The UK Government website has details on the support that can be offered by local councils for households in need of help with rising living costs from 1st April 2023 – 31st March 2024.
The expectation is that The Fund should be used to support households in the most need; particularly those who may not be eligible for the other support government has recently made available but who are nevertheless in need and who require crisis support. This includes the Cost of Living Payments and the energy support we are providing for 2023/24 set out on 17 November 2022 (information on these schemes can be found at Annex A). For the Cost of Living payments this may include, but is not limited to, people who are entitled to but not claiming qualifying benefits, people who are claiming Housing Benefit (HB) only and people who begin a claim or return to payment of a benefit after the relevant qualifying date. There may be groups who are vulnerable to rising prices even though they are supported through these schemes, for example large families or single-income families. 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.
How to apply
The Sun has produced an article on the fund with information on how to apply for help. Click the link below to find out more.
To get the help, you'll need to check if you need to apply via your local council – as they are in charge of distributing the funding.
Extracts
To find your local council, use the Gov.UK council finder tool.
Once you've found your council, there should be information on how to apply for funding on its website.
Each council will have a different application process – so exact details on how to apply will vary depending on where you live.
The eligibility requirements to access the fund will also vary.
But, some councils won't require you to apply for the help and they'll contact you about any cash available if you qualify.
If there's no information on your council's website, then it's best to ring them up and ask for more information.