Support offered through the Government’s Households Support Fund scheme usually consists of free cash payments, supermarket and energy vouchers, and extra Council Tax support
Struggling households are set to receive cost of living payments worth £200 in the coming few weeks – with applications to claim open now.
The cost of living support comes from the Government’s Household Support Fund scheme. This gives local councils across the UK pots of cash which they can spend on providing help to vulnerable people affected by rising costs. The support provided is decided by each individual authority so it is a postcode lottery on what help you can get.
East Riding Council is making automatic payments of £200 to certain households, as well as allowing residents to apply for one. To receive an automatic payment, if you receive Council Tax support and:
- Your property has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E, F, or G, and a member of your household is disabled, or
- Your household has been identified as being in or at risk of financial crisis
Care leavers who are responsible for the Council Tax of their address will also receive the money, as well as people who made applications last year and received a Household Support payment. East Riding Council says the money will be paid by the end of July automatically, so you do not need to apply. If the council does not have your bank details, you will be contacted in the next few weeks.
To be able to apply for a payment, you need to live in East Riding, working and not claiming benefits, have an income of below £28,000 a year if a single household – or £33,000 for a dual income – and have under £6,000 in savings. People who are unpaid carers can also apply under the same criteria. However, the person they are caring for must claim a disability benefit.
You can put in an application for the £200 cash online through East Riding’s website and households should receive the payment within 20 days of making the application. The application window is open until August 31 this year.
In the spring budget, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt extended the Household Support Fund scheme by another six months until September 2024, giving it an extra £500million in funding. Since its launch in October 2021, it has been given around £3billion from the central Government.
Support offered through the Households Support Fund scheme usually consists of free cash payments, supermarket and energy vouchers, and extra Council Tax support. Local councils are currently announcing what help they will be offering over the coming few months. To find out what this is you should go to your local council’s website. Usually, they will have a separate cost of living tab which details the help on offer.
