The Household Support Fund explained

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the Autumn Budget that the Household Support Fund will be extended until March 2026, offering a further £1 billion of free financial support to vulnerable households.

Launched in October 2021 to help those struggling financially in the wake of the pandemic, the aim of the fund is to provide households in need with small grants to cover essential living costs such as food, clothing and utility bills.

With the ongoing cost of living crisis, the fund has now been extended several times. In October 2023 it was extended by the previous government until March 2024, and then again to September 2024 and March 2025, and it will now run until March 2026.

The fund is available in addition to other support schemes that help people heat their homes during winter such as the Warm Home Discount, Cold Weather Payment and the Winter Fuel Payment, although the latter has recently been restricted to only pensions claiming means-tested benefits.

In total, the Household Support Fund has already given nearly £3 billion worth of funding to local authorities across the country to distribute to people who need it. Each local council has applied its own eligibility criteria for who can claim a grant through the fund, so this will vary depending on where you live. Councils have also chosen how to use the fund, to allow them to offer the things that their communities need most, whether that’s a one-off cash payment or a supermarket voucher to help cover the cost of shopping.

With the latest extension, local authorities who had used up their proportion of funding may be able to offer more funding to households in need. So if you missed out on help previously, it might be worth contacting your local authority again.

While the grants are offered on a discretionary basis, help is available now, so if you’re struggling, it’s worth contacting your local authority to see if you might qualify for support. If you aren’t sure who your local authority is, you can find out here.