Thousands can get up £300 to help with bills through DWP scheme – all the support available
Available to those struggling with their finances, the Household Support Fund (HSF) is offered by local councils alongside the regular benefits and grants.
Some councils are offering appliances like air fryers and microwaves, while others are even 'replacing' the winter fuel payment for pensioners who were ruled ineligible for it due to Labour changes last year.
The nationwide scheme was first introduced by the Conservative government in 2021 to support vulnerable households through the cost of living crisis and Covid-19 pandemic.
But with costs and bills remaining high long past the peak of the pandemic, the 'temporary' measure has now been extended five times, most recently by Labour in August.
The latest round of funding has provided local authorities with a share of the £421 million pot to spend how they feel will best support households in their areas. Some may provide cash grants, for instance, while others are offering supermarket vouchers or heating support.
In most cases, there will be strict criteria for a household to be eligible for support through the local HSF. This will include factors such as income, vulnerability of the resident, number of dependents and cost of bills. Most schemes will also require households to apply, and not be awarded automatically.
Here's your guide to what support is available in local areas across the country. Be aware: many of these schemes will be withdrawn when the council's funding allocation for them is met.
London
Tower Hamlets
Access to the HSF in Tower Hamlets is available through the authority's Resident Support Scheme. This is designed to help with 'short term living costs' including food, gas/electric meters, and in some cases white goods and furniture.
The authority has also used part of its HSF allocation to provide financial support to low-income pensioners who do not qualify for the winter fuel payment.
Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, said: 'Making the Winter Fuel payment means-tested will have a detrimental effect on pensioners who are already facing the rising costs of energy bills.
'This creates a risk that pensioners will not turn their heating on for fear of not being able to pay the bills, which is wrong.
'This is why we are stepping in and providing a £175 safety net for those who will be missing out.'
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Tower Hamlets council website.
Lambeth
Lambeth council says its HSF will be used for the following:
Support for families in receipt of free school meals during the holidays. Families will receive this support directly from their child's school
Extra funding to enhance the council's cash payouts for low-income residents most in need. Eligible residents will have received a letter with details on how to collect their payment
Funding for food banks and surplus food distribution sites
Specialist energy saving support and advice
Additional funding for the Emergency Support Scheme for residents in an emergency or crisis, such as residents struggling to pay bills or afford food
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Lambeth council website.
Enfield
Through Enfield's HSF, assistance may be available for:
Food (this may be through a food bank and pantry referrals)
Energy bills and water bills/top-ups
Support with housing costs, but not mortgage payments
Wider essentials, such as broadband, phone bills, clothing or essential transport related costs
White goods, such as a fridge/freezer, washing machine or cooker. White goods will be sourced from a suitable provider. The council will not be able to provide a cash payment
A cash award (limited to £250)
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Enfield council website
Croydon
Croydon's HSF fund will go towards helping residents with household costs. These could include:
The fund can also go towards essential household appliances and essential transport costs.
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Croydon council website.
Kingston
Kingston council says it will use its HSF allocation to support households in need afford the essentials. Vouchers will be made available to support with costs such as 'food, utility bills and other pressures.'
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Kingston council website.
Solihull
In the West Midlands, Solihull council is providing energy payments worth £147 to households with biomass heating. All homeowners, private renters and housing association or council tenants can apply for extra support if they meet all the criteria. This means they must:
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Solihull council and Act on Energy application page
North Lincolnshire
In North Lincolnshire, over 6,000 pensioners will receive free airfryers, with over 1,000 delivered so far. The council says the the initiative is designed to help reduce energy bills and cool more healthy meals.
Cllr Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: 'Many pensioners are struggling to pay their energy bills and relied on the winter fuel payment at this time of the year when energy bills soar, particularly as the temperatures have plummeted and at North Lincolnshire Council we want to do our bit to help.'
The council is also sending out over 1,300 slow cookers and nearly 400 one-cup kettles. In December, the household support fund was also used to send £200 low-income pensioners in the area to replace the funds loss from the removal of the winter fuel payment.
Newcastle
In Newcastle, the HSF will be used for:
The council will also be contacting local pensioners receiving council tax support and/or housing benefit who no longer qualify for the winter fuel payment following Labour changes to the benefit.
