The extra financial support is being distributed by Plymouth City Council and it’s said that thousands of households could get £180 worth of supermarket vouchers and up to £150 in energy help to ease the rising cost of living.
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The money is a part of the Household Support Fund. You can apply as early as next month.
What is the Household Support Fund?
The Household Support Fund is a pot of Government cash which is issued to local councils to help struggling families.
The scheme first started in November 2021 and has been extended three times so far.
The latest instalment in support money is worth £421 million and will run until March 2023.
It is up to each local authority to decide what type of help it offers, and who gets the support. This means the help varies greatly from council to council.
You can check what your local authority offers here.
What help can I get?
The help on offer ranges from supermarket and energy vouchers to grants that don't need to be paid back.
Plymouth City Council distributes £180 in vouchers for either Asda, Morrisons or Tesco and £147 in energy vouchers for pre-payment metres, or a £150 credit voucher for credit accounts or smart metres. Applications are currently closed due to high demand but will reopen in early January.
If you are eligible for help, you might also be able to get other support including help with white goods (large household appliances) and furniture.
Is my household eligible?
To apply for extra support from your local authority, you must either live with at least one child under 18, someone who has a disability or long-term health condition, or a person/people who has reached pension age.
You also must not have accessed support from the previous Household Support Fund between July 6, 2022, and November 27, 2022.
In the case of grants distributed by the Plymouth Council, you will be able to apply on the Citizens Advice Plymouth website.
Each council is in charge of distributing its own Household Support Fund cash. Another way to check what help is on offer where you live, type in the name of your local council into Google followed by ‘Household Support Fund’.
Sources used:
- Mirror: 'Thousands of British families to get £180 in supermarket vouchers and £150 energy help'
