been allocated £498,551 from the Welsh Government to provide discretionary support over the cost of living.

This is in addition to a main support package which provided a £150 payment to all eligible households.

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At a meeting on Wednesday, the council’s cabinet decided that 75 per cent of the discretionary support will be spent on direct payments to households, with the remainder on building longer-term resilience.

Those receiving an additional £150 direct payment include 1,133 families in receipt of free school meals, deemed at greater risk of experiencing poverty.

Households in temporary accommodation, who did not receive support from the main scheme, households with disabilities and those occupied by a person with a severe mental impairment, will also receive payments.

Other groups receiving the payment include care leavers, under 18s living alone, houses of multiple occupation and full-time students.

The council has also allocated £114,000 to bolster its discretionary housing fund, which supports households struggling with rent costs.

A housing support officer will also be employed by the council, as well as one each by Citizens Advice and the charity Mind Monmouthshire.

These roles are intended to ensure people receive the support they are entitled to and make it easier for people to access advice advice and help.

Cllr Catherine Fookes, cabinet member for equalities and engagement, said the cost of living crisis would impact most the “vulnerable in our society”, and that direct payments would go “directly to those that need it most”.

Council leader, Cllr Mary Ann Brocklesby, praised the Welsh Government for the scheme and said the funding would be “of huge benefit to our residents”.

Cllr Frances Taylor, leader of the council’s Independent group, asked about the time period the funding covered and whether any further support would be offered with energy bills expected to rise in autumn.

The meeting heard that all payments are intended to be made by September 30, and that the scheme runs until March 31.