Thousands of low-income parents can get up to £315 in cost of living vouchers to help with bills
THOUSANDS of struggling parents can claim up to £315 in cost of living vouchers to help cope with soaring bills.
This helping hand could save families making a choice between keeping their electricity on – or putting food on the table – amid increasing financial hardship felt across the nation.
From April 2024 to September 2024, the Department of Work and Pensions is providing more funding through the Household Support Fund, HSF.
Bracknell Forest Council in Berkshire, have now announced how they will funnel the extra £555,468 into their community.
They are offering vouchers to those eligible to ease the burden with energy, food and other essential costs.
People can either receive the funding through application based support or the Cost of Living Payment Scheme.
Applicants will be assessed of their income and assets through the Main Local Welfare Scheme.
They could also be eligible for a one-off £105 payment per child between April 1 2024 and September 2024.
To qualify, applicants must have qualifying benefits and their child must meet one of the following criteria:
- child is under 5 years old in an early years setting
- child is 16 to 18 years old in full time education
- young person is aged 16 to 25 years old in full time education with an Education, Health and Care plan
- child is home educated
- child attends an out of borough school where they are not eligible for equivalent support from their education authority
Bracknell local HSF funding - where is it going?
THE funding will be distributed to the following groups
School meal vouchers
- Supermarket vouchers to free school meal (FSM) eligible children
in reception to year 11 inclusive, attending a Bracknell Forest school. - Approximately 2,500 children are eligible under this criterion. A £15 voucher will be provided in May, with a £90 voucher provided in July.
Council Tax Support
- Help for working age households receiving the maximum
level of Council Tax Support (80 per cent). - These households would be provided additional support to offer 100% council tax relief for six months.
Voluntary, Community and Faith grants
- Re-opening of grant application scheme for VCFS.
- They will be able to apply for funding to support residents experiencing financial hardship with essential items including energy, food, and other essentials.
- Grants of up to £15,000 will be offered per organisation.
Local Welfare Scheme
- The extra funding will allow applications from households in hardship who would not otherwise automatically qualify for support.
- This aims to reach those who were struggle but not quite qualifying for wider help.
Debt management help
- The money will allow continued help with sustainable debt management advice.
- It will also offer to clear or reduce debt related to council tax or housing benefit by up to £1,000 per household.
It comes as local communities in the Isle of Wight were recently awarded extra funding as part of the government’s HSF.
The grant will see a whopping £1.1million put into the area, on top of £5.6million provided by the scheme already.
This will offer struggling households two food vouchers worth £25 and a one-off £25 coupon for up to 10,000.
It also sees a helpful £130,000 go towards food banks across the island.
Similar funding was allocated to councils in Cornwall, Coventry, Herefordshire, Nottingham, Wakefield, and many other areas.
What is the Household Support Fund?
Households in need can claim support to help with the cost of living via the Household Support Fund.
The funding is supplied from a £421million pot by the Department for Work and Pensions.
It was first introduced in October 2021 and has been extended five times.
Councils up and down the country get a portion of the cash to allocate to vulnerable households.
For example, Medway Council in Kent, South-East England, is offering thousands of households supermarket vouchers worth up to £225.
Some could qualify for electronic energy cards or e-vouchers to cover water bills worth £100 too.
Get in touch with your local council to see if you might be eligible for help.
You can find what council area you fall under by using the Government’s council locator tool on its website.
The help you can get varies depending on who your local council is, as well as your personal situation.
But you may be able to get free cash and vouchers to help pay for things like heating your home or to cover costs of your weekly grocery shop.
If an applicant is already receiving benefits, these will not be affected by the HSF.
And, you do not need to be getting benefits to receive vouchers or funds from the HSF.
Check with your local council to find out what support is available and the eligibility criteria.
How do I apply?
Once you’ve found your council, there should be information on how to apply for the funding on its website.
Each council will have a different application process – so exact details on how to apply will vary depending on where you live.
That means that the eligibility requirements to access the fund could also vary – it’s best to check with your local council for more details.
Some councils won’t require you to apply for the help and they’ll contact you about it instead if you qualify.
If there’s no information on your council’s website, then its best to ring them up and ask for more information.
How has the Household Support Fund evolved?
THE Household Support Fund was first launched in October 2021 to help Brits pay their way through winter amid the cost of living crisis.
Councils up and down the country got a slice of the £500million funding available to dish out to Brits in need.
It was then extended for a second time in the 2022 Spring Budget and for a third time in October 2022 to help those on the lowest incomes with the rising cost of living.
The DWP then confirmed a fourth extension of the scheme through to March 31, 2024.
Chancellor Jeremey Hunt extended the HSF for the fifth time while delivering his Spring Budget on March 6, 2024.