HELPING HAND
Just hours left to redeem cost of living vouchers or miss out on £75 free cash
Check if you're also eligible for the support vouchers
TIME is running out for potentially thousands to redeem their cost of living vouchers worth £75.
The vouchers were provided as part of the Household Support Fund (HSF), a government scheme to help with the cost of living.
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The HSF offers help to struggling households and has been extended several times since it was introduced by the Government in 2021.
The money comes from a pot worth £421million by the Department for Work and Pensions, and it has now been extended for the sixth time, until April 2025.
Funding is given to local councils to distribute, so the support available varies across the country.
What you can get depends on where you live but the money could be paid out as a direct cash transfer or shopping vouchers.
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The fund is usually given out based on your financial circumstances and what benefits you receive.
Households in Lancashire living in the Pendle Borough Council area were able to access vouchers worth £75 to help with food, bills and other expenditure.
A total of 2,600 vouchers were issued by post in June but some have still not been redeemed.
Those who haven't cashed in their voucher have to do so by the end of today or will lose out on the free cash.
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Anyone who meets the following criteria should have received a letter to redeem the £75 voucher:
- live in the borough of Pendle
- be of pensionable age
- receive Council Tax Support
To get the support, you will need the letter and a form of identification to take to the Post Office.
If you're unable to collect the cash for yourself, you can get someone else to do it for you, as long as you give them all the documents.
For those living in the rest of the UK, you may be eligible to gain funds from the support scheme too.
Thousands of hard-up households to get vouchers worth up to £350
The current round of HSF funding is due to end on September 30, but applications may still be accepted by some local authorities.
Each area will then open up the scheme again in October, with the new funding in place until April 2025.
In many areas, applications can be made under both the current scheme and future rounds.
However, what you're able to access depends on whereabouts you live, and the money will either be given to you as a direct cash transfer, shopping vouchers or in another form.
To find out what you may be eligible for, visit your local council's website.
If you're unsure of the name of your council, find out using the Government's tool.
Who will be eligible for the HSF and how do I apply?
Councils across England will decide who to distribute their share of the HSF to which means whether you will qualify depends on where you live.
However, in most cases, you will be eligible if you are on benefits, classed as vulnerable or have limited savings.
You may not be able to get help for the new round if you have previously received support from the HSF.
If you are eligible, you may be contacted by your local council telling you what the next steps are to receive any help.
You may also have to actively apply via your local authority's website.
Most councils probably won't have decided their eligibility criteria yet as the Government has only just announced the HSF extension.
Councils also get to decide how much they offer to each household and when to open their share of the fund.
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 £421million 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.
Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt extended the HSF for the fifth time while delivering his Spring Budget on March 6, 2024.
What is the Household Support Fund?
The Household Support Fund was first launched in September 2021 to help vulnerable households cover the cost of living over winter.
It was due to close at the end of March 2022 but has since been extended five times until April 2025.
The fund is shared by the Government among councils in England, with the October to April 2025 allotment worth £421million.
A further £79million has been shared among councils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
For each round of the HSF, local authorities have been given a unique amount and are able to set their own eligibility criteria.
That means what you are entitled to varies depending on where you live.
But, as the fund was set up to help vulnerable households, you usually qualify for help if you are on benefits like Universal Credit, have a low income or have minimal savings.
The type of help on offer varies from cash grants to energy and supermarket vouchers.
In some cases, you have to apply, whereas in others you receive the help automatically.
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If you think you might be in line for help from the current round, or the next round from October, it's worth getting in touch with your local council.
You can find your local council by using the Government's council locator tool on gov.uk.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
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