The UK Government has awarded Lincolnshire a further £10.9m of the Household Support Fund (HSF), which covers the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
Lincolnshire County Council has worked in partnership with district councils to agree the most appropriate methods for distributing this funding in line with government guidance.
During the summer term of 2023, around £2.4m of HSF was distributed to schools and early years providers to support children eligible for benefit-related free school meals, early years pupil premium and families with a 2-year-old eligible for early years entitlement. Each child eligible in May 2023 was provided with £75 each to help with the costs of everyday essentials. A further £2.3m will be distributed in the autumn term to enable a further £75 per eligible child to be provided direct to families before Christmas to help with the additional costs families face during winter 2023. This totals 43% of the total grant with approximate value of £4.7m.
Around £4.8m is being distributed by district councils to households in receipt of housing benefit only and no other benefit entitlements. This group has been selected as it is not eligible for the other support schemes being provided nationally. Eligible households will have received a payment of £300. Eligible households will be contacted and do not need to apply for this grant. The initial payments were distributed over the summer, with the remaining payments due to be distributed in early winter and late spring.
Around £120,000 is being used to provide financial support to eligible care leavers in supported living accommodation.
The remaining £1.3m is being made available to district councils to support other vulnerable households in their area via an application-based process.
Household Support Fund Application process
SKDC is pleased to announce that the 4th phase of the Household Support Fund has now opened. The Fund provides financial support to residents across the district that are struggling financially. Financial assistance will be in the form of vouchers to assist with food/utilities.
We are aiming to assist those that are most in need and the following eligibility Criteria has been put in place to assist with this to occur.
Residents must meet at least one of the following criteria to meet eligibility:
Applicants who have not received financial assistance from the Household Support Fund during the period December 2022 to March 2023.
Applicants that have not received a cost-of-living payment due to not being in receipt of a qualifying benefit.
Households with unpaid Caring responsibility.
Households with outstanding rent arrears, council tax arrears or utility arrears that have put payment arrangements in place.
Households that have been referred from a trusted third-party organisation with whom the applicant is currently being offered support.
Pensioners in receipt of state pension that do not qualify for Pension Credit and receive minimal /no private pension.
Applicants who use medical equipment that require the use of additional electricity.
Households who have previously received the Cost-of-Living payment will only be eligible to apply if they have experienced a one-off event within the past six months which has put them into financial hardship.
Applications can be made by contacting the customer services desk on 01476 406080.
SKDC will also be working with Lincolnshire Community Foundation to support with the delivery of the fund. Details of which will be updated shortly.
We appreciate that not all households will be eligible for support however the government has put a number of schemes in place to offer assistance.
Support for residents of other Lincolnshire Districts:
Further details can be found on your district council website:
North Kesteven District Council
South Holland District Council
South Kesteven District Council
We appreciate that not all households will be eligible for support via this grant. However, the government have put a number of arrangements in place, and this is just one.
Residents facing financial difficulties can also visit the government's Cost of Living Hub and Help for Households.
In addition, there is a Holiday Food and Activity programme for children eligible for benefits-related free school meals.
If you are finding it difficult to manage at this difficult time, please remember Citizens Advice offer free, confidential and impartial advice to everyone to find a way forward whatever problem you may face. So please call their national advice line 0800 144 8848.
A range of support can also be found via Connect to Support Lincolnshire.
Privacy information
District councils
District councils use personal data already held about households in receipt of housing benefit only, to determine eligibility.
For application-based processes, details about why and how personal data is used, are provided to householders at the time of application.
Lincolnshire County Council (LCC)
For the Early Years element of the funding and associated entitlements, information is provided to LCC via parents' declarations, for the purpose of checking eligibility. For free school meal eligible (FSM) children, LCC have used information from parental FSM applications.
LCC uses information already held about care leavers, to determine eligibility.
Information is processed by LCC in order to perform tasks carried out in the public interest and in the exercise of official authority. We use the minimum amount of personal data required to meet HSF objectives.
We are required to retain your information for as long as is necessary, after which it will be securely destroyed. Retention schedules are in place that set out in detail how long information will be held for.
You have several rights in relation to the information that the council holds about you. For more information about how LCC handle personal data, your rights, when they might apply and how to make a request to exercise them, please see our customer privacy notice