Advise from the authority reads: 'We will support 3,700 households in receipt of Council Tax Support and or Housing Benefit who will not qualify for the Government's Winter Fuel Allowance.'
Worcestershire
In Worcestershire, the HSF will provide eligible households with:
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Worcestershire council website.
Surrey
Surrey council will be using the HSF to fund several strands of support for struggling households, these include:
Provision of free school meals vouchers to eligible children over the school holidays.
Continued support for food banks, community fridges and food clubs
Funding for the Surrey Crisis Fund
The council has also set aside £750,000 for residents via District and Borough councils.
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Surrey council website.
Hertfordshire
In Hertfordshire, residents eligible for the HSF can benefit from:
Supermarket vouchers during the holidays for families receiving free school meals
Money for food and energy
Assistance with housing costs
Additional support for people on pension credit
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Hertfordshire council website.
Staffordshire
Staffordshire County Council has laid out how it intends to use the HSF, with schemes including:
Emergency payments for vulnerable households to help with essentials
Supermarket eVoucher scheme with eligible households receiving £65 per household and £20 per additional dependant.
Utility support worth £300
Education support fund – households with children receiving free school meals given supermarket vouchers over the holidays.
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Staffordshire council website.
Coventry
In Coventry, vulnerable households can benefit from:
Essential utility support worth £120 or £160 for households with children. Can be applied for a maximum of three times.
Food support with three emergency food parcels per household
Household appliances, furniture, clothing, bedding and toiletries all considered in exceptional cases
For eligibility and how to apply, visit the Coventry council website.
In York, there is currently one scheme running through the HSF:
There are over 300 local authorities in the UK. For more information about what's available in every area, the End Furniture Poverty charity offers a helpful assistance finder tool.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
4 hours ago
- Times
How to make Great British Railways a success
Before Labour ministers choose slick slogans for their new state-run trains they should recall Henry Ford's words: 'Nothing happens until somebody sells something.' Contrary to what some in the rail sector and Whitehall seem to think, rail services cannot exist without their passengers — what they want and what they are prepared to pay. A herculean effort to win more customers from the airlines and road users is essential. Britain's railways are at a watershed. Under privatisation, passenger journeys almost doubled. By the 2010s, private franchises were running three times as many trains between London and Manchester as the old British Rail (BR) had in the early 1990s. During the two decades between privatisation and the pandemic, passenger journeys increased by 107 per cent and services by 32 per cent. Passenger satisfaction in Britain was higher than for any other major European railway. Revenue increased by 145 per cent in real terms, compared with only a 16 per cent rise in operating costs, and £14 billion of private investment went into improving the train fleet. • Ministers heading for union clash in bid for hi-tech rail travel Privatisation introduced innovations in marketing, ticketing and operational efficiency. The volume of rail travel in Britain rose to a level not seen since the 1930s, on a network half the size and with a very good safety record. The pandemic was devastating for rail. It wasn't just that train travel collapsed during the lockdowns, requiring subsidies of £20.5 billion in 2023-24 prices) to cover losses. People's travel and working behaviour changed, probably for ever. Traditional flows of revenue from business travel, first class and five-day commuter season tickets, particularly in London and the southeast, have fallen away. In the year to March only 13 per cent of journeys were made using season tickets, compared with 34 per cent before the pandemic. Even though passenger numbers are close to 100 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, revenue is still down by £1.4 billion, at 89.1 per cent. Passengers are paying less to travel outside the old peaks. The taxpayer continues to cover an unacceptably high annual subsidy of £12 billion for a sector that only delivers 2 per cent of all journeys taken by the public. Consequently, ministers must now prioritise growth as they prepare to introduce the bill to create the state-owned Great British Railways (GBR), almost 80 years after Clement Attlee first nationalised rail. Without a ruthless focus on what passengers want alongside a demand-led model, a spiral of decline — higher subsidy and fares — could easily take root. GBR risks being a solution in search of a problem and morphing into the ghost of BR unless ministers develop a viable long-term vision. New research from the Centre for Policy Studies highlights four key areas which, if supported, would deliver more passengers, more income and better services for passengers. • Great British Railways 'won't be run by civil servants' First, ministers should