You would also allocate one award and one household supported in these sections of Tables 3 to 6. How to apply. If you are unsure if. The majority of households in England will receive some form of support from at least one of the above schemes. Staffordshire County Council have agreed to use this funding in the following ways: 1. Loans are for people living in Wolverhampton. 65. For the purpose of the reporting requirements for this grant (and without prejudice to other schemes): a person aged 19 or over in respect of whom a child-related benefit (for example, Child Benefit) is paid or FSMs are provided. Household Support Fund The Household Support Fund was created to help those in need. Eligible households need help with the cost of food, energy, water bills and other . 3. Household support grant application form. 44. Application Form. 116. Support which can make a quick but sustainable impact on energy costs is particularly encouraged; for example, insulation of hot water tanks, fitting draft excluders to a door, or replacing inefficient lightbulbs or white goods. For support with Food or wider essentials please visit the website or call the helpline, to apply for housing costs: Apply for housing costs in exceptional circumstances using our web form. In exceptional cases of genuine emergency, it can additionally be used to support housing costs where existing housing support schemes do not meet this exceptional need. When deciding how to help people, Authorities should consider: 18. Note: County Councils and Unitary Authorities will be referred to as Authorities and the Household Support Fund will be referred to as The Fund throughout the remainder of this guidance. The fund will close on 31 March 2023 . 98. 94. Although they still carry fraud risks, vouchers should be used instead of cash where possible as this helps to mitigate the risk of the money being spent by the recipient on things outside of the policy intent. Authorities have the ability to deliver the scheme through a variety of routes including providing vouchers to households, making direct provision of food or goods, or issuing grants to third parties (with the exception of grants for advice provision). The funding has been extended to the end of March 2023. Both an interim and a final MI return will be required and grant payments will be made in respect of the periods 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022 and 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. 14. A food bank operates on an open basis where anyone can turn up and pick up food and supplies. Third party organisations (TPOs) may include but are not limited to: 20. Spend (s) - this is the amount paid/awarded to vulnerable households within the eligibility criteria. Where Authorities proactively identify households, they should consider how they can ensure that they are focusing on those in the most need to prevent escalation of problems. 115. Authorities must operate an application-based service for support to ensure those in need have a route to emergency support. The funding comes from the Government's Household Support Grant. So, for example, ensuring all charities are registered and taking extra caution if they are new organisations. The Household Support Fund was distributed by councils in England to directly help those who needed it most. Household Support Fund (Updated: 21st November 2022 .). 8. 87. Applications were invited if you live in the Dudley Borough and: You are the only adult in the household and your gross income, including wages and any other income (for example, pensions and all benefits), is less than 35,000 per year and your savings are less than 6000. The funding is available from October 2022 to March 2023 The Household Support. Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. In other words, residents should have the opportunity to come forward to ask for support. Paragraph 65 has been added to clarify reporting requirements when Household Support Fund payments are made instead of a different payment method. The government recently announced that a new household support fund grant will be available to help those most in need this winter. 10. Where an award is made to a household with multiple children, it should be classed as a single award. 56. Table 5: Total Value of Awards Split by Types of Support. Elections. The Fund can also be used to support households with the cost of food and water bills, essential costs related to energy, food and water, and with wider essential costs. LAs should consider how they could use this data to provide support to this group. the standard lookup code for your authority, The second telephone number (if applicable) of the, If appropriate the surname of the Personal/Corporate Acting Body as reported on the, If appropriate the forename of the Personal/Corporate Acting Body as reported on the, If appropriate the address of the Personal/Corporate Acting Body as reported on the, If appropriate the telephone number of the Personal/Corporate Acting Body as reported on the, If appropriate the second telephone number of the Personal/Corporate Acting Body as reported on the, use discretion on how to identify and support those most in need, taking into account a wide range of information, use the funding from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023 to meet immediate needs and help those who are struggling to afford energy and water bills, food, and other related essentials. Check whether the de minimis regulation exception applies. 