Support for low income households

Wyre Council has received additional funding from the Department of Work and Pensions for the Household Support Fund (HSF). This fund is aimed at assisting households that are experiencing financial difficulties due to the increasing costs of living, such as bills for energy and water, food, and wider essentials. Eligibility for this support is not restricted to those receiving benefits, but it is intended for those who are encountering financial hardship.

ELIGIBILITY

You can apply for a HSF payment if:

• you live in Wyre and are a council tax payer; and
• you are responsible for the payment of the household energy bills in respect of your home; and
• you have less than £16,000 in savings.
• you have not already received an award from the HSF5 fund

and;

Family Circumstances

You are a couple or single adult with dependent children in respect of whom you receive child benefit, and your total annual gross household income is below £40,000 for a single adult and £52,000 for a couple.

Or

You are a couple or single adult with no dependent children and your total annual gross household income is below £25,000 for a single adult and £30,000 for a couple.

EVIDENCE REQUIRED FOR ALL APPLICATIONS

You will need to upload evidence to support your application. Details of the evidence you need to upload will depend on your personal circumstances but include wage/salary slips and a copy of your latest energy bill.

Bank Statements

• All applications must be supported with bank statements for all adults in the household and all accounts held.
• Each bank statement must be for one full month, showing transactions in and out of the account, and must be dated within the last 2 months.

If you do not provide complete bank statements your application will not be considered.

RESTRICTIONS

Only one application per household will be accepted. Individuals who have previously received funding from the HSF can re-apply, but they can only apply once during the HSF5 scheme. If you have received a voucher since May 2024, you have already been assisted by HSF5 and therefore are ineligible to receive additional funding in this round.

Your application may be refused if the council considers excessive expenditure on non-essentials.

AWARD PAYMENT

Payments awarded will be issued in the form of supermarket vouchers or a pre-paid energy card.Supermarket vouchers - you can choose from Aldi, Asda, Farmfoods, Iceland, M&S, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.  Each supermarket has different terms and conditions and not all can be used for online shopping, please see Huggg Vouchers for more information. 24

Pre-paid energy card – the energy card can only be used to make bill payments online/by phone. It cannot be used to make bill payments at any physical location, please see Huggg Vouchers for the terms and conditions.

Apply to Household Support Fund 5

Due to high application volumes, we are currently experiencing a backlog of applications to be processed.  Applications are processed in order of receipt, if any further information is required we will be in contact.

The HSF scheme will be available to eligible Wyre residents to 30 September 2024, but depending on demand the fund may close earlier, so it is encouraged that you seek support early.

You can also visit GOV.UK - Cost of living support page to find other support available.