The Department for Work and Pensions has updated the rules about its Household Support Fund payments. The fund is given to local authorities to help families cope with the increasing cost of living.
It is intended to help low-income families with essentials, such as heating, food, rent and clothing costs. Earlier this month, the Government made another £421 million in Household Support Fund money available, reports BirminghamLive.
This takes the total amount allocated to the fund to just over £1.26 billion since it first started. And the scheme has now been extended to March 31 next year.
Councils have also been given greater leeway to decide who's eligible for funding in their local area. Previously they had been instructed to ringfence Household Support Fund money for specific groups.
How do councils pick who gets the money?
In its Household Support Fund guidance to councils, the DWP states that local authorities should "particularly consider how they can support those vulnerable households who are ineligible for other Government support."
In particular, it suggests that councils should consider prioritising households who have not received the £400 energy rebate, £150 council tax rebate or discretionary fund money, or the various cost of living payments of £650 and £150 for targeted groups on specific benefits.
The DWP guidance advises local authorities that the Household Support Fund "should be used to support households in the most need". Exact eligibility criteria will, however, be decided by local councils and will vary from area to area.
To find out who is most in need of help, the city councils and county councils given the funding are urged to work with district councils to find people in need and also with third-party organisations including:
- registered charities and voluntary organisations
- schools
- food banks
- general practitioners
- care organisations
It says authorities should consider prioritising those households, who (for example):
- are eligible for, but not claiming, qualifying benefits
- become eligible for benefits AFTER the relevant qualifying dates
- are in receipt of Housing Benefit only
- are ordinarily eligible for benefits but had a nil award in the qualifying period due to, for example, a fluctuation in income
- have fuel costs but cannot access the £400 rebate from the Energy Bill Support Scheme or any equivalent support package
What cash is available from the Household Support Fund?
DWP guidance on the Household Support Fund says that eligible spending by councils includes:
- Energy and water. The Fund should primarily be used to support energy bills for any form of fuel that is used for the purpose of domestic heating, cooking, or lighting, including oil or portable gas cylinders. It can also be used to support water bills including for drinking, washing, cooking, as well as for sanitary purposes and sewerage.
- Food. The Fund can be used to provide support with food, whether directly offering groceries or through vouchers or cash.
- Essentials linked to energy and water. The Fund can be used to provide support with essentials linked to energy and water (for example period products, warm clothing, soap, blankets, the purchase of equipment such as fridges, freezers, ovens, slow cookers), in recognition that a range of costs may arise which directly affect a household’s ability to afford or access energy, food and water. In particular, local authorities are encouraged to consider supporting households on low incomes to repair or replace white goods and appliances with more energy-efficient ones, or to invest in simple energy efficiency measures which will pay back quickly, such as insulating a hot water tank, fitting draught excluders to a front door, or replacing inefficient lightbulbs or white goods. The intention of this is to provide sustainable support which could result in both immediate and long-lasting savings for the household.
- Wider essentials. The Fund can be used to support wider essential needs not linked to energy and water should authorities consider this appropriate in their area. These may include, but are not limited to, support with other bills including broadband or phone bills, clothing, and essential transport-related costs such as repairing a car, buying a bicycle, or paying for fuel.
- Housing costs. In exceptional cases of genuine emergency, where existing housing support schemes do not meet this need, the Fund can be used to support housing costs. Where eligible, ongoing housing support for rent must be provided through the housing cost element of Universal Credit and Housing Benefit rather than the Fund. In addition, eligibility for Discretionary Housing Payments must first be considered before emergency housing support is offered through the Fund. The authority must also first consider whether the claimant is at statutory risk of homelessness and therefore owed a duty of support through the Homelessness Prevention Grant (HPG).
- In exceptional cases of genuine emergency, households in receipt of Housing Benefit, Universal Credit, or Discretionary Housing Payments can still receive housing cost support through the Fund if it is deemed necessary by their authority. However, the Fund should not be used to provide housing support on an ongoing basis or to support unsustainable tenancies.
- Individuals in receipt of some other form of housing support could still qualify for the other elements of the Fund, such as food, energy, water, essentials linked to energy and water and wider essentials.
- The Fund cannot be used to provide mortgage support, though homeowners could still qualify for the other elements of the Fund (such as energy, food, water, essentials linked to energy and water and wider essentials). Where a homeowner is having difficulty with their mortgage payments, they should contact their lender as soon as possible to discuss their circumstances as lenders will have a set procedure to assist.
- The Fund can exceptionally and in genuine emergency be used to provide support for historic rent arrears built up prior to an existing benefit claim for households already in receipt of Universal Credit and Housing Benefit. This is because these arrears are excluded from the criteria for Discretionary Housing Payments. However, support with rent arrears is not the primary intent of the fund and should not be the focus of spending.
Reasonable administrative costs. This includes for example: staff costs; advertising and publicity to raise awareness of the Fund. web page design; printing application forms; small IT changes.
The guidance says eligible spending does not include advice services such as debt counselling, or mortgage costs. It adds: "It is expected that the focus of support should be on bills and that support for housing costs should only be given in exceptional cases of genuine emergency. Beyond this, authorities have discretion to determine the most appropriate Fund for their area, based on their understanding of local need and with due regard to equality considerations.
"There is no prescriptive definition of essentials. Authorities have discretion to assess what is reasonable to assist those in genuine need this winter. Individual awards can be whatever type and amount is deemed appropriate for the receiving household, bearing in mind the overall eligibility priorities listed above and the risk of fraud and error. Awards to any given household can cover several or only one of the eligibility categories listed.
"Authorities should not make the Fund eligibility conditional on being employed or self-employed, or directly linked to a loss of earnings from employment or self-employment. This will ensure that there is no National Insurance contribution liability payable on any payments by either the citizen, the Authority or employer."
To find out whether you might be eligible for a Household Support Fund grant, you’ll need to contact your local authority. If you don't already know, you can find out which council you come under by entering your postcode into the online tool on the Government's website. Some local authorities have already opened applications for the current round of funding, others are yet to do so.
