THOUSANDS of households can claim up to £100 free cash for food and energy bills.
Families struggling to keep up with bills can get financial help from their local council.
The Household Support Fund has been extended for another yearAlamy
The money comes as part of the Household Support Fund (HSF) which is worth £842million.
The scheme is provided by the Department for Work and Pensions and has been created to help support vulnerable households throughout England.
The pot of cash has been shared between councils in England.
Those councils then decide how to distribute their share of the fund among residents.
That means what you can get depends on where you live but, in most cases, help is offered to households on benefits or a low income.
It was due to end in March this year but was extended until April 2024 meaning households can get more support.
For example, residents in Wokingham can get up to £100 in support from their local council.
Eligible households can get £100 in cash vouchers to go towards food, energy, fuel and other essential costs.
We’ve asked who is eligible and will update the piece once we know more.
But the Wokingham Council website said the help is “open to anyone struggling with rising cost of living as well as people in receipt of benefits”.
You’ll usually need to prove that you’re on a low income or receiving certain benefits.
If you applied for the previous round of funding then you can still apply again.
If you live in Wokingham and qualify, you can apply by either:
Calling Citizens Advice Wokingham One Front Door on 0808 278 7958Apply on Citizens Advice Wokingham websiteCall Age UK Berkshire on (0118) 959 4242Email Age UK Berkshire at [email protected].
Applicants have until September 2023 to apply but it’s best to get in quick as the funding is limited and once it’s gone it’s gone.
Can I get help if I don’t live in Wokingham?
Yes you can. But the help on offer will depend on where you live.
Councils are distributing their share of the HSF differently.
Some are handing out vouchers, while others are making bank transfers to eligible residents.
The amount you are entitled to will vary depending on the area you live in too.
For example, people living in Torridge can get up to £1,000 in free cash.
But some local authorities haven’t yet opened their funding.
The best thing to do is find out who your local council is and see what their eligibility criteria is for receiving help through the fund.
You can find out what council area you fall under by searching “find my local council” in Google.
Bear in mind that lots of councils haven’t opened the application process for the next round of funding.
What other help is out there?
Council tax discount
Many people don’t realise they can get a cheaper council tax bill.
There are a number of discounts you could get, depending on your circumstances.
To apply for any of the below discounts, go through the government website.
If you live on your own, you can get 25% off your council tax bill.
This also applies if there is one adult and one student living together in a property, or if there is one adult and one person classed as severely mentally impaired in the home.
If you live with someone who doesn’t have to pay council tax, such as a carer or someone who is severely mentally impaired, you could get a larger reduction too, of up to 50%.
And, if you live in an all-student household, you could get a 100% discount.
Pensioners may also find themselves eligible for a council tax reduction.
If you receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, you could get a 100% discount.
If not, you could still get help if you have a low income and less than £16,000 in savings.
Grants and hardship funds
You can get a grant from your energy supplier if you’re really struggling and need help paying off debts.
Scottish Power, for example, gives up to £750 per household to the most hard-up households.
Most hardship funds have no deadline and you can apply all year round.
There is no specific eligibility criteria, but most customers who get help are in arrears on their bill.
Cost of living payments
Millions of people will receive the first part of a £900 cost of living payment this spring.
It’s part of the £1,350 support scheme from the government which Jeremy Hunt unveiled in his Autumn Budget.
The first payment, which will be £301, will be paid directly into bank accounts between April 25 and May 17.
If you were receiving any of the above benefits between January 26 and February 25 this year you will receive the £301 payment.
If you were later found to be entitled to any of the above benefits between January 26 and February 25 you will be eligible for the payment too.
But those getting tax credits will get the cash at a later date to avoid duplicate payments.
This payment will be tax-free and will not have any effect on any existing benefit payments that you receive.
Further cost of living payments are also coming, but the exact dates have not yet been revealed.
£150 – 2023 Disability Payment – during Summer 2023£300 – Second Cost of Living Payment – during Autumn 2023£300 – 2023 Pensioner Payment – during Winter£299 – Third Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2024
Tax-free childcare
Parents can get up to £2,000 in free childcare help including kids’ clubs over the Easter holidays that are right around the corner.
Around 1.3million eligible households are missing out on the support with childcare costs.
All working parents with children who are 11 or under can apply for the Government’s tax-free scheme.
It goes up to a maximum of £4,000 if your child is disabled too.
The scheme essentially works like a savings account where for every £8 you save towards childcare costs, the government tops up an extra £2.
So if you put away £8,000 a year for one child, the government will give you £2,000 totally free.
Child trust funds
Millions of parents could be missing out on thousands stashed away in a Child Trust Fund in their child’s name.
Children born between September 1, 2002, and August 2, 2010, were given a government bonus of £250 each through the tax-free scheme when they were born.
Then they got another £250 when the child reached the age of seven.
While children born between August 3, 2010, and January 2, 2011, got £50.
Lower income families would receive double the amount – adding to up to £1,000 in savings.
But the scheme was scrapped to encourage Junior ISAs instead, so many parents may have forgotten the funds are sitting waiting to be claimed.
If you don’t know if your child has one, use the government’s free online tool.
Healthy Start Vouchers
Healthy start vouchers can help you cover the cost of fresh food and drink for your kids.
If you’re on a low income, the scheme could be worth as much as £442 a year.
Each healthy start voucher is currently worth £4.25 a week, and over a year that adds up to £221.
It’s worth double that if you have a child under the age of one as you’ll be eligible for two vouchers each week, which makes up the £442 maximum.
There used to be paper vouchers, but that has been replaced by a prepaid card, so you’ll get the amounts added to that instead automatically every four weeks.
Unclaimed benefits
More than £15billion goes unclaimed from the Treasury in missing benefits each year, according to Which?.
If you have a low household income, you may be able to claim things like Universal Credit.
There’s also a 25% council tax discount you might be missing out on, and other tax credits like child tax credit and working tax credit.
You can use tools like online benefits calculators from charities such as Turn2Us to check whether you’re eligible for benefits, and which ones, and start claiming the cash help.
Lost pension pots
Millions of people are now enrolled in a pension automatically through their work.
Each time you start a new job you start a new pension, which can leave many Brits with several pots of cash that they might easily forget about.
Your employer should be able to tell you where your pension money is if you have been auto-enrolled onto a scheme.
The Association of British Insurers estimates that there are around 1.6million missing pension pots, with an average size of £13,000.
Pension providers are also supposed to send annual statements to scheme members so check old paperwork or emails.
If you still can’t find your lost pots, you can contact the Pension Tracing Service.
One consumer put £900 into pensions and by the time they tracked them down 27 years later they were worth £20,000, so it’s worth checking.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]