Overview
- The Household Support Fund covers 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, with DWP guidance requiring all money to be spent or committed by the end date and advising councils to ensure vouchers are redeemed or recycled.
- Birmingham City Council, working through the Birmingham Voluntary Service Council, is distributing hardship grants of up to £200 per household for essentials, with the programme open through 31 March 2026.
- Middlesbrough is providing £70 vouchers per child for households meeting free school meals criteria, with automatic issuances made on 1 December 2025 and additional applications available for eligible families as funds are released in phases.
- Derbyshire issued letters in November offering eligible pensioners a one‑off £110 Post Office voucher and plans another round of grocery vouchers around January 2026, alongside support for rent and council tax arrears, homelessness and grants to local voluntary groups.
- Liverpool will award one‑off grants of up to £500 to non‑profit organisations facing steep utility bill increases, funded through the Household Support Fund.