ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø

Funding has been allocated via the Department of Work and Pensions to help those families who are struggling financially in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø.

Financial assistance will be available for food, fuel, water and other essentials, and will be distributed via organisations within the county who become aware of those families that are in financial crisis.

Latest round of Household Support Fund available until 31 March 2026

Funding has been allocated via the Department of Work and Pensions to help those families who are struggling financially in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø. Financial assistance will be available for food, fuel, water and other essentials, and will be distributed via organisations within the county who become aware of those families that are in financial crisis.

The latest and seventh round of Household Support Funding was announced and runs between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. The amount allocated to ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø was £9. 3m which is a 12% reduction on previous rounds. The funding is allocated via the Department of Work and Pensions to fund schemes and organisations that help those families who are struggling financially in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø. This latest round of funding will be allocated via organisations and schemes in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø to provide services and support to residents in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø in the best way.

How will the seventh round of Household Support Fund be allocated ?

This is how the £9,324,930.29 Household Support Fund (HSF) round 7 will be allocated in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø:-

• £4,116,854 continued provision of free school meals vouchers to eligible children over the school holidays.
• £980,000 funded advice services via Citizens Advice to help ensure residents have access to advice around maximising their income effectively. Their website can be found here
• £125,000 to the ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø Community Helpline which is there to help residents find the right financial and welfare help support and advice. Contact the Community Helpline or call 0300 200 1008.
• £1,725,000 continued support for food banks, community fridges and food clubs and Voluntary Community Social Enterprise sector organisations, many of which will be helping to distribute the funds to residents. Visit the and search 'Food banks' for information on food banks in your area.
• £750,000 to the ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø Crisis Fund. See our webpage about the ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø Crisis Fund . The fund can provide support for immediate needs after a disaster or in an emergency, where no other options are available
• £340,000 extension of license for the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT) platform provided by Policy in Practice which allows us in partnership with participating District and Borough councils to proactively target eligible households in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø with relevant communications depending on their uptake of certain welfare and benefits.
• £548,000 towards other poverty prevention projects, measures and contingency. This will focus on activities that will help prevent residents from falling into hardship, and maximising awareness and take-up of welfare benefits.
• £50,076.29 contingency funding has been set aside to strengthen resilience against unforeseen disruptions that may impact financial or welfare stability.

How does this allocation change from previous years?

Between the time of Household Support Fund (HSF)  rounds 5 and 6 we have seen a 24% increase in the number of households supported by HSF in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø.  This coupled with a 12% reduction in funding has required ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø to review the approach to previous rounds of funding allocation in the county and the following adjustments have been made:-

• The aim as with all previous rounds of HSF allocation is to ensure that financial support gets to those who are in the most need within the county of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø.  With reduced funding there has been an even sharper focus on getting funds to those who are either in financial crisis or approaching financial crisis.
• In previous HSF rounds of funding ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø allocated a proportion of funding via the 11 District and Borough councils.  With reduced funding the decision was made to centralise distribution to ensure a more consistent approach across ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø as to how residents could access HSF funding.
• We have invested further funding in the Low Income Family Tracker platform or LIFT platform provided by Policy in Practice which allows us together with participating District and Borough councils to proactively target households in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø with relevant communications depending on their uptake of certain welfare and benefits.
• The greatest proportion of spend previously (46%) was on Free School Meal provision during school holidays. Based on the lower % of funding we have reduced the Free School Meal provision during holidays from the October Half Term from £15 per child to £10 per child.
• Citizen’s Advice will be funded to work from key locations across the county, to make it easier to access their advice services. Further information will be published here shortly.

Future availability of funds

ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø are in the process of developing a scheme that will be available later in the year. This scheme will make £690,000 of the remaining HSF7 funds available to residents that meet a certain criteria. We will announce this when available with details on how to apply.

In the meantime please refer to the Health and Welfare support web pages which can signpost to health, financial and welfare support in ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø.

Check that you are maximising your finances

As there is uncertainty around whether the UK Government Funded Household Support Fund will continue past March 2026, we want to ensure that everyone who maybe struggling financially is getting the benefits, tax credits and financial support they are entitled to, such as debt relief.

To talk to someone who can help you check that you are getting all the financial support you are entitled to please call the Community Helpline on 0300 200 1008 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday except bank holidays

Find further on getting extra payments to help with the cost of living, if you're entitled to certain benefits or tax credits.

Be Scam Aware

Criminals will try a variety of methods to gain your personal or banking information so please be aware of who you share your details with. Do not click links or reply to unsolicited texts or emails, instead you can contact the organisation directly who provides you with your Household Support Fund. For further scams advice please see the ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø