Cost of living scheme giving struggling households up to £300 - how to claim

RUNNING SINCE 2021 AND MANAGED BY THE DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS, THE SCHEME HAS GIVEN LOCAL COUNCILS POTS OF CASH TO SUPPORT STRUGGLING HOUSEHOLDS IN THEIR AREA 10:17, 13 May 2025

Thousands of households can claim a free cash payment worth up to £300 through this government cost of living scheme. The help comes from the Government's Household Support Fund scheme.

Running since 2021 and managed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the scheme has given local councils pots of cash to support struggling households in their area. Each authority

decides how it wants to spend the money, and help can range from free cash payments to supermarket vouchers. However, you can only claim help from the area in which you live. In Blackpool,

the council is offering households cash payments to provide short-term support to cover the costs of energy and water bills. Payments of £200 are available to qualifying households with one

or two people, and this includes children. Payments of £300 will also be available to households of three or more people. If your support claim is successful, the money will be paid directly

to your energy provider or United Utilities - the area's water supplier. READ MORE: M&S warns customer information WAS stolen in major cyber attack updateREAD MORE: Morrisons

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Utilities. You can apply for the extra help online through Blackpool Council's website, but alongside your it, you will need to provide evidence that you are in financial hardship.

According to its website, claimants will need to provide their most recent full months' bank/building society/savings account statements for all accounts for the person making the

claim, and all other adults in the household. Alongside this, you will need to show all transactions in and out of your accounts, and not just balances. Your application will also need to

have a copy of your energy/water bill, which shows your name and address, the name of your supplier and your account number. The council warned that applications without this evidence would

not be processed. It currently takes "several weeks" for applications to be processed, and you will be contacted as soon as your application is assessed. Blackpool Council noted

that due to its "limited funding," it would only make one payment per household within a 12-month period. So, if you received a Household Support Fund payment in February of this

year, you would not be able to claim another until next February. SIGN UP TO MIRROR MONEY'S NEWSLETTER FOR THE LATEST ADVICE AND NEWS From universal credit to furlough, employment

rights, travel updates and emergency financial aid - we've got all of the big financial stories you need to know about right now. Sign up to our Mirror Money newsletter here. You cannot

claim this support if you do not live in Blackpool. However you are able to claim help from your local council through their own Household Support Fund scheme. Due to this system, it means

it can be a postcode lottery for the support you can get. Each council's website details its support offerings alongside its eligibility criteria. Usually, it has a separate cost of

living tab that details the help on offer. Each council will also have a different application process for the scheme. Some ask you to apply online, while others ask you to apply over the

phone. Some councils are also reaching out to those eligible directly You can find out who your local council is through the official Gov.uk page here. All you need to do is enter your

postcode by using this link to see who your local authority is. Local councils have started to share what help they will offer for this year's Household Support Fund. Article continues

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