THOUSANDS of households will soon start receiving supermarket vouchers worth £50 to help cover the cost of essentials.
The support is provided through the Household Support Fund (HSF) scheme, which has been extended until September 2024.
Each council gets a different portion of funding depending on the size of the catchment area, population, and need.
Households could get supermarket vouchers or cash grants worth up to £500.
But the exact amount you can get will depend on where you live, so you’ll have to check to see what you can get and how your council will pay you.
Some councils will make payouts automatically and others will require you to fill in an application form.
It’s been announced that households in Middlesbrough in need of support will be sent e-vouchers worth £50 on July 9.
The vouchers can be spent at Asda, Aldi, B&M, Farmfoods, M&S, Sainsbury’s, Sainsbury’s grocery only, Tesco and Waitrose.
The e-vouchers can be sent via email or text message depending on the information provided.
Households who are on benefits and have children, who meet the free school meals eligibility criteria, will receive the payments automatically.
If you’re getting one of these benefits you may be eligible for support:
For households who get benefits and do not have children, and for households who do not get benefits, applications are now open.
To be eligible, you must:
It can take up to 21 working days for applications to be processed.
How much you get will depend on who’s in your household.
If you’re single, you’ll get a voucher for £37.50, while couples will get a voucher for £50.
For pensioner households, letters to apply were sent in late June and will continue to be sent in early July, with payments scheduled for August.
Every council will have received funding from the HSF so if you’re worried about making ends meet, check your local council’s website for further details.
Further support could also be available to help with food costs during school holidays.
To find your local council, use the Government’s council locator tool.
The Household Support Fund (HSF) was first introduced in October 2021 and has been extended five times, to September 2024.
The latest round of funding is worth £421million to councils in England.
Who qualifies and the level of support given is a postcode lottery, as each local authority can set its own criteria for distributing the funds.
However, if you have a limited amount of money or savings in the bank, are classed as vulnerable or are on benefits, you will likely qualify for help.
The support provided varies from council to council, so its worth checking the schemes your local council has in place to make sure you receive all the assistance available.
For example, in Hertfordshire funds have also been made available to support households on low incomes facing immediate financial crisis, provide help with energy costs and support food banks.
You can find what council area you fall under by using the Government’s council locator tool on its website.
You don’t need to worry about additional support impacting existing benefits, as these will be unaffected by payments from the HSF.
And, you do not need necessarily need to be in receipt of benefits to receive vouchers or funds from the HSF.
To get the help, you’ll need to check with your council – as local authorities are in charge of distributing the funding.
Information on how to apply for the funding should be published on your council’s website. Each council will have a different application process.
If there’s no information on your council’s website, then it’s best to ring them up and ask for more information.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