support a mixed model across the intercity high-speed network so GBR trains faces competition from non-subsidised 'open access' operators. For 25 years this model has successfully delivered passenger growth and satisfaction on the East Coast Main Line between London, the northeast and Scotland. It has meant better services, more routes, faster trains and cheaper tickets while also bringing more passengers to the route. This has led to new, popular rail operators entering the market, which has pushed the dominant, government-run train operator, LNER, to deliver better services for its customers. European railways that have copied this successful model have seen a 40 per cent increase in passengers and fare reductions of between 20 and 60 per cent. Second, GBR should not regulate itself, especially as the white paper proposes taking key sector powers away from the independent Office of Rail and Road. In no other regulated sector does the dominant market operator also control and deliver key elements of its own regulation, such as decisions on market access and charging. This could have huge implications for growth, open access and more rail freight. Only last week the environment secretary slammed the water companies for 'marking their own homework' and pledged to end 'operator self-monitoring'. But there is a risk that this will become the case on the railways. Third, GBR must adopt an unforgiving focus on making train travel as easy, cheap and user-friendly as possible, not least when designing a new GBR ticketing app to replace those of existing train companies. In addition to competing with popular ticketing sites it must be designed by the world's leading retail software companies rather than civil servants. GBR should deliver a 'Rail Miles' loyalty scheme, which is years overdue and could be linked with purchases made in the hospitality and retail sectors. • The Times View: Prejudice against private train operators is misguided Fourth, the vast 52,000-hectare railway estate can and must generate much more income. Commercial and residential development, renewable energy generation, light parcel freight, health hubs at stations alongside a higher-quality retail offer are all underused sources of income. We must learn from countries such as Japan, where railways earn at least one third of their revenue from non-ticket sources. Rail can and must be at the centre of Britain's industrial, employment, housing and regeneration strategies. The ghost of BR hangs over GBR. But if the passenger is put first and proven models are embraced then the future could be very different. Rail might not get another chance. Tony Lodge is a research fellow at the Centre for Policy Studies and author of Rail's Last Chance, published today by the CPS
Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Tory and Lib Dem peers accused of 'cynical attacks' on workers' rights - 'get out the way'
The TUC has warned Tory and Lib Dem Peers to 'get out of the way' and 'stop trying to block' stronger employment rights for millions of workers in the House of Lords The TUC has warned Tory and Lib Dem Peers to 'get out of the way' and 'stop trying to block' stronger employment rights for millions of workers. The union body is urging the government to 'stand firm' in the face of what it calls 'cynical attacks' on the Employment Rights Bill. The landmark legislation, which is currently going through the House of Lords, was a key pillar of Labour's election campaign. Spearheaded by Deputy PM Angela Rayner, the workers' rights package will end exploitative zero hours contracts, ban bad bosses from using agency staff to replace sacked employees and give expectant parents bereavement leave if they lose a pregnancy before 24 weeks. READ MORE: New workers rights law - all changes from sick pay to parental leave and how they affect you But the TUC has warned that the Tories and Lib Dems are 'doing the bidding of bad bosses' by trying to water down the legislation in the Lords. It hit out at opposition peers voting to 'attack' teaching assistants' pay and exempt voluntary work on heritage railways from restrictions on employment of children. The Bill will return to the House of Commons in September for MPs to consider the House of Lords' proposed changes to the legislation. The two Houses will continue to vote on amendments in a process known as 'ping-pong' until a way forward is agreed. A recent TUC mega poll revealed huge support across the country – including among Conservative voters – for key policies in the Bill. More than seven in 10 (72%) of UK voters support a ban on zero hours contracts – including 63% of Tory voters, the survey found. And three quarters (73%) of voters support giving all workers protection from unfair dismissal from the first day in the job - including 62% of Conservative. The TUC said peers who are trying to water down the legislation are not just 'out of touch" but are "actively defying" voters across the country. TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: "It's time for Tory and Lib Dem Peers to get out of the way and stop trying to block stronger rights for millions of workers. They are doing the bidding of bad bosses by voting to keep workers on zero hours contracts, allowing bosses to sack workers unfairly and attacking teaching assistants' pay.' He added: "Banning zero-hours contracts and protecting workers from unfair dismissal are common-sense protections that the vast majority of the people, including Tory and Lib Dem voters, want to see become law. "These Peers are not just out of touch, they are actively defying their own voters – and the public at large. The government must stand firm in the face of cynical attacks and deliver the Employment Rights Bill in full.' A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: ' Liberal Democrats have always championed stronger rights at work, and it's disappointing that Labour chose to block (/vote against) our proposals to support carers and whistleblowers. 