THOUSANDS of households must act now to avoid missing out on free cash.
Homes under the cosh have just weeks left to claim £75 vouchers that can help them pay for food and other essentials.
Pendle Borough Council previously issued Household Support Fund vouchers to help those struggling financially with food, bills and other expenditure.
A total of 2,600 vouchers were issued in June and almost 90 per of them have been redeemed.
But there are some who are in danger of missing out on the offer.
The council have posted a reminder on Facebook warning those who haven’t claimed their voucher only have until before September 7.
Anyone who meets the following criteria could be eligible for a £75 voucher.
They must:
Those who are eligible for the vouchers do not need to contact the council as they have sent a letter in the post to all pensioners in Pendle who receive Council Tax Support.
They need to take the letter and a form of identification to a Post Office to receive the £75 cash payment.
More details on how to collect the payment are in the letter.
Someone else can collect the cash on behalf of another as long as they give them the identification needed.
The Household Support Fund (HSF) was first set up in October 2021 and has now been extended five times.
Councils in England are now able to benefit from the latest round of funding costing £421 million.
Nationwide councils have received a portion of the cash to distribute to households in need.
But there is a postcode lottery to determine who qualifies and each local authority can set its own eligibility criteria.
Yet if you have a limited amount of money or savings in the bank, or are deemed to be vulnerable or on benefits, you will probably qualify for help.
The HSF was recently extended in the Government’s Spring Budget until September and councils have already opened for applications.
For example, households in Leicestershire can apply for a financial award of £300 per household, which will be paid in the form of vouchers to support with gas, electricity and food.
The payment can be delivered as a Post Office voucher, which can be redeemed for cash to help with gas, electricity or water, or an e-voucher to help with food costs that can be converted to a gift card for major supermarkets.
Recipients will need to be referred from a professional support worker or agency and payment will be made on acceptance.
Meanwhile, residents of Leeds who receive council tax support with dependent children can claim up to £100, while those without children could receive £25.
You should get in touch with your local council to see if you might be eligible for help.
