In the coming weeks thousands of Brits will start receiving their free cost of living payments of £500. The money will go towards everyday expenses and to help with food and energy bills and there is still money to be claimed but you need to be quick.
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The support comes from the £421 million Household Support Fund, which was established last year by the government and has been extended, once back in March and then a second time in November.
Who is eligible?
The money is given out by individual councils and each area gets a different amount of money, which can either be given as cash or vouchers that can be spent in supermarkets.
To be eligible you need to be on a low income to receive the help and you will need to check with your local council how to receive the payments but you will need to be living in the borough; be over 16; and be, or about to be, in receipt of qualifying benefits or on a low income.
However, you can't apply if you've received a Household Support Fund payment in the last 12 months.
Qualifying benefits include:
Whilst the criteria can vary from council to council here is a list of qualifying benefits for Haringey as an example, as per Haringey Council:
- Universal Credit
- Income-based jobseekers' allowance
- Income-based employment and support allowance
- Incapacity benefit
- Pension credit
- Income support
- Housing benefit
- Council tax support
- Severe disablement allowance
- Contribution-based jobseekers' allowance (JSA) or employment and support allowance (ESA)
- Working tax credit
- Child tax credit
How to apply
To apply for the payments you can fill in an online form on your local council’s Household Support Fund page and you will need the following information to complete your application:
- National Insurance number or National Asylum Support Service (NASS) number
- Contact telephone number and email address
- Current full address and postcode
- Details of benefits you receive
- Details of your/your partner's employment including your employer's name, address and contact number (if applicable)
- Details of the bank account you want the payment made to
Additionally, there is further support available with millions of benefits and Universal Credit claimants receiving an extra one-off £900 payment. It is also thought that pensioners could soon start getting a £300 one-off payment, as per the Daily Star.
Sources used:
- The Daily Star 'Thousands of struggling Brits to get £500 in cost of living help within weeks'
- Haringey Council 'The Haringey Support Fund'