'Unfortunately we fear parts of Labour's rushed bill would be bad for workers in small businesses and family farms. 'They were badly let down by the Conservative Party, and Labour seems to have a blindspot when it comes to farms and small businesses too. We support the bill as a whole and have worked constructively to try and improve it.' The Tories were contacted for comment. ::: Focaldata conducted a poll of 21,270 UK adults for the TUC from Nov 30 to Jan 8.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Now shut migrant protest hotel: As demonstrators clash again in Epping, Tories demand that Labour listen to local concerns and move asylum seekers
Labour faced mounting pressure last night to shut the asylum hotel at the centre of angry protests. But ministers stayed silent as senior Tories joined demands for migrants to be removed from The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, over 'legitimate' concerns about crime. As frustrated organisers of the growing demonstrations said they would not stop until it was closed, fresh clashes broke out outside the hotel yesterday, despite a heavy police presence to separate rival groups of protesters. The demonstrations were triggered after Ethiopian man Hadush Kebatu was charged with sexually assaulting a schoolgirl just days after he arrived in Britain in a Channel dinghy. Police chiefs have already described the unrest at The Bell as a 'signal flare' for another summer of disorder. Epping Council voted unanimously last week to urge the Government to close it. But Treasury minister James Murray refused to comment yesterday when asked why the Government has not listened to the demands. He told Sky News: 'I'm not going to comment on specific cases, but I do understand people's frustration. 'And whilst, obviously, there can never be any place for criminal violence, there's absolutely a right for people to protest about this.' It came after polling found that immigration has overtaken the economy to become voters' biggest concern about the country after the NHS. The survey by Opinium found 49 per cent of people put immigration among their top three concerns – a seven-point increase since May. Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer could also come under pressure to act from Donald Trump when they meet in Scotland today, after the US President said he had 'sealed our borders' in America and urged Europe to follow suit. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Mail: 'Ministers must recognise the strength of feeling from the public about this hotel, listen to their genuine and real concerns, and shut it down. 'The Government has lost control of our borders. They need to listen to the public anger on this issue and deport all illegal immigrants immediately upon arrival. 'I am furious we are being overwhelmed by illegal immigrants. What has happened at The Bell is a consequence of that.' Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said 'agitators' were coming in to whip up trouble, telling GB News: 'The Conservatives have been calling for that hotel to be closed down, because you have to show people there is a response when they have legitimate concerns.' Kebatu, 38, is due to be tried for allegedly trying to kiss a schoolgirl as she ate pizza in Epping on July 7, eight days after he arrived in the UK. He denies sexual assault, inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and a charge of harassment. There were more ugly scenes outside The Bell yesterday when up to 1,000 demonstrators clashed. Around 400 protesting against the migrants – mostly locals – gathered after lunch, with counter-protesters, including of pro-Palestine groups and trade unions, arriving at around 4pm, and staying for barely an hour. Despite police from 31 forces including Merseyside and Lancashire separating them, at least three people were arrested. Sarah White, 40, who organised the protest against the hotel, said: 'We won't stop. Today has been a great opportunity for our voices to be heard. We've got the message out there that we don't want these hotels. 'This, I think, has been the biggest – there's more to come. We need to feel safe – we don't currently. It's shocking. We won't stop until that hotel is closed.' Maureen Chapman, 73, said she felt 'under threat', adding: 'I have grandchildren living locally. We want this closed and we won't stop until it is. Despite police from 31 forces including Merseyside and Lancashire separating them, at least three people were arrested 'These people moaning, would they want it at the end of their street?' The Home Office said: 'The Government is reducing expensive hotel use as part of a complete overhaul of the asylum system. 'From over 400 asylum hotels in summer 2023, costing almost £9million a day, there are now less than 210. We want them all closed by the end of this Parliament. 'People rightly want to see a robust and effective asylum system and we have a duty to support people who would otherwise be destitute and sleeping rough while their case is decided.'