55. Updated the guidance for the extension of the Household Support Fund from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. The Fund can be used to support wider essential needs not linked to energy and water should Authorities consider this appropriate in their area. This group is not eligible for the means-tested Cost of Living Payments unless they are of State Pension age or eligible for a Disability Cost of Living Payment. If your Authority needs to discuss access to Glasscubes, contact DWP. Authorities should not make The Fund eligibility conditional on being employed or self-employed, or directly linked to a loss of earnings from employment or self-employment. To ensure that the objectives of The Fund are being met during the course of the grant and reduce administration costs for all concerned, including the need for DWP to recover underspend, grant payment will be made in arrears upon DWP being satisfied with the MI returns. 11. 48. Authorities are also encouraged to use existing tools at their disposal to verify personal bank accounts. We will launch the. confirm they intend to spend the total unspent amount against the same category of spend for the same group. purchasing vouchers on a sale or return basis, so that they can return any unused vouchers, or. The Household Support Fund is a measure that provides households with payments to help with essentials such as food, utilities and clothing. If you have any specific questions about the form, please do contact us on 01428 654305 or email admin@haslemeretc.org. We may need the Authority to explain why that is the case and provide supporting evidence. Your council may have chosen a different name than Household Support Fund. 29. reason for the return (for example, expired voucher), what the original spend was reported against in their. 109. The definition of committed spend for the purpose of The Fund does not affect its accounting treatment in accordance with normal rules. Email us at ESSteam@lambeth.gov.uk giving a contact phone number and we will call you back. What the Household Support Fund is. 113. If you think you may be eligible and would like to discuss an initial assessment from an Occupational Therapist please call the City Council Independent Living Service (ILS) on 01902 553666. 96. 122. 76. The Household Support Fund was created to help those in need. Authorities who have signed and returned the relevant section (Annex C) of the current DWP/LA MoU have legal permission to access DWPs Searchlight portal and specific UC, Pension Credit, ESA (IR) and HB only data through a monthly data share for the purpose of The Fund. 24. Where Authorities decide to deliver support to vulnerable households through TPOs they should use whatever information the TPO holds, or other available data, to split the level of spend and volume of awards across the eligibility criteria to the best of their ability. This will always be the month of the extract. MI returns must be endorsed by the Section 151 Officer in accordance with their statutory assurance responsibility in order for the grant payment to be made by copying your Chief Financial Officer and Section 151 Officer into the email. Authorities are encouraged to engage with District Councils as quickly as possible to ensure roles, responsibilities and effective arrangements are put in place to deliver The Fund promptly and efficiently. In April 2022, DWP established a data share covering people receiving the Guarantee Credit and/or Savings Credit elements of Pension Credit, as well as for all claimants on income-related (IR) Employment and Support Allowance (ESA IR). 110. Authorities are also encouraged to ensure checks are in place to verify the identity of those eligible. There is a limited amount of funding available, and it is being distributed on a first come first served basis. Shown below is a worked example of how the MI template should be completed. It is important to stress that The Fund is intended to cover a wide range of low income households in need including families with children of all ages, pensioners, unpaid carers, care leavers and disabled people. The rules around immigration status have not changed. Authorities should make every effort to gather information to establish the household type. 421m has been made available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to support those most in need to help with global inflationary challenges and the significantly rising cost of living. Household support fund wolverhampton apply. The Government have announced an extension to the Household Support Fund, to cover the period from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. . The objective of The Fund is to provide support to vulnerable households in most need of support to help with significantly rising living costs. Wed like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. how they plan to provide support to vulnerable households, in other words, paying into bank accounts, use of cash and vouchers, provision of goods. Further information on Searchlight can be found in the Local Authority Searchlight Training Pack available in the Searchlight folder on Glasscubes (the LA/DWP online collaboration tool). 15. Authorities are therefore encouraged to explore ways in which this group may be supported and must record the total value of awards granted to disabled people in their Management Information (MI) returns for this grant (see paragraphs 64-68). Information has been supplied by Citizens Advice Peterborough. 27. Energy Bills Support Scheme and the equivalence package confirmed on 29 July 2022, Council Tax Rebate and the associated 144 million Discretionary Fund, Cost of Living Payments for those on means tested benefits, One-off 300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment (through the Winter Fuel Payment), are eligible for but not claiming qualifying benefits, become eligible for benefits after the relevant qualifying dates, are ordinarily eligible for benefits but who had a nil award in the qualifying period due to, for example, a fluctuation in income.