Household Support Fund - Print version

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) announced an extension to the grant, the Household Support Fund (HSF) to cover from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. This fund is designed to be used to support households in the most need due to financial hardship. particularly those who may not qualify for other types of government support. Cost of living support: overview - GOV.UK [https://www.gov.uk/cost-of-living]. 

There are some important changes to the scheme which are detailed below:

• Households who find themselves in financial difficulty can apply for a range of support; this includes households who have previously been ineligible following receipt of a Cost-of-Living Payment.
• There will be a set amount of funds available each month, when that amount is reached, we will have to close the online application form until the next month starts.

Important information

We are experiencing a high level of applications at this time.

Awards for fuel are presently taking 5-10 working days to issue vouchers once an award has been made. 

Applications for other household essentials for example, kitchen appliances, beds etc are currently taking around 8 weeks to be assessed and awarded.

We apologise for this time delay.

What is the Household Support Fund for?

The fund can be used to provide support with essentials linked to energy and water in recognition that a range of costs may arise that directly affect a household’s ability to afford or access food, energy, and water.

The priority for the grant is to help with the following:

• to pay for energy bills such as gas, electricity, oil, and water/sewerage bills
• support with food.

We may also be able to support with:

• purchasing essential household items like fridges, freezers, and ovens
• providing wider household support not linked to energy and water.
• essential items such as toiletries and sanitary products
• heating/lighting repairs
• cases of genuine emergency where existing housing support schemes do not meet this exceptional need, the fund can be used to support housing costs.
• eligibility for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) must first be considered along with whether the claimant is at statutory risk of homelessness and therefore owed a duty of support through the Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG) These avenues of support must be exhausted before emergency housing support from the Household Support fund will be considered.
  • housing and homelessness advice [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/1282/homelessness_advice/3904/at_risk_of_becoming_homeless] (for information about Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG))
  • Discretionary Housing Payments [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/dhp]

How do I apply for support?

All applications for support are made online by completing this form. Form to fill out if you require support with food, energy or other household essential costs [https://myaccount.coventry.gov.uk/service/Household_support]

If you need help to complete an application, this can be provided by calling 08085 834333; or visiting our customer service centre at Broadgate House.

Will I need to send in proof of my financial hardship?

Yes, it is a requirement to provide proof of financial hardship depending on the type of support you need, we may require evidence to support your application. 

To ensure that your application can be dealt with as quickly as possible, please ensure you have the following to hand when you apply to answer the application questions:

• National Insurance number (if you have one) Information on how to find your National Insurance number [https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance/your-national-insurance-number].
• Your ARC number (if you are an asylum seeker)

When making an application for yourself or a family member you will also be required, when asked to upload/attach the following:

• Bank/Building Society Statements
• Evidence of Benefits and other forms of income.

Applications received that contain images not related to the above evidence will be closed and you will need to reapply.

How much support can I receive?

Fuel/energy/water support

This type of support will be paid to cover a period of 2 months in a single payment. This means you can apply up to a maximum of 3 times over the lifetime of the Scheme.

• Single people or childless couples can receive one award of £120.
• Families can receive £160

Please note that we can not provide support after 30 days from the end of the grant period. This means applications for Fuel/Energy and Water Support made at the end of September will be for the remaining weeks up to 30 October 2024.

Food support

We will continue to provide three emergency food parcels per household to help with any immediate need. After this time Coventry City Council will work with the Coventry Food Network, which leads the city’s voluntary agencies with food provision, to support our customers to explore longer-term options through engagement with a Community Supermarket. For a period of up to 8 weeks, the Council will offer subsidised food support, with a good variety of food choices.

To take advantage of the Community Supermarket our customers will be required to pay a £5 weekly membership, this will enable them to receive food of their choice once per week up to the value of £25. This food provision contains a range of fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, and other protein foods, tinned and dried goods, dairy and baked items.

If you have previously received 3 food parcels between December 2023 and March 2024 we would expect that ongoing food support would be through the Community Supermarket.

Household appliances and furniture

Household Appliances and Furniture will be considered where there is exceptional need only, some examples of this might include:

• Where a household member has care needs that may require the support of another person to meet daily living tasks
• Where a household member has a serious health condition, and the provision of this support would alleviate or maintain these needs
• Where there is a risk to a child’s wellbeing
• Where there is a severe relationship breakdown impacting the living situation of an applicant.

This type of support will be provided by providing the appliance or furniture directly from our suppliers. We will only provide one appliance and where further support is needed, we will refer you to a support agency to discuss your needs.

Clothing and bedding support

Households will continue to be able to apply for this support once in a 6-month period. Awards will be for a maximum of £95 per adult and £60 per child; there will also be a household limit of £400.

Toiletries

We will no longer be providing toiletries to collect; instead, a voucher will be issued to cover a 2 month period.

• Single Person/Childless Couple - £20
• Family - £30

What won’t the grant be considered for?

The grant cannot be used for payment of mortgage costs or to pay off debts.

Can I still apply if I have no recourse to public funds?

In exceptional circumstances, the fund allows us to provide a basic safety net support to an individual, regardless of their immigration status, if there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example if:

• there are community care needs.
• they have serious health problems.
• there is a risk to a child’s wellbeing.

A basic safety net is considered to be support with Home Energy and Food, this does not extend to the provision of clothing or other household items.

If you are an overseas student, an application from the household support fund would not normally be considered. You will need to contact your university or other education provider and access the student support services.

How much grant will I receive?

The government has allocated a fixed amount of grant funding to each local authority, so the award made to residents will be based on need.

How will I be paid?

If your application is successful, your award could be paid in the following ways:

• Food awards will be a food parcel collected from the next available Grub Hub/Social Supermarket or Broadgate House, the size of which will vary depending on the number of individuals living in the household. Depending on availability at the Grub Hub/Social Supermarket, the food parcel may contain:
  • Long-life milk
  • Tea/Coffee/Hot Chocolate/Squash
  • Tins containing meat, fish and other items like vegetables, beans or soup.
  • Pasta, rice, or packet mash
  • Cereal
  • Fresh meat or fish as available (not available at Broadgate House)
  • Fruit/vegetables as available (not available at Broadgate House)
  • Yoghurt/spread/cheese (not available at Broadgate House)
• Support for gas, electricity, oil, water/sewerage will be made by either a Paypoint Energy top-up or Paypoint voucher.
• Support for essential items may be via a grant-funded appliance/essential item award or voucher.
• Support for essential repairs such as heating/lighting may be considered, and an appropriately qualified engineer assigned to assess the problem.

Will the grant affect my benefits?

No, this funding is applicable to all who qualify and will not affect your benefits. It is also available to people not on benefits.

Can I make an application on behalf of someone?

Yes, we want as many people as possible in Coventry to benefit from this support. We will accept referrals from third parties such as social workers, trusted referrers, food hub representatives, relatives, friends etc.

If you are applying from one of our trusted referrers, please sign in using your registered organisational email address, and upload the declaration statement provided to your organisation.

Can I make more than one application?

Depending on your circumstances and the type of award, we may consider multiple applications. Multiple applications may be subject to further checks to ensure that everyone who needs the support can receive it.

Please note:

• For a Food parcel, only one application per week will be considered. Non-collection of any previously awarded Food Parcels will impact on any future requests.
• For Fuel Support only one application per household for an award lasting 2 months will be considered.

How will you decide if I qualify?

Once we receive your application, a member of our community support team may contact you to discuss your application. We will use government guidance to determine if you are eligible for support. We will then tell you the outcome of your application.

If my application is rejected, can I appeal?

If you are unhappy about the outcome of your application, you can request a review of the decision by contacting us within one calendar month of the decision date. You must clearly explain why you think the decision is wrong and provide any additional information that you think should be considered.  We will look at the decision again and you will be contacted about the outcome of the review.

Where can I find other sources of information to help with my household?

There are lots of other sources of support available from many different organisations which are summarised on the Cost of Living and Wellbeing Support page [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/costofliving].  You may also find this household better off calculator useful in identifying benefits you may be entitled to and other forms of support Better off calculator [https://api.betteroffcalculator.co.uk/remoteAuth/76013e66832375ee35ad37e6a3b452bd47a736764af58e0387649aeceb323645]

How are you managing the risk of fraudulent applications?

We endeavour to ensure that all applications are made legitimately. If your application contains a false statement or you provide false evidence to support your case, you could be committing an offence under the Fraud Act 2006.

If you require support please complete the relevant form, or if you have any difficulties applying online contact us on 08085 834333 where you will receive support with making an application.

Form to fill out if you require support with food, energy or other household essential costs [https://myaccount.coventry.gov.uk/service/Household_support